Parents and Teachers Perceptions of Effective Communication in Two Schools in One Division in Virginia

Parents often perceive schools as the sole educator of their child when in actuality the school prefers parents to be involved as partners in the learning process (Comer and Haynes, 1991). Likewise, schools make the assumption that parents realize their role in the learning process, but do not effectively communicate the partnership to parents, and misconceptions about the parents and teachers roles and behaviors arise. Research has shown that both schools and parents have a major influence on children as they develop and that they learn best when schools and parents work together (Comer and Haynes, 1991). The purpose of this study was to examine parent and teacher perceptions of effective communication. This was a non-experimental quantitative study that compared the differences between parents' and teachers' perceptions of effective communication. The study consisted of a survey for parents and teachers on a Likert scale. The survey data were compared through the use of the t-test statistic and a One-Way Analysis of Variance. The information discovered in this study will allow the researcher to bridge the learning gap regarding how parents and teachers can actively participate in the effective communication process to enable both parties to send and receive messages and limit the amount of misunderstanding on educational topics relating to students. This information will be provided to principals and school leaders in order to better manage the communication process between parents and teachers to include the information, attitudes, and perspectives that exist, thus, impacting student achievement and school success. Findings included identified differences between parent and teacher perceptions regarding the effectiveness and frequency of communication, and difference between teachers at the two schools and between parents at the two schools.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed. D.

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Department dc:contributor.department

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Lipscomb, Kecia Ormond

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Cash, Carol S.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Johnson, Paula A.
• Twiford, Travis W.
• Price, Ted S.

• Effective Communication
• Parental Involvement

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:5041

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/73213