University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Increase parental involvement to decrease the achievement gaps for ELL and low SES students in urban California public schools: an evaluation study

(USC Thesis Other)

Increase parental involvement to decrease the achievement gaps for ELL and low SES students in urban California public schools: an evaluation study

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content Running Head: DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES

Increase Parental Involvement to Decrease the Achievement Gaps for ELL and Low SES
Students in Urban California Public Schools: An Evaluation Study

by

Guillermo Muñoz

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2018

Copyright 2017 Guillermo Muñoz
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

2

Dedication
To my wife Lynda Hope Muñoz for being an amazing human being who has been a huge support
throughout this process. We did it honey! We made it! I could not have done this without you.
You are my rock, my soul mate, and truest best friend! I thank God for putting you in my life and
blessing our family.
To my children for being daddy’s cheerleaders and always making sure to let me know how
proud of me you were. That was the fuel that got me through the tough moments. Remember
these words “Why not you?” If you have a dream, go after it like your life depends on it. Do not
let anyone deny you what you work for. Live your purpose and remember that as long as you are
“a good human being and work to make Mom and Dad proud” you are doing “your job.”
To my Mother (Guadalupe) and Father (Heleodoro), THANK YOU for making the sacrifice and
bringing us over to the US in pursuit of the “American Dream.” Both of you have always showed
me the value of hard work and resilience. You are a true inspiration and I can only hope to have
honored your legacy by never giving up and fulfilling my dream.
To the families who participated and supported this work, I hope to not only have captured the
“what” of your story, but also the “why.” I hope to have honored the sacrifices of all English
Language Learners who immigrated to this great nation with nothing more than a dream of what
could be. Especially to the many working to achieve those dreams daily.
To God, for all you have done for me, for making me value and appreciate all human beings I
have come into contact with. For being my guiding light as I honor my purpose and work to
improve the lives of the families I serve.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

3

Acknowledgements
I’d like to thank my entire Organizational Change and Leadership Cohort II for being
such amazing scholars and dedicated human beings. Sharing this journey with you was a true
blessing and I will forever be indebted to all of you for your insights and support. I have made
some friends in the journey that will last a lifetime and can only grow for the better. A special
recognition to team Get It Done who met almost nightly to do the fine tuning and hold each other
accountable until we reached the end.
I want to thank my committee members, Dr. Jen Crawford, Dr. Anthony Maddox, and
Dr. Rosemary Aguilar. Each of your insights and probing questions pushed me to dig deeper and
fine tune my research so that I could truly represent the voice of my parent stakeholders with the
level of pride and professionalism their commitment to their children deserve.
I want to acknowledge the following people for being such amazing role models and
examples of class and grace; Dr. Maria Ott, Dr. Rob Arias, and Dr. Rosemary Aguilar. Working
with and learning from all of you was such a great experience. Thank you for encouraging me
repeatedly to open my mind and pursue my Doctorate at USC. This experience was everything
you promised it would be and for that, I am forever indebted to you.
I want to acknowledge my parent stakeholders for their continuous support of me and my
journey to earn my Doctorate. To know that they have referred to me as a beacon of hope and
role model for their children was a humbling honor. I want to thank them for their willingness to
be vulnerable and share their insights so that their voice can be heard and others can learn. To
hear them acknowledge that they now know they have a long way to go, as well as a
commitment from them to take those needed steps was a huge joy for me.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

4

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication 2
Acknowledgements 3
List of Tables 4
List of Figures 9
Abstract 10
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 11
Persistent Achievement and Opportunity Gaps 11
Organizational Context and Mission 12
Organizational Goal 13
Importance of the Evaluation 14
Description of Stakeholder Groups 15
Stakeholder Group for the Study 16
Purpose of the Project and Questions 17
Conceptual and Methodological Framework 18
Definitions 18
Organization of the Project 20
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 21
Involvement vs Engagement 21
Barriers to Student Access and Achievement for Latino Students 21
Differentiation of Instruction for Students 22
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy 23
21st Century Teaching and Learning 24
Relevant Professional Development 25
Clark and Estes’ (2008) Organizational Problem-Solving Framework 26
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences 26
Knowledge and Skills 27
Knowledge Influences 28
Declarative Knowledge Influences 28
Procedural Knowledge Influences 30
Metacognitive Knowledge Influences 31
Motivation 34
Utility Value Theory 33
Parents of Low SES and ELL Students 33
Self-Efficacy 34
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

5

Parents of Low SES and ELL Students 34
Organizational Influences 37
General Theory 36
Stakeholder-Specific Influences 37
Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ KMO 40
Conclusion 42
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 44
Site and Participant Selection 44
Survey Sampling Criterion and Rationale 45
Survey Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale 45
Interview Sampling Criterion and Rationale 45
Interview Group Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale 46
Data Collection and Instrumentation 46
Surveys 47
Interviews 47
Data Analysis 48
Credibility and Trustworthiness 49
Validity and Reliability 50
Ethics 50
Limitations and Delimitations 53
Conclusion 53
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS 55
Purpose of the Project and Questions 55
Participating Stakeholders 55
José 56
Maria 57
Lucy 57
Juanita 57
Lupe 58
Research Question One 58
Research Question Two 59
Findings for Knowledge Influences 59
Knowledge Findings of Academic Inaction 59
Knowledge Findings of Limited Awareness of Academic Content
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

6

Standards 64
Knowledge Findings of Limited Parental Involvement Due to Time
Constraints 67
Motivation Findings 71
Motivation Findings of Limited Participation in Planning for the
Future 72
Motivation Findings for Limited Self-Efficacy 74
Organizational Findings 76
Organizational Findings of Over-Initiatives 76
Organizational Findings of Social Capital 79
Synthesis 83
Conclusion 84
CHAPTER FIVE: SOLUTIONS, IMPLEMENTATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 87
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences 87
Knowledge Recommendations 87
Declarative (Factual) Knowledge Solutions, or Description of
Needs or Assets 91
Procedural Knowledge Solutions, or Description of Needs or Assets 93
Metacognitive Knowledge Solutions, or Description of Needs
or Assets 94
Motivation Recommendations 94
Introduction 95
Utility Value
Self-Efficacy 97
Organization Recommendations 99
Cultural Models 102
Cultural Settings 104
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan 105
Implementation and Evaluation Framework 105
Organizational Purpose, Need, and Expectations 106
Level Four: Results and Leading Indicators 107
Level Three: Behavior 109
Critical Behaviors 109
Required Drivers 110
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

7

Organizational Support 111
Level Two: Learning 111
Learning Goals 111
Program 112
Components of Learning 113
Level One: Reaction 115
Evaluation Tools 116
Immediately Following the Program Implementation 116
Delayed for a Period After the Program Implementation 117
Data Analysis and Reporting 118
Summary 119
Collaborative Framework: Organizations and Families 120
Creating the Momentum: How to Work with Parents 120
Organizational Efforts 120
Parental Efforts 121
Collaboration 122
Timing of Collaborative Planning Sessions 122
Limitations 123
Recommendations for Future Research 125
Conclusion 126
References 128
Appendix A Survey Items (English/Spanish) 138
Appendix B Interview Protocol (English/Spanish) 146
Appendix C Informed Consent/Informaiton Sheet (English/Spanish) 152
Appendix D Recruitment Letter (English/Spanish) 155
Appendix E Immediate Survey after Training 158
Appendix F Quarterly Survey after Trainings 159

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

8

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1 Stakeholders’ Performance Goals 16
Table 2.1 Assumed Influences for Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Issues 27
Table 2.2 Knowledge Influences on Parent Stakeholder Group 33
Table 2.3 Motivational Worksheet 36
Table 2.4 Assumed Organizational Factors Influencing Parent Stakeholder Group 40
Table 4.1 Participant Information 56
Table 4.2 Sample of Responses to Open-ended Survey Question #10 63
Table 4.3 Survey Responses to ELA Workshop Attendance (Spanish/English sessions) 67
Table 4.4 Phoenix Elementary Parent Involvement Report 68
Table 4.5 Parent Involvement Survey from CGCSD and Phoenix Elementary a 2 Year Span 83
Table 5.1 Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations 88
Table 5.2 Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations 95
Table 5.3 Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations 100
Table 5.4 Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for Internal and External Outcomes 108
Table 5.5 Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation ........................... 109
Table 5.6 Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors ....................................................... 110
Table 5.7 Components of Learning for the Program. ................................................................ 114
Table 5.8 Components to Measure Reactions to the Program 115
Table 5.8 Level One and Two During and Immediately Following Program Implementation 116
Table 5.9 Level one and two during and immediately following the program implementation 118
Table 5.10 Starter Plan to Grow Parental Engagement 121
Table 5.11 Member Checks 124
Table 5.12 Parent Involvement and Student Assessment Data 126
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

9

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 Framework for Understanding Barriers to Universities for ELL and Low SES
Students 40
Figure 4.1 Parent Workshops offered and Parent attendance at Workshops 70
Figure 4.2 Parent Workshops offered at Phoenix Elementary by Content and Parent
Attendance 77
Figure 5.1 Parent Participation Goal and Outcomes: 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 118
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

10

Abstract
This study uses Clark and Estes’s gap analysis framework to evaluate the organizational
measures in place in a K-12 public school aimed at improving student achievement outcomes for
underserved and struggling English language learners who are also of low socioeconomic status.
The purpose was to identify the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that
impact a parent’s ability to engage with their child’s school in an effort to grow their child’s
achievement outcomes as measured by state and federal assessments. The findings and
recommendations from this research provide a model for the development of targeted efforts
for use across other local education agencies (LEA) who serve Latino families in urban areas of
high poverty. The study was comprised of a literature review, interviews, and surveys aimed at
evaluating the parent engagement efforts versus parent involvement practices of our local LEA.
This study identified needs relating to the parent stakeholder with regards to knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences. The most notable findings were a cultural barrier
(knowledge) that exists between the families being served and their own self-efficacy about how
to better support their children during their educational journey. The second notable finding was
an existing motivational barrier within the parent stakeholder group to engage other social
factors to use as models (institutional agents), so as to engage in the actions needed to support
their children into post-secondary institutions. Lastly, the organizational design flaw of not
creating an acute awareness of what agency is and how to leverage social capital like other
cultures that are succeeding do. Using the Kirkpatrick New World Model, this research shared
an analysis and implementation plan.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

11

"There is only one child in the world and the child's name is ALL children".
Carl Sandburg
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Opportunity and achievement gaps are a problem for over 3.2 million students who are
both English language learners (ELL), and of low socio-economic status (SES) in California K-
12 urban public schools. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, Long Term
Trend reports (U.S. Department of Education; NCES, 1978-2012), the total percentage of
Latinos enrolled in California schools rose from 4% in 1978 to 22% in 2012. During that same
period, the African American student enrollment grew by 1% and the White student population
demographic decreased from 83% to 56%. When it comes to achievement data, a huge disparity
in achievement is seen between these demographics. White students achieved results of 76% at
or above basic level, while the combined Hispanic and Black populations only achieved 48%
(Institute of Education Sciences, 2015). The lack of equal access to high quality educational
opportunities for ELLs of low SES prompted lawmakers to seek change in 2011. In a
partnership with the College Board, the California Senate passed SB532 and created the
California Advance Placement Expansion (CAPE) program. CAPE is designed to ensure that all
California K-12 public High schools offer at least five advanced placement (AP) courses (CDE,
2014; College Board, 2014). In California, 50% of students are Latino, and when California’s
ELL and low SES students do not perform at high levels, that effects the likelihood of them
entering college which leads to adverse implications for the entire state.
Persistent Achievement and Opportunity Gaps
Many studies have suggested that there is still a persistent achievement gap for ELL and
low SES students (Porter & Gamoran, 2002; Education Trust, Achievement Gap Newsletter,
2015; Benbow, 2006). Scholars argue that these students perform at lower levels due to an
opportunity gap (Carter, 2013; Milner, 2010). From 1993 to 2015, the number of ELL and low
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

12

SES students grew from 37% of California’s student population to 54%, representing a
significant percent growth in this student demographic area (CDE, 2015). This is a problem
because current literature has suggested that approximately 14% of ELL and low SES students
will drop out of school due to failure to engage in academic advancement (Shaunessy, 2009;
Education Trust; Closing the Achievement Gap Newsletter, 2015).
Citrus Grove City School District (CGCSD), the organization of focus in this study, has
targeted professional development related to research-based 21
st
century teaching and learning
strategies (D’Addario, 2005, Kist, 2015) in order to improve the problem of practice and focus
its efforts specifically on the performance of ELLs and low SES students. Many students in
CGCSD who are low SES are also striving to become first-generation college students, and yet,
they are required to attend the most under-performing schools; this is an equity and access issue
related to a quality education. This problem affects students’ ability to graduate from high
school and matriculate successfully through college to completion (The College Campaign,
2017).
Phoenix Elementary, a school in CGCSD, has the explicit goal of addressing this
problem of practice. By aiding underserved students strategically, through partnerships with
parents, and by raising awareness of important issues in the community, Phoenix Elementary
students may successfully adopt lifelong learning strategies and 21
st
century skills that will help
them to achieve higher performance in academics and success in life.
Organizational Context and Mission
The school organization of focus in this study, Phoenix Elementary, supports the whole
student by focusing on creating nurturing learning environments that extend from the site to the
home. Phoenix Elementary is a school within CGCSD, an elementary school district that spans
TK through 6th grade. CGCSD is located in a diverse Southwestern region of the United States.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

13

In terms of demographics, population subgroups are as follows: 41% White, 35% Latino, 21%
Asian, and 3% Other (US Census, 2015). CGCSD is comprised of 24 schools and 17,500
students. CGCSD has an total student population count of 77% students who are both ELLs and
low SES. Socioeconomically disadvantaged students are identified through the free and reduced
National School Lunch Program (NSLP) established by President Truman in 1946. There are
777 teachers and 48 site administrators.
Citrus Grove’s mission is to provide a high-quality education designed to reach and teach
all students and to prepare them for a bright and promising future in our rapidly changing world.
CGCSD strives to develop in students the qualities of responsibility, confidence, creativity,
enthusiasm, strong academic performance, and social skills for lifelong learning. Phoenix
Elementary school’s vision is to maximize individual potential and ensure students of all ability
levels are well equipped to meet the challenges of education, work, and life.
Organizational Goal
Citrus Grove City School District (CGCSD) is 100% committed to its four Local Control
Accountability Plan (LCAP) goals. The goals are the following: (a) to support academic success
to ensure equal access, (b) to support academic success and prepare students for college and
career, (c) to hire highly effective staff and provide them with the support needed to develop
their abilities, and (d) to encourage and welcome the involvement of parents and the broader
community in the educational process. CGCSD has laid out a three-year LCAP with clearly
articulated state priorities and allocation plans for dedicated funds to ensure goal achievement.
One of the goals directly targets the achievement gap experienced by low SES students who are
also classified as ELLs. Given the clearly articulated goal of increasing student learning to
decrease achievement gaps, this evaluation provides targeted data measuring the efficacy of
current improvement efforts. With a focus on increasing student learning, CGCSD has met with
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

14

various stakeholders on numerous occasions over the last two years to create the action plan
and identify these goals, as well as to dedicate necessary funds to ensure that goal attainment
becomes a reality. Each quarter, clearly outlined goals and deliverables are identified by
CGCSD , and departments that are responsible for ensuring growth and sharing the progress with
stakeholders are identified. CGCSD has endeavored to become fiscally sound, with its students
making substantial growth in their rankings in all academic areas, as measured by state and
federal assessment data by June 2018.
Importance of the Evaluation
It is critically important for CGCSD to evaluate its performance in relation to the goal of
achieving academic parity for ELL and low SES students by June 2018. Not achieving academic
success puts CGCSD in danger of losing schools to charter reformers who seek to take over
school sites within their school boundaries. A lack of academic success has lead to the creation
of unnecessary conflict that distracts the district from its mission. Recently, in 2016, a charter
reformist filed a lawsuit against the district because their charter petition was denied; they also
argued that rights were violated under CA Ed Code 47614 (Parent Trigger Law). However, the
local courts ruled in favor of CGCSD, who proved that they were fulfilling their duty to provide
a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for all students within its boundaries. Yet,
school reformists have continued to challenge the credibility of CGCSD. They continue to
educate parents about their rights including the Parent Trigger Law, whereby parents can reform
their school communities by invoking CA Ed Code 47614 (Ca Legal info, 2015; CDE, 2015).
The problem became worse for CGCSD in April of 2017, when the court of appeals ruled against
it, forcing CGCSD into another legal battle to keep control of their award-winning school site.
Unfortunately, the school was lost by the school district because of reformer efforts. In 2018, the
school will be surrendered to that Charter Group. CGCSD needs to successfully meet their goals
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

15

in order to demonstrate that it is providing a strong academic program, solid supports for
students and families, and the targeted interventions needed for student achievement, as required
by state and federal guidelines in order to avoid losing another school.
Research has suggested that by providing culturally relevant instruction and materials,
targeted interventions, Tier I instruction, and data driven professional development, school
organizations like CGCSD will experience greater student achievement gains (C. Benbow,
2006; Rogers, 2003; Oakes, 1990; D'Addario, 2005). Benbow (2006) asserted that the decline in
student achievement has been decades in the making and that equity issues related to race,
gender, class, and parent education account for about 50% of the decline. CGCSD must account
for equity issues related to these factors when addressing the problem of practice. CGCSD’s
focus should be on the data reflecting growth and achievements made by Latinos. According to
the Advisory Panel on the Scholastic Aptitude Test the overall (1987) composite scores for
Latinos declined in both verbal and math scores from 980 to 890 from 1963 to 1980. With such
pressing performance problems, CGCSD must effectively evaluate current interventions in order
to ensure best practices are in place to reverse the negative performance trend (College Board,
2014).
Description of Stakeholder Groups
While CGCSD’s school board has many responsibilities that impact its organizational
effectiveness, at the forefront of its actions is the LCAP goal to engage parents and community
stakeholders in student learning and the education process. CGCSD employs many means to
generate parent support, signaling the importance of stakeholder engagement. Stakeholder
groups include Parent Teacher Association (PTA), School Site Council (SSC), English Language
Advisory Council (ELAC), teachers, and parent volunteers. All stakeholder groups work toward
finding ways to improve student learning outcomes by offering engaging lessons, funds for
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

16

supplemental services, extra-curricular and enriching activities, as well as afterschool
enrichment and support programs that work towards ensuring academic performance.
Table 1.1
Stakeholders’ Performance Goals
Stakeholder’ Performance Goals
Organizational Mission
Citrus Grove City School District provides a high-quality education designed to reach and teach
all students and to prepare them for a bright and promising future in our rapidly changing world.
We seek to develop student responsibility, confidence, creativity, enthusiasm, and strong
academic and social skills for lifelong learning.
Organizational Performance Goal
By June 2018, underperforming student groups (low SES, ELLs, Hispanic, students with
disabilities, and foster youth) will make progress in meeting grade-level standards and achieve
academic parity.
CGCSD
By July 2018, district
leaders will share out
baseline data and
performance task
rubrics for ELA and
math in District
Common
Assessments (DCA).
Other data will be
shared for content
areas (e.g. science,
history, and social
studies).
School Sites
By June 2018, site
leaders will share
baseline data and
develop a plan with
staff on how to
improve student
outcomes.

Parents
By June 2018, parents
will attend 100% of
their children’s
academic conferences
and will participate in
one home or
community visit.
This will help parents
to share ways that
teachers can better
support their
children’s academic
progress.
Students
By June 2018, students
will develop the quality
of academic grit to
improve their
perseverance. This will
help students to improve
outcomes on formal
assessments.

Stakeholder Group for the Study
Incorporating all stakeholders into the study would require a more detailed analysis then
possible for the purpose of this study. As such it was necessary to select a stakeholder for
analysis that could help to determine how CGCSD could improve its efforts towards reducing the
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

17

achievement gaps for its ELL and low SES population. It was vital, then, for this study, to
direct attention to the parent stakeholder group to evaluate their level of awareness of the
district’s goals for underserved students. Therefore, the stakeholders of focus for this study are
the parent group.
The parents’ stakeholder goal, outlined by CGCSD’s LCAP, is that by June 2018, parents
will attend 100% of their children’s academic conferences and will participate in one home or
community visit. Parent attendance of these events help parents to share ways that teachers can
better support their children’s academic progress. The parent stakeholder group includes
members from PTA, SSC, ELAC, DELAC, and parent volunteer groups. The intended outcome
for parents is that they may learn more about the ways to leverage their voice, and actions to
improve student-learning outcomes. If CGCSD does not improve the learning outcomes for the
over 16,500 students they serve, adverse consequences will follow. According the California
Code of Regulations, sections 4800–4808, struggling school sites can be subject to charter school
takeover under The Parent Empowerment provisions (CDE, 2015). Thus, these efforts to engage
parents in the education process are designed to safeguard students so that they do not miss out
on their right to a quality public education.
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this project was to evaluate the degree to which Citrus Grove City
School District has met its goal of closing the achievement gap of underperforming student
groups through parent engagement. The analysis focused on the parent group’ knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences related to achieving the organizational goals. While a
complete performance evaluation would have focused on all stakeholders, for practical purposes,
the stakeholders of focus for this analysis was the parents of Phoenix Elementary. Under
analysis were possible causes of the achievement gaps students experience in relation to the
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

18

impact of parental support; specifically parent knowledge, motivation, and organizational
components. The analysis began with a generated a list of possible or assumed causes and
proceeded to examine each in order to systematically focus on actual or validated causes.
As such, the questions that guided this study were the following:

1. To what extent has Phoenix Elementary met its goal of increasing parent involvement
to 100% participation, as evidenced by its goal-related strategic actions?
2. What are parents’ knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that interact
with school officials’ efforts to achieve the goal?
3. What do parents recommend in the areas of knowledge, motivation, and
organizational resources and how do they intersect with school officials' efforts to
achieve the organizational goal?
Conceptual and Methodological Framework
A knowledge, motivation, and organizational (KMO) conceptual and methodological
framework is used as outlined by Clark and Estes (2008). The gaps between desired
performance levels and actual levels were analyzed for Citrus Grove City School District. Gap
analysis was used to assessed using data collected from California Assessment of Student
Performance and Progress (CAASSP) data, local formative assessments, California English
Development Test (CELDT), free and reduced lunch (FRL) data, pre-existing organizational
data, interviews, and survey data. Data was collected from federal archives, state archives, Local
Educational Agency (LEA) data servers, interviews, and surveys. Completion of a
comprehensive evaluation resulted in recommendations based on data driven solutions.
Definitions
Achievement Gap: Any significant and persistent disparity in academic performance or
educational attainment (underperformance) between different groups of students, such as
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

19

White students and minorities, for example, or students from higher-income and lower-
income households (Porter & Gamoran, 2002).
CDE: California Department of Education.
ELL: English language learners. A general acronym describing students who are non-native
English speakers (CDE.gov).
Engagement: Is understood as conscientious participation in an activity, working as a change
agent and powerful actor in the school community (Warren, Hong, Rubin, & Uy, 2009).
Low SES: Socio-economic status. A conditional and imposed term used for comparing a group
of students of poverty that are eligible to receive free and reduced lunch (House, et al.
1990).
Involvement (school): The opportunities for parents to interact with each other, with teachers,
and with students (Epstein, 1986).
Pedagogy: The method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical
concept (Saeki, 2015).
Opportunity Gap: Refers to the unequal or inequitable distribution of resources and opportunities
(Milner, 2010).
Racial Socialization: The practice by which families pass down cultural behaviors, values,
religion, attitudes, and expectations to their children based on race (Anello, 2011).
Self-Efficacy: Is defined as a person’s capability to learn or perform a task at a certain level
(Pajares (2009).
Social Capital: Instrumental and supportive academic ties that secure success, and gain access
and mobility within academic institutions (Stanton-Salazar, 1997)

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

20

Organization of the Project
Chapter One provided the reader with the key concepts and terminology commonly found
in a discussion about achievement gaps for students who are ELLs and of low SES. The
organization’s mission, goals, stakeholders, and the framework for the project were introduced.
Chapter Two provides a review of current literature surrounding the scope of the study. Topics
on parental engagement, organizational outreach efforts, and overall student achievement goals
are addressed. Chapter Three details the parent group knowledge, motivation and organizational
influences to be examined, as well as methodology for choice of participants, data collection, and
analysis. In Chapter Four, the data and results are assessed and analyzed. Chapter Five provides
solutions, based on data and literature, for closing the perceived gaps as well as
recommendations for an implementation and evaluation plan for the solutions.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

21

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Chapter Two provides a review of the literature focused on parental involvement. This
section examines the topic of social capital as it relates to the impact it has on families and the
academic outcomes of students from low SES and ELL backgrounds. The chapter begins by
tracing the historically low levels of parent involvement and the national movement to close the
achievement gaps. The second section gauges the impact of low parent involvement, with
meaningful expectations for student achievement. The chapter concludes with a gap analysis
focusing on parental involvement and student achievement, using the three dimensions of
knowledge, motivation, and organization (Clark and Estes, 2008).
Involvement vs Engagement
Understanding the meaning of educational transformation requires analyzing the
distinction between the terms involvement and engagement in educational contexts.
Involvement refers to attending events such as parenting workshops, home-school
communications, volunteering in bake sales, fundraising, shared decision making, and
community collaboration. Engagement, on the other hand, can be understood as conscientious
participation in an activity, working as a change agent and powerful actor in the school
community (Warren, Hong, Rubin, & Uy, 2009).
Barriers to Student Access and Achievement for Latino Students
Four targeted instructional approaches for supporting students have been identified within
the review of research focused on achievement gaps for ELL and low SES students.
Differentiated and focused lessons were found to teach students literacy (Porter & Gamoran,
2002; Education Trust, Achievement Gap Newsletter, 2015; Benbow, 2006). Relevant
instruction that incorporates culturally relevant and sensitive pedagogy is essential to teaching
and learning …(Franco, Ott, Robles, Lindsey, & Graham, 2011). Teaching 21
st
Century learning
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

22

skills such as digital research, multimedia presentations, collaboration, creativity,
communication, critical thinking, etc., increases student achievement (D’Addario, 2005; Kist,
2015). To improve the performance of ELL and low SES students, professional development for
the teacher in literacy is critical (Education Trust, Closing the Achievement Gap Newsletter,
2015; Shaunessy & Mchatton, 2009). The next section of the literature review further examines
these areas in relation to the problem of achievement and access for ELL and SES students in K-
12 public education.
Differentiation of Instruction for Students
All students have the ability to learn. If each student's set of data is analyzed, both
quantitatively and qualitatively, then a clearer picture of student performance is formed with
implications for improved instruction to the benefit of the student (Educational Trust, 2015).
Increased curriculum differentiation for students increases student achievement and decreases the
achievement gap (Porter & Gamoran, 2002). Benbow (2006) found that not all students learn the
same way and that educators should avoid the one-size fits all approach to their planning. As a
nation, to better support student learning, educational systems need to shift their focus to how
students learn and on their specific learning modalities; this should inform teacher lesson
planning (Kist, 2015). When Educators implement a unilateral lesson design, they fail to reach
all students, inadvertently perpetuating the achievement gap (Kist, 2015). Teacher induction or
pre-service programs benefit from strengthening teacher candidate training to further develop
teachers’ awareness of students’ personal learning styles and unique cultural backgrounds
(Oakes, 1990). Educators who adopt a whole-child approach to teaching and who also respect
cultural relevance, with the intention of opening up doors and building bridges to learning for
students, are seeing large-scale results (Rock, 2008). Therefore, teachers benefit from utilizing a
culturally relevant pedagogy that puts students’ needs first.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

23

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
Culturally relevant pedagogy is necessary to engage students in the essence of why and
how they are learning (Franco et al., 2011). Scholars have asserted that society stands to benefit
from instruction and learning that stems from a culturally relevant lens (Carter, 2013). Student
demographics of those who attend school are different across the country. The makeup of who is
in the classroom and who is teaching them is also different. If equitable outcomes are the goal,
then schools need to be about "all" students and they must approach teaching with the awareness
that disparities exist and not approach the need for diversity in instruction as a charity effort
(Franco et al., 2011). The US Department of Education states that 83% of teachers are White,
8% Black, 6%, Latino, and 3% other. Yet, current student demographics do not match; they are
much more diverse. Fifty-six percent of students are classified as White, 20% Latino, 17%
Black, 5% Asian, and 2% other (U.S. Department of Education, 2007). To truly teach the whole
child and assist them in making educational connections, students need to see and hear about
their cultural connections from those who have similar backgrounds and who can empathize with
them (Franco et al., 2011).
Education frameworks are in constant need of calibration and direction, especially when
building a high-quality instructional program that supports ELL and SES students at all levels of
learning. Through the process of supporting all students in their academic endeavors, effective
teachers redesign their approach towards instruction because they can see from the qualitative
data the need to adjust their instruction. Milner (2010) detailed this approach as having a
context-neutral mindset. The examples given by teachers to minority students are what change;
these connections to their student are what change (Milner, 2010). When teachers do not adapt
their examples and help students to make connections, students find themselves alienated during
instruction because the content is culturally irrelevant; instructional mismatches occur between
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

24

discussions with students and lessons (Milner, 2010). Milner (2010) found that since the
majority of teachers nationwide are White yet the majority of students in urban public schools
are non-White, this difference of experiences perpetuates the learning gap and stunts the
academic and social growth of students. This includes both the best and struggling students.
Thus, to best support ELL and SES students, the architect of their learning, the teacher, must
perform at high levels.
21
st
Century Teaching and Learning
The current teaching population must shift their pedagogy to align with 21
st
Century
learning. Today’s newest teachers are still the byproduct of practices and pedagogy that came
from 20th Century approaches. Kist’s (2015) research findings highlighted the following. First,
the current teaching population and its’ protégés are all still accustomed to the more orthodox
style of teaching with limited technology and the sage on the stage approach. Teachers are still
too anti-tech and not tech savvy to fully unleash the learning potential of all students. In a study,
70% of participating teachers reported that they were anti-tech and not tech savvy; researchers
observed that these teachers were not able to differentiate student access to digital resrouces
within the curriculum effectively to unleash the learning potential of the students (Kist, 2015).
Second, 21st Century education requires the support of adults for modeling to students.
D’Addario (2005) argued that implementation can happen and teachers will buy-in if there is
strong and consistent administrative support. Low income students and students of color are
having success, but only when schools are organized for them to be successful (Educational
Trust, 2015).
Currently, there is a need to revamp efforts to better train and support teachers, so as to
eliminate this gap and promote learning across the spectrum. According to Molle (2013), the
American educational system will run into pitfalls if we only focus on instructional strategies,
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

25

and not on the other factors that affect student needs. The education world now has the charge
and responsibility to highlight the needs, keep an open mind, remove institutional barriers, and
develop students so as to provide them with the opportunity to learn at the highest level (Franco
et al., 2011).
Relevant Professional Development
Marsh and Farrell (2015) found that staff development coming from the top is not being
well disseminated; it is seen as counterproductive due to initiatives that are not student centered
or sustainable. Professional development for K-12 education staff is neither cohesive or
coherent, nor aimed at improving pedagogy, but instead at curricular outcomes (Shaunessy &
Mchatton, 2009). Research has suggested the clear need to create a cohesive blueprint for the
implementation and tracking of professional development so that it always adheres to the
principles of our nation's educational beliefs (Education Trust, Closing the Achievement Gap,
2015). The idea that professional development can be delivered throughout the year and
streamlined so that all students achieve at their levels is tethered to Data Driven Decision
Making (DDDM), but the vision forecasting has to start at the top and the training needs to be
consistent (Marsh & Farrell, 2015). Growing teacher capacity by improving data mining skills,
content knowledge, and instructional knowledge so as to connect the gap between identified
problems and the best pedagogical approach will allow for sustainable growth and teacher
practice as supports are removed (Marsh & Farrell, 2015). Professional development that is
designed around multiple approaches to lesson designed with a varied approach will create a
wave of teacher planning that takes teacher pedagogy and student learning to a new level (Saeki,
2015). According to Milner (2010) students and staff alike have a need to want to be successful,
but it is not until they see the students for who they truly are that they can begin to have the
intended impact. Current research has suggested that professional development initiatives aimed
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

26

at improving literacy can increase the performance of both the teacher and student when
learning styles are used that meet student needs (Rogers, Fullerton, & DeFord, 2003). However,
there are multiple factors that affect a district’s ability to improve teacher pedagogical capacities,
including the societal influencers on the students and families that they serve.
Clark and Estes’ (2008) Organizational Problem-Solving Framework
Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis framework was used in the study to analyze and
address performance problems related to parent stakeholder group knowledge, motivation, and
organization support. According to Clark and Estes (2008), knowledge informs people’s actions
and comes from their experiences; motivation influences the choices people make, gets them
going, keeps them moving, and determines how much effort is spent. Motivation involves three
facets to guide performance: active choice, persistence, and mental effort. Organization support
is heavily impacted by culture, resources, and values. Gaps between desired performance levels
and actual levels were analyzed for Citrus Grove City School District. Gap analysis was used to
assess data collected from CAASPP, Local Formative Assessments, CELDT, pre-existing
organizational systems, interviews, and surveys data. Data was collected from federal archives,
state archives, local LEA data servers, interviews, and surveys. Solutions driven by research
were evaluated are recommended in Chapter Five following a comprehensive analysis.
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences
The KMO stakeholder gaps covered are limited to the involvement of parents of ELL and
low SES students. Limited parental knowledge can affect improvement efforts focused on
students’ educational journey. The limited efforts on the part of the school organization to create
systems that allow for a richer and deeper level of parental involvement can also be detrimental
to student success. Table 2.1 is a summary of the assumed KMO influences to be discussed in
detail for the parent stakeholder group in the following sections.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

27

Table 2.1
Assumed Influences for Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Issues
Assumed Influences on Performance
Sources Knowledge Motivation Organization
Learning and
Motivation
Theory

● Parents need to see
the standards in both
math and English
Language Arts
(ELA) as well as
know the average
score and where
their school or
district scored on
standardized tests.
● Parents need to see
where English
language learner
(ELL) students
score historically on
CA English
Language
Development Test
(CELDT) and what
not passing means.
● Parents need to
attend school events
and trainings to
enhance their
understanding of
how to better assist
their children in
school.
● Parents need to
understand the value
of attending school
events.
● Parents need to be
active on school
committees, as
contributors by
voting, and by being
aware of site
initiatives.
● Utility Value: Parents
of English Language
Learners (ELLs) need
to see the value in
participating in
quarterly school wide
functions that
improve their child’s
efforts in school and
future planning.
● Attributions: Parents
should feel that their
child’s low academic
performance is partly
due to their own
limited effort at
establishing a home
to school connection,
rather than it only
being their child’s
lack of effort.
Parents also need to
grow their social
capital connections to
include successful
families in similar
situations.
● Self-Efficacy: Parents
of EL learners need
to believe that they
are capable of
effectively supporting
their children through
K-12 and into
College. Connecting
with their church and
school (social capital)
will aide in growing
their self-efficacy.
● Cultural Model
Influence 1: The
organization needs to
create a more conducive
environment for families
to feel welcomed and in
turn, become more
involved in school
activities (e.g. parent
conferences, homework
help, afterschool and
during school events).
● Cultural Setting
Influence 1: Parents
need to attend as many
trainings as possible
and not become
overwhelmed by the
content and amount of
trainings offered at the
school.
● Cultural Setting
Influence 2: Parents
and teachers are
limited to training
opportunities with
successful
organizations that
encompass other
relevant stakeholders
who have integrated
effective parent
engagement practices
with observable gains
in student achievement
(growing social
capital).

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

28

Related
Literature

● Parent and family-
based interventions
that examine child
behavior problems
from a combination
of socio-economic
and health beliefs
(declarative
conceptual).
● Parents of English as
second language
students and how to
encourage them to
participate
(declarative factual).
● Families of English
language learners
(ELL) need to
understand the
importance of home-
school partnerships
in a high school
community
(declarative
conceptual).
● Family members
need to learn that
their perceptions are
keeping them from
supporting their
children’s academic
success
(metacognitive).
● Parents need to learn
engagement and
barriers to
participation in a
community-based
preventive
intervention
(procedural).
● Latino parents will
develop a strong
connection to their
children’s limited
academic growth in an
effort to pull them out
of that learning gap by
calling on their school,
church, and family
members to assist and
streamline their
efforts.
● Parents will develop a
strong sense of self-
efficacy (via trainings)
in their ability to
support their children
in school.
● Families will need to
develop an acute
awareness of the value
of participating in
their children’s
educational endeavors
by visiting and
establishing
partnerships with
groups that promote
and work with
universities.
● Need to develop systems
that allow for
transparent interactions
between stakeholders
during feedback.
● Organizational leaders
model interactions and
expectations like
institutional agents who
work to move
communities towards
advancement.
● Support of stakeholders
and their growth is
necessary for cultural
change. Schools need to
act as institutional
agents and work toward
involving families in the
educational process.
● Activities designed
explicitly with change in
mind need to be created
at the organizational
level; these include
university partnerships
that promote the student
beyond K-12.

Knowledge and Skills
Parent involvement at school events and with school procedures is important. Lack of
involvement is a staggering problem and research has shown that when well-coordinated efforts
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

29

are exercised, parental involvement can be successful (Cooper, 2015; Dillman, 1999). In this
section of the literary review, the focus is on the knowledge-related influences that are pertinent
to the achievement of ELLs and low SES and their families. This section will begin by
analyzing the reviewed literature in terms of the type of knowledge that is described as essential
for parents if they are to participate in the education process. ELLs and their families need to
know that the school is an extension of the home (Dillmanm, Carpentier, Mauricio, Gonzales,
Millsap, and Meza, 1999; Dumka & Genalo, 2007).
Knowledge influences. There are four types of knowledge influences: declarative
(factual and conceptual), procedural, and metacognitive. Declarative knowledge explains the
what and procedural knowledge is related to how things work (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009).
Metacognitive knowledge is the awareness of and knowledge about one's own cognition
(Krathwohl, 2002). Thus, knowledge influences include facts, procedures, concepts, strategies,
and beliefs (Mayer, 2011). Knowing these four learning types will help parents to decrease the
knowledge gap that exists in our problem of practice. Developing this knowledge and associated
skills will in essence, allow for a growth in actionable decisions made by parents in underserved
minority districts.
Declarative knowledge influences. Research conducted by Schraw & McCrudden
(2006) suggested that individuals need help to connect older knowledge to new knowledge. If
we use their prior knowledge to construct meaning, the parent stakeholder group will see what
their role should look like and make the necessary adjustments. Cassity and Harris (2000)
explained that culturally, parents of low SES and ELL students disengage due to deeply rooted
feelings of inadequacy, because they themselves underperformed while in school.
Acknowledging this perception opens people to seeing that they have language issues to contend
with. Additional challenges related to childcare, economic disparity, multiple jobs, low sense of
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

30

self-worth, and transportation must also be overcome. Cassity and Harris (2000) concluded
that if school districts expand their services, embrace cultural differences, support families by
offering classes that range in services related to health, social issues, and positive discipline, then
families can shift their mindset to see schools as a true extension of their home worthy of
engagement.
Parent stakeholder groups require extensive supports, most likely due to families having
multiple educational levels represented in the same household. Families from low SES
backgrounds often have children in K-6 settings, as well as in middle and high school. Their
attention tapers off after a few years of support due to economical restrictions (Cooper, 2015).
Cooper (2015) stated that schools must build better partnerships with low SES families at the
high school level. Each local education agency (LEA) component that addresses parent
involvement, such as the District English Language Advisory Committee (DELAC), needs to go
through a rebirth where awareness and true buy-in takes place so that all stakeholders understand
their role and the impact that they can truly have. Orientation days and parent handbooks need
not only be filled with operational materials, but should be tailored to all subgroup populations to
create a sense of belonging and to foster a true partnership (Cooper, 2015). LEA’s that are
lacking parental involvement need to start quantifying their efforts. Suggested strategies include
tracking the number of parents that attend events, establish benchmark goals for growth in those
areas, and recognize the families for starting and continuing their involvement, and calling
families to thank them for attending school events (Cooper, 2015). These events should have
elements of self-reflection and recognition for successes. There should also be opportunities to
learn, via workshops, from others with upper classmates as children. When schools manage to
create these events, spread the learning, and increase the sense of validity in the learning, they
are truly influencing the student at a core level.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

31

Procedural knowledge influences. According to Rueda (2011), procedural knowledge
is the process of knowing how to do something, a task-specific knowledge. There is a certain
procedural knowledge needed by parent groups to address and achieve goals, such as home-
based interventions (Anello, 2011). Every family wants to produce an academically successful
child. To do so requires certain procedures and safeguards to be enacted. Families need to do
their part. Each LEA has interventions they can enact. If the partnership were to work, then the
two would focus on environmental factors that hinder success, such as family composition, SES,
and parenting stress (Anello, 2011). These three are precursors to behavior issues that impede
learning. According to Anello (2011), there are solutions available: families need to strategically
engage in racial socialization as this will lead to increased resiliency and higher self-esteem.
Racial socialization is the practice by which families pass down cultural behaviors, values,
religion, attitudes, and expectations to their children based on race. Sometimes these are subtle
and at other times very overt practices. Topics discussed can stem from social class, educational
prowess, to order and to racial and social hierarchy. Each year, California students who are
ELLs are given the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) that dictates the
level of supports they will receive in English from their school and district. Racial socialization
is at play in that, if parent knowledge about the CELDT is developed deeply, parents will be able
to provide home-based supports (Anello, 2011). Not passing also has implications for students at
all levels. Equally important is to have multiple levels of support in place that incorporate the
whole family unit such as family friends and spiritual advisors (Simoes de Carvalho, 2006). By
attending school and district trainings, parents can develop these procedural knowledge
influences. Development of procedural knowledge influences will help families and LEA’s
complete vital steps toward achieving mutual goals, such as achievement scores on standardized
tests in Math and Language Arts. Parents need to see what the standards are in both math and
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

32

English language arts (ELA), as well as know the average score and where their school or
district has fallen on Standardized test scores. Parent trainings are where the parents’ knowledge
base grows and the student supports widen (Loera, Rueda, & Nakamoto, 2011)
Metacognitive knowledge influence. When individuals are keenly aware of what they
are doing, thinking, experiencing and feeling at a consciously deep level, and within their own
minds, they are in a true metacognitive state (Krathwohl, 2002). Not all families think the same
way, nor will they react as expected to the same stimuli (Nordstrom, 2004). Since districts
working with low SES and ELL families are struggling with getting strong parent engagement, it
is more critical now than ever to implement as many programs and experiences that allow
families to reflect on their roles and how their children can grow academically (Mendez,
Carpenter, LaForett, & Cohen, 2009). Nordstrom’s (2004) research highlights a key finding that
to improve parent engagement, schools must try to understand the importance of parental
cognition and how it serves as a key predictor of the level of the stakeholder’s engagement.
Table 2.2 shows the breakdown of the knowledge influences and key elements needed to
carry out such an ambitious plan for the parent group at Phoenix Elementary. It clearly outlines
the knowledge influences, knowledge types, and the ways to assess parent knowledge needed to
achieve the desired goals.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

33

Table 2.2
Knowledge Influences on Parent Stakeholder Group
Knowledge Influence
Assumed Knowledge
Knowledge Type Knowledge Influence
Assessment
Literature suggests parents
need to see what the
standards are in both math
and English language arts
(ELA), as well as know the
average score and where
their school or district
landed on standardized test
scores.
Declarative
(Factual)
Parents were asked to
identify the ELA and math
strands where their child
scored the lowest.
Compared them to state and
district averages on CST’s.
Research has suggested that
parents need to see where
English language learner
(ELL) students score
historically on the CA
English Language
Development Test
(CELDT) and the
consequences of not
passing this assessment.
Declarative
(Factual)
Parents were asked to
identify practices they could
engage in to support their
child, as well as what
practicing for proficiency
means.
Research has suggested that
parents need to attend
school events and training
meetings to enhance their
understanding of how to
better assist their children
in school.
Procedural

Parents were asked how
often they attended school
events/meetings. As well as
what options on attendance
dates and times to
accommodate their schedules
were available.
Literature has suggested
parents need to understand
the value of attending
school events.
Declarative
(Conceptual)
Parents were asked to
participate in workshops
centered on the values of
involvement, as well as leave
feedback on best available
times for follow up
meetings.
Parents need to be, and will
be active on school
committees, as contributors
by voting and being aware
Meta-cognitive Parents were asked to
participate in Surveys to
assess their level of
awareness on district policies
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

34

of site initiatives if their
time and date needs are
met.
and the positive impact
involvement entails.

Motivation
Mayer (2011) asserted that motivation is an internal state and if individuals’ interests and
beliefs are stimulated, then they will set up plans to achieve their goals. In the following section,
the influence of utility value and self-efficacy is discussed.
Utility value theory. The utility value theory states that one must first find value and
enjoyment in the task, if one expects to invest long term in the actions needed to attain the
rewards (Eccles, 2006). Self-efficacy is belief in one’s ability to perform a behavior; expectancy
is the belief that the behavior will produce a specific outcome. The value of the expected
outcome influences whether an individual wants to take action. Eccles (2006) explained that
utility value is understood as the worth related to how a task fits into an individual's goals or
plans. No value results in no goal attainment (Eccles, 2006).
Parents of low SES and ELL students. A parent of an ELL or low SES student will
benefit from partnering with their child’s school. It is not enough to simply understand the value
of parental involvement; engagement is what is required to capitalize on the learning
opportunities. Lack of parent involvement is related to low student achievement (Bower &
Griffin, 2011). Research has suggested that it is not enough to state that parental support and
involvement assist in student achievement, but instead one needs to commit to making
movements in the direction of parent trainings to facilitate that empowerment (Bower & Griffin,
2011). Correlational research has demonstrated that parental involvement is an effective strategy
that can ensure success for lower SES and ELL students and increase academic performance
(Barnard, 2004). When parents demonstrate that they value their children’s educational
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

35

experiences, a valuable statement is made and students respond by rising to the occasion.
Self-efficacy. Pajares (2006) explained that self-efficacy beliefs are the self-perceptions
that individuals hold about their capabilities. When confronted with new challenges or
opportunities, individuals will make judgments about their own internal beliefs and about what
they perceive themselves to be able to accomplish. Social cognitive theory (SCT) states that
self-efficacy affects not only individuals, but groups, too. Individuals are agents of change and
they can help determine, even set, outcomes. Through the provision of the right incentives,
individuals move to action, change happens, and environments become affected (Bandura,
2000). It is important to recognize, then, that self-efficacy is both a personal and a social
construct that can be developed in others such as in parent groups (Pajares, 2006).
Parents of low SES and ELL students. A low SES and ELL parent’s self-efficacy
needs to be determined or even explored when we begin to make efforts to bring them into the
world of academia. Pajares (1993) explained that parent-training programs were available, but
participation was low due to a lack of awareness and motivation. This was attributed to the low
self-efficacy of the parent agent and the need for training on where and how to engage that
stakeholder group to enact and create change agents (Pajares, 2006). Parents are not always
aware of their impact on how their child learns, but they need to recognize that their children’s
results are directly correlated to how much they support and participate in their child’s education.
Another cause for lack of parent participation is the failure to address the socio-cultural context
needed to help minority groups (Armenta, 1993). Research results have shown that parents
valued their community agents, that is, their teachers, doctors, social workers, and clergy,
especially when they took the time to personally promote participation in the community as a
whole (Armenta, 1993). The low SES and ELL family will not always lead in their child’s
education, but when given training and access to training that is filled with purpose, they stay
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

36

faithful to their commitments. The goal needs to be about developing partnerships and to
solidify that bond. This is opposed to the top down school organization approach that is
currently practiced by many LEA’s that affect Latino families such as morning meetings that
limit attendance, vernacular that is unclear and without context, and meetings at distant district
offices not within walking distance.
Table 2.3 outlines the specific motivational factors that are aimed at affecting and
supporting the parent stakeholder goal centered on parental involvement to improve student-
learning outcomes within CGCSD. Column one describes the motivational influences that
impact parents of low SES and ELL students in terms of their self-efficacy and utility value.
Column two describes what methods were used to assess the parent stakeholder’s utility value,
attributions, and self-efficacy in an effort to improve student learning outcomes and home to
school partnerships.
Table 2.3
Motivational Worksheet
Assumed Motivation Influences Motivational Influence Assessment
Utility Value: Parents of English language
learners (ELLs) need to see the value in
participating in quarterly school wide
functions that improve their child’s efforts in
school and future planning.

Written survey item:
“During the school year you were
offered a variety of parenting classes at
your school to promote and improve
your child’s learning. How much did
each of the following sessions help you
in your efforts to support your child?”
Attributions: Parents should feel that their
child’s low academic performance is partly
due to their own limited effort at establishing
a home to school connection, rather than it
only being their child’s lack of effort.

Written survey item:
“Please rate the level of change in your
ability to help your child at home with
learning after participating in parenting
classes at your school during the 2015-2016
school year.”
Self-Efficacy: Parents of ELLs need to
believe they are capable of effectively
supporting their children in K-12 and into
Written survey item:
“I feel confident about my ability to
effectively support my child in K-12 and
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

37

college. into college” (Strongly disagree- strongly
agree).
Interview item:
“How do you feel about your ability to
effectively support your child in K-12
and into college.”

Organizational Influences
Both knowledge and motivation influences include barriers that are not stand-alone
barriers. The last barrier treated in this section involves analyzing the organizational influences
that contribute to performance gaps in student achievement and gaps in participation for the
parent stakeholder group at CGCSD. For CGCSD to fulfill its goals, the organization will need
to take a strong foothold on its internal processes and perceived cultural issues (Clark and Estes,
2008).
General theory. Studies have shown that organizations and site leaders can be more
effective at enabling organizational change when there is a balance between the needs for change
and the existing culture of an organization. Researchers found an effective leadership strategy
for working internally in the area of organizational influence: identifying the levels of culture
that are prevalent in an organization (Schein, 2010). When organizations assess the functionality
of the assumptions made at certain levels they are able to gain insight into the root causes that
inhibit growth. For example, in a study on the organizational culture of innovation, the Ciba
Geigy Company needed help to create a climate for innovation; they wrote memos to managers
that they believed were helpful in describing innovations and presented additional ideas. They
learned that the memos were rarely passed on to the appropriate staff (Schein, 2010). After
digging deeper into the cultural issues and moving away from assumptions, leaders can learn that
culture and leadership are two sides of the same coin; neither can be understood by itself. Thus,
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

38

in an effort to deal with the anxiety that is born from organizational culture, both concepts,
leadership and culture, can be approached to enact organizational growth (Schein, 2010.)
Organizational growth requires leaders to model what is expected from all stakeholders in
terms of collaboration, non-judgment, acceptance, and innovation. When stakeholders see
leaders engaging in growth mindset thinking and behavior, they are more willing to take on that
mindset. Through collaborative leadership, leaders and stakeholders can build relationships to
foster organizational growth. Researchers have found that while culture is always present and
deeply ingrained in an organization, climate can change with leadership practices (Schneider,
Brief, & Guzzo, 1996). When a new leader comes into an organization, he or she benefits from
being able to see and feel the cultural strengths and weaknesses present. This facilitates rapport
building with followers and stakeholders.
Stakeholder-specific influences. Research has shown that when site leaders employ the
concepts brought forth by Total Organizational Control (T.O.C.) model, there is a greater effect
on organizational growth. Leadership can help set a new tone and adjust the climate of an
organization through effectively incorporating the three elements of TOC: human potential,
sociotechnical philosophy, and total quality philosophy (Schneider et al., 1996). Even as leaders
engage in TOC for organizational reform, their management duties cannot be neglected or it will
create a distraction from the change. Human potential philosophies known as organizational
development theory (OD) are anchored in the following assumptions: people desire to grow and
will be creative if given opportunities; they value interpersonal interactions with peers and
supervisors; they long for trust and support (Schneider, 1996). This principle encourages
leadership and stakeholders alike to engage in cooperative work aimed at improving the
organization. Socio-technical philosophy is a potential influence on an organization because it
effectively integrates social and technical aspects of work (Schneider, 1996). Too often,
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

39

organizations are ambitious about the individual at the head of the organization and his or her
leadership capability; it is a moot point to believe one will have all components and part of the
sub culture requiring change. Total quality philosophy (TQP) is also a potential influence on the
organization because it emphasizes broad changes and activities focused on organizational
change; it involves pre, mid, and post-planning, and high-quality training based on high
expectations. TQP also recognizes the need for leadership to act transparently. TQP openly
looks for and identifies weak management and calls for change as needed, especially when there
are clogs in the system causing slow growth (Schneider, 1996). TOC can be achieved and
functions when all facets are enabled. However, it does not come without a caveat—
organizational change requires leadership to strike a balance between management and
leadership to support all stakeholders (Lashway, 2002).
Table 2.4 focuses on specific organizational factors that are affecting overall student
achievement and organizational growth. It is believed that these organizational factors are
influencing the goal centered on the school’s culture of parental involvement to improve student-
learning outcomes within CGCSD. Column one describes the assumed organizational influences
that affect site leaders and their work towards supporting parents. Column two describes the
assessment methods used to assess the school site leader’s creation of culture, efforts, and
practices focused on improving student learning outcomes and home to school partnerships.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

40

Table 2.4
Assumed Organizational Factors Influencing Parent Stakeholder Group
Assumed Organizational Influences Organizational Influence Assessment
Cultural Model Influence One: The
organization needs to create a more
conducive environment for families to
feel welcomed so that they become more
involved in school activities (e.g. parent
conferences, homework help, afterschool
and during school events).
Survey or interview questions about how
often parents can be, and are, involved.
Cultural Setting Influence One: Parents
need to attend as many trainings as
possible and not become overwhelmed by
the content and amount of training offered
at the school.
Survey or interview questions about the
value and benefits of family involvement
activities and feelings of being
overwhelmed.
Cultural Setting Influence Two: There are
no role models within the low SES or
ELL community who are having
successes leading to improved student
achievement because of having high
family involvement.
Survey or interview questions about
knowing other sites they could turn to ask
how they have improved student
achievement and have high family
involvement.

Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ KMO
The purpose of a conceptual framework, according to Maxwell (2013), is to present a
visual representation that describes the systems and concepts, assumptions, beliefs, expectations
and theories that the research is going to describe. Though the diagram has variables that may
appear to be in isolation, the variables are actually interrelated and connected. In the following
concept map, I list the variables of social capital (family, classmates, home, church, school
system), univeLrsity (i.e. the end-goal) along with other challenges that impact Latino families.
Also added are influencers that have deeply connected root causes and are intertwined in the
research of English Language Learners of low socioeconomic status.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

41

Figure 2.1 Framework for Understanding Barriers to University Entrance for ELL and Low SES
Students.
The concept map begins by identifying the individual and his or her challenges as an ELL
of low SES trying to enter the university. Often, such students do not have successful college
graduates who have already paved the way towards higher education as role models in their
circle of influence. The individual may face with criticism because unlike the older siblings,
they are not working and contributing to the family monetarily. Since the family is so consumed
by the high costs of living, the need to have multiple jobs is high, making being involved in
school a low priority. If the individual and the family members would take the time to learn and
see that education is the answer, they would come to realize that they need to push away these
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

42

obstacles and not perpetuate them. If the individuals impacted could see these efforts made,
they could plan and make strides in their own learning and achievement. The student’s
educational and social capital may also be limited. People in their personal sphere offer little to
no influence to affect a university-going mindset. The goal would be to help the members of
their church, their friends, and schools create a university-going expectation and to encourage
students, children, and parishioners into thinking long-term towards their futures . The
universities are also do not work to help students to fulfill their full potential. They need to
create better outreach programs and finance the efforts needed to promote their institutions
within the larger population of diverse students. Once they produce graduates, they should steer
them into becoming Institutional Agents to serve as mentors and sources of inspiration. They
will then be able to create and foster academic ties in an effort to secure success, and gain access
and mobility within academic institutions (Stanton-Salazar, 1997) (O). All of these factors are
related and can be adjusted and or leveraged in an effort to make student achievement a reality
for ELL students of low SES.
Conclusion
The literature review examined the assumed influences of knowledge, motivational
beliefs, and organizational models and settings that lead to achievement gaps for students who
are ELLs and of low SES. The research showed the potential positive impact of parent
involvement on student success. Additional research literature identified the preliminary efforts
needed for ELL and low SES students to have academic success. Lastly, the chapter provided an
explanatory gap analysis showing root causes of performance problems related to student success
and parental involvement using knowledge, motivation, and organization influences. In the
following section, Chapter Three, the study’s methodology is discussed in relation to answering
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

43

the research questions, including the choice of study site, participants, sample size and
criterion, and means for data collection and analysis.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

44

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
Chapter Three discusses the methodology for the study related to examining the KMO
influences upon the parent stakeholder group at Phoenix Elementary. The choice of study site,
participants, sample size and criterion, instrumentation, and data collection and analysis were
determined using a mixed methods approach. The three main questions that guided this study
were the following:
1. To what extent has Phoenix Elementary met its goal of increasing parent involvement
to 100% participation, as evidenced by its goal-related strategic actions?
2. What are parents’ knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that interact
with school officials’ efforts to achieve the goal?
3. What are parents’ recommendations in the areas of knowledge, motivation, and
organizational resources that interact with school officials' efforts to achieve the goal?
At the conclusion of this chapter, the researcher provides a pattern of occurrences based on the
data analysis.
Site and Participant Selection
The stakeholder population of focus was the parents from CGCSD’s Phoenix Elementary
School. Phoenix Elementary was chosen due to the fact that it had the needed demographics
being researched: parents of ELLs of low SES. At Phoenix Elementary 75% of students are
ELLs and greater than 75% come from low SES backgrounds.
The criteria for determining the site of study was the following: parents were needed
whose children were classified as ELL and low SES. The rationale behind the criteria was to
reflect the demographics of parent participants experiencing the problem of practice. Surveys
were done using simple random cluster sampling of 50 parent participants. Random sampling
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

45

gave everyone who was eligible to participate in the survey a fair chance of selection (Fink,
2013).
Survey Sampling Criterion and Rationale
The participants were current parents of students at Phoenix Elementary within Citrus
Grove City School District. It was important to use a school that has high levels of students who
are both ELL and SES. During the interview, there were additional questions to gauge if parents
had college and high school aged children in the home in order to determine the levels of family
success and parental involvement.
Survey Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale
There was one sampling strategy applied in this research survey. Families were
randomly sampled using a random stratified sample. This stratified sampling approach,
according to Maxwell (2013), allows the researcher to select each member of the population at
random and establish particular comparisons to illuminate the reasons for differences between
settings or individuals.
To start the process, hundreds of families received a personalized recruitment letter
inviting them to visit for a quick survey. Phone calls were made to follow-up until 50 parents
showed up to sign the consent form and take the survey. The goal was to have equal parts of the
criterion met. This allowed for the participants in this research study to better paint the picture of
how they engage in their child’s education, where their motivation lies, and what the
organization can do to improve student achievement outcomes as mentioned in the conceptual
framework.
Interview Sampling Criterion and Rationale
The participants were current parents of students at Phoenix Elementary within Citrus
Grove City School District (CGCSD). Upon completion of the survey while on the site,
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

46

convenience sampling was used whereby parents were invited to return at a later date to
participate in the interview process. This added more insight into the research as outlined in the
conceptual framework research questions.
Interview Group Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale
Convenience sampling was used for this research. According to Maxwell (2013),
convenience sampling allows the researcher to have easy access to individuals who can
participate in the study. All participants were parents of a student who were both an ELL and of
low SES at Phoenix Elementary. This approach allowed the data to be more targeted and less
random. After the first round of data collection was completed based on the surveys,
approximately four weeks later, five families who shared that they were willing to be
interviewed were invited back. The interviews were conducted in both Spanish and English
according to the parent’s choice. The participation goal was set and met at five families. This
data set was round two and started once all surveys were in.
Data Collection and Instrumentation
A qualitative research approach was used to better understand why ELLs who are of low
SES struggle to achieve academically (Creswell, 2014). Surveys and interviews were used to
assess the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences experienced by the parent
stakeholder. Interviews were used to evaluate the levels of impact that these influences are
having on the family stakeholders, relevant to achieving the parental involvement goal designed
to improve student outcomes. An empathetic approach was used to gauge how the families
interacted culturally with the school and organization. Parents of students were chosen using a
random stratified sampling based on the demographic status of being an ELL and of low SES.
These identified students’ families were invited to campus, a neutral setting, to take a random
survey of 15 questions using a hard copy.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

47

Surveys
According to Fink (2013), surveys are data collection methods that are used to describe,
compare, or explain individual and or societal characteristics in knowledge, feelings, values,
preferences, and even behaviors. A survey was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the
organizational programs, with the goal to potentially grow perceptions and people's attitudes
about CGCSD and to improve the student achievement levels of the student population. The
survey was translated literally and contextually into Spanish so that the families could answer
them comfortably and to the best of their knowledge. Answers were interpreted and triangulated
with other native Spanish speakers. There were 10 items to choose from on a paper survey and
each item helped to determine the roles and responsibilities that befall families with ELL and
low SES students at home. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) asserted that validity and reliability are
concerns that need to be approached with great care and consideration. These surveys were
conducted, analyzed, and interpreted in English to Spanish as well as contextual. The findings
about how well CGCSD is doing with regards to getting parents involved and engaged in their
children’s education was presented to participants, after having shared with other colleagues, to
assure honesty and trustworthiness to account for any biases that might affected the findings
(Maxwell, 2013).
Interviews
The sample for interviews was determined using convenience sampling as suggested by
Creswell (2014). Interviews were conducted with a subset of parents drawn from the survey
group. Each family that was willing to participate was interviewed during a single visit for
approximately one hour. Interviews were semi-formal and were conducted in-person using the
interview protocol found in Appendix B. The semi-structured interviews allowed for the
extrapolation of richer and more organic data. Also, the structure allowed for the data to flow
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

48

and for answers to form based on the questions. The core questions were aligned to the
research questions, while the follow-up questions allowed the interview to take on a form of its
own, diving deeper into the heart of why parents did or did not want to participate at the same
levels in order to ensure their children succeeded in school.
Data Analysis
Frequencies or trace measures were calculated for responses. The frequencies of
responses from stakeholders who strongly agreed or agreed were presented in relation to those
who strongly disagreed or disagreed (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Due to the highly interactive
nature of this investigation, the qualitative analysis was contextually defined (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016).
A descriptive statistical analysis was conducted once all survey results were submitted.
For interviews and observations, data analysis began during data collection. Analytic memos
were written after each interview and each observation made during the entire process. Thoughts
and reflections, concerns, and initial conclusions about the data in relation to the conceptual
framework and research questions were all documented. Interviews were transcribed and coded
during the first phase of analysis. Phase two consisted of open coding, looking for empirical
codes, and applying a priori codes from the conceptual framework. A third phase of analysis
was conducted where empirical and a priori codes were aggregated into analytic, axial codes. In
the fourth phase of data analysis, pattern codes were identified; themes emerged in relation to the
conceptual framework and study questions. The final stage consisted of analyzing documents
and organizational artifacts, including tracking sheets for parent involvement hours from Phoenix
Elementary and CGCSD, for evidence consistent with the concepts in the conceptual framework
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

49

Credibility and Trustworthiness
The purpose of this qualitative research study at CGCSD’s Phoenix Elementary was to
determine the level of family involvement needed for an ELL student of low SES to show strong
academic growth in his/her standardized assessments as measured by local, state, and federal
assessments, as well as to determine if Phoenix Elementary was creating the environment and
systems that promote academic achievement for students. ELL students entering school are
doing so with gaps in social capital and limited awareness of the American educational systems
that lead to college matriculation. IES (2013) also found that the ELL and low SES student
entered school with huge oral language vocabulary deficits. Local education agencies (LEA’s)
are aware of this challenge and are falling short in closing the opportunity gap for students.
Merriam (2016) stressed that the primary investigator in a qualitative research study
needed to report with a high level of accuracy and truthfulness. As data was collected and
interpretations were made, the researcher engaged in metacognitive reflection for biases.
Maxwell (2013) urged that researchers be fully aware of their biases and to consider those,
because they can and do shape how they interpret data. As a second language learner, born in a
foreign country, raised in Los Angeles, classified as an ELL of low SES, the principal researcher
is aware of inherent biases. This was accounted for with care in order to accurately interpret and
report findings. Glesne (2011) highlighted the importance of researchers documenting biases
and feelings. The researcher documented, using a research journal, his feelings about the process
of growing up in school and reflected on the impact that school had in shaping his love of
learning, all the while taking into consideration related cultural nuances (Glesne, 2011). Miriam
(2016) called for an awareness of embedded biases. As an administrator within CGCSD, the
researcher was also aware of the biases that the role carries. In an effort to support students who
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

50

are just like the researcher, decisions had to be made based on students’ needs, not on personal
biases.
To ensure credibility, the researcher reviewed with the school team and parents the
conceptual framework that guided this study. Parents learned about the value of developing
social capital, early planning for university learning, as well as the odds stacked against them due
to their children being ELLs of low SES. Sharing this insight worked towards developing the
needed trust to embark in the recommendations set forth by the learning from this research.
Validity and Reliability
Qualitative research takes into account the validity and reliability of data gathered from a
survey (Fink, 2013). Internal validity, external validity, and reliability were established by
triangulation via the sources of interviews, research literature, documents and surveys (Merriam
& Tisdell, 2106). Findings were reported using rich descriptions to build a picture and
awareness of the data and to form a reliable and transferable interpretation of the research.
Research shows that reliability of the data will always fall on the competence and trustworthiness
of the investigator (Merriam & Tisdell, 2106).
Ethics
Participation in this study was protected by the strict ethical standards set forth by the
University's Institutional Review Board (IRB) because it involved human subjects. The study
began by sharing the study’s consent information sheet with participants. The consent
information sheet included the purpose of the study and introduced the principal researcher, the
faculty advisor, and the supporting IRB institution at USC. Additionally, relevant contact
information was included. Participation in this research study was explained as being voluntary
and confidential. The participant was made aware that collected data was stored on a secure
drive viewable only by the institution and researcher. Each participant then gave his or her
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

51

consent, allowing him or her to be digitally recorded during the interview. However, there
was an option for participants to pass on questions that they did not wish not to answer. All
actions were taken in accordance with the rules and regulations set forth by the Office for the
Protection of Research Subjects (OPRS, 2016).
As an administrator at Phoenix Elementary in CGUSD, the principal researcher
conducted a study into the achievement rates of ELLs of low SES as related to the impact of
parental involvement. Due to holding the position as a site administrator, the researcher ensured
that the participants did not feel coerced into participating. To achieve this result, a neutral site
within CGCSD that engaged in the same parent involvement efforts was used so that the
researcher could interview the participants. A third-party research assistant was utilized who
was also a member of the Phoenix Elementary community. This independent data collector
agreed to conduct the recruitment of the parents for surveys and interviews, and to collect the
data. The research assistant was qualified and previously trained in methods for data collection
and survey administration, traits that Glesne (2011) explained are important for those conducting
research. The research assistant has a strong rapport with the families in the school community.
That rapport helped to create a high comfort level needed to get in-depth interview answers. As
an added level of assurance, families were reminded prior to the start of the study and during it
that if they wanted to stop participating, they were welcome to at any time during the process.
The researcher assistant engaged in the recruitment for participation by first sending out
the recruitment letter inviting families to take the survey. The participants and colleagues
understood that participation was voluntary and that they would not be penalized for not
participating. They also understood that their identities would be kept confidential. Each
participant received a participation number to limit biases during data collection and
interpretation.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

52

The researchers’ declared interest in this study stems from wanting to identify key
practices that could lead to student success. He also cares about duplicating positive results
across other organizations and sites to the benefit of Latino families. The process and research
design were also made available to members of the school organization to alleviate confusion,
and to provide access and understanding to the process, design and purpose of the study. To
protect the identity of participants, there was a hard copy with a participant number used to
enroll for the study. This survey also had fixed questions and open-ended questions allowing
participants to elaborate deeper into the topics.
After being in education for over 25 years, the researcher acknowledges certain biases.
He has witnessed the revolving door of success and failure in students. It is disheartening to
know that there are students with untapped potential, and all the while there are systems that are
not being sought to best help them succeed. What is needed are more workshops centered on
parent efficacy, culturally relevant workshops aimed at how to create a college-going attitude
and environment at home, and trainings on how to foster strong relationships within families
centered on academic achievement (Dillman et al, 1999; Martinez-Cosio, 2010). The researcher
agrees with Dillman (1999) who asserted that even if families are heavily involved in their
child’s education, it does not mean it will yield positive results.
Lastly, the questions drafted for this study were designed with relevant cultural biases
aimed at addressing deeply rooted educational misconceptions. Hence, the questions will not
have tenets that analyze cultural practices outside of education. Patton’s (2002) framework of
six questions asserted that as we enter into any study, one should be mindful of the participants
and their backgrounds. Knowing the Latino of low SES very well, the data collector started each
process by having a dedicated area where the participants can meet and drink coffee with sweet
Mexican bread. The researcher was sensitive as he elicited information from participants about
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

53

their academic experiences abroad and locally, behaviors, opinions and values on education,
knowledge, feelings, sensory and demographic background. As the principal researcher, copious
memos were kept documenting the setting, the thinking, and the perceptions before, during and
after reviewing transcripts of interviews.
Limitations and Delimitations
Each protocol used had limitations and delimitations. As an administrator within the
organization, the researcher could only hope to get complete truthfulness in responses. He did
focus on establishing a strong rapport with all participants so that they understood the value and
need for transparency. The respondents also felt comfortable enough to ask questions for
clarification, so that they were answering the questions to the best of their ability and
thoughtfully. Assuming that a good rapport was established and trust also existed, receiving
responses with clarity and depth was appreciated. This prevented the need for heavy inferencing
and allowed the actual statements of participants to be codified and tabulated. Delimitations also
existed in conducting the research, like in the case when participants were unclear about
questions and did not answer. These limitations and delimitations have been taken into account
during this study. Thus, triangulation by means of using surveys, interviews, documents and
referencing the literature review was critical to maintaining integrity in the study.
Conclusion
This chapter provided an overview of the methods used to validate influences related to
parent engagement and closing of achievement gaps for ELLs and low SES students. As an
administrator at Phoenix Elementary, the researcher was aware that there were some inherent
biases; but to combat them, he addressed the issues of validity, reliability, and ethics as described
in these sections of the chapter. To mitigate the concerns about the dual role as the lead
researcher and an administrator within CGCSD, every measure was taken to be as transparent as
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

54

possible with research subjects by providing the participants with an outline of the research
processes.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

55

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this project was to evaluate the degree to which Citrus Grove City School
District is meeting one of its goals of closing the opportunity gap for the underperforming
student group identified as socioeconomically disadvantaged and English language learners. The
analysis focused on knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences related to achieving
the organizational goals.
As such, the questions that guided this study were the following:
1. To what extent has Phoenix Elementary met its goal of increasing parent involvement to
100% participation, as evidenced by its goal-related strategic actions?
2. What are parents’ knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that interact with
school officials’ efforts to achieve the goal?
3. What are recommendations in the areas of knowledge, motivation, and organizational
resources to support parent’s abilities to interact with school officials' efforts to achieve
the goal?
This chapter outlines the findings that address the first two research questions. The
findings and discussion are based on one-on-one interviews and survey data collected from the
eligible parent stakeholder group.
Participating Stakeholders
The research participants in this study consisted of parents from Phoenix Elementary in
the Citrus Grove City School District (CGCSD). In an effort to protect the identity of the
involved participants, as well as that of the organization, the decision was made to use
pseudonyms. For the data collected from participants, none had any identifiable markers. The
results were drawn from a random stratified sampling of 50 participants representing the parents
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

56

of children of Phoenix Elementary school, who were identified as both ELL and of low SES.
Each parent who completed the survey was also asked to indicate if they would be willing to
participate (convenience sample) in a one-on-one in-person interview. The target goal of five
interviews was accomplished (100%); the findings from those five interviews are also
represented in this chapter. The location and setting for these interviews was also important.
The parents chose a neutral location on the campus where access and interruptions could be
limited. While in the interviews, in an effort to create a relaxed and comfortable environment,
families were offered cafecito and pan dulce (coffee and Mexican sweet bread). A few moments
were spent talking about the goal of the research and the importance of honesty and reflection.
Once parents showed a sense of comfort and clarity the interviews commenced. Table 4.1
represents key information related to the participants, including pseudonyms, age, number of
children, ELL and SES status, bilingual status, and the language used for the interview.
Table 4.1
Participant Information
Pseudonym Age Children
(at site)
ELL SES Bilingual Interview Language
José 39 2 Yes Yes No Spanish
Maria 35 2 Yes Yes No Spanish
Lucy 45 2 Yes Yes Yes Spanish
Juanita 29 2 Yes Yes Yes English
Lupe 42 2 Yes Yes Yes English

José
Interviewee José is a thirty-nine-year-old male parent who has two children at Phoenix
Elementary. José is a genuinely sweet man who is quite shy. He is from Central America and is
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

57

on his second marriage. He has older children, none in elementary school, who are no longer
at home. He is married and shared that it feels a lot different now starting over and being a dad a
second time around. José did not attend school in his native country and immigrated to the US
very young.
Maria
Interviewee Maria is a thirty-five year old first time mother of two. One child is in
elementary school and the other is in middle school. Maria did not study in her native country of
Mexico beyond high school. Maria is a typical stern mother with high hopes for her children and
has made obvious efforts to be a member of the Phoenix parent community.
Lucy
Interviewee Lucy is a forty-five year old mother of two. Her oldest child is in high
school while her youngest is in elementary. Maria only completed a middle school education in
her native country of Mexico. She immigrated to the US when she was very young and shared
that she attends church very frequently. Lucy is a proud local homeowner with a zero mortgage
balance.
Juanita
Interviewee Juanita is a twenty-nine-year-old parent of two. Her oldest is also in high
school and her youngest is finishing elementary school. Juanita did not attend school in her
native country of Mexico and immigrated to the US at the age of fifteen and started work right
away. As a stay at home mother, she has dedicated herself to her children and has taken on
various roles in PTA to better help her children academically. Juanita and her husband own a
business and are local homeowners

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

58

Lupe
Interviewee Lupe is a forty-two-year-old parent of two elementary aged children at
Phoenix Elementary. Lupe is a college graduate and dedicated parent. She is a second
generation Mexican and a US born citizen and local homeowner.
Research Question One
Phoenix Elementary has not fully met its original goal of increasing parent involvement
to 100% participation. The survey and interview data showed that the district’s goal-related
strategic actions were not effective in drawing in their involvement. The goal was written at
100% by CGCSD for the 2015-2016 school year making this a difficult goal to attain due to it
not being an attainable number. Based on data from the annual CGCSD parent stakeholder
survey, fewer than 30% of district families attend any or all events offered. To start the 2016-
2017 school year, the goal was changed by CGCSD to better reflect an attainable and
measureable goal. It was set to a 3% base annual parent participation target. Data tracked by
CGCSD and Phoenix Elementary both show greater than 10% annual growth in parent
involvement. Interview data confirms that parents are not coming to school events and the
efforts by CGCSD and Phoenix are not sufficient enough to get 100% involvement, but
sufficient enough to get 3% annual attendance growth. To track these numbers CGCSD has
under its employ staff that work closely to set up events and input information from sign in
sheets into a spreadsheet monthly. For example, at the beginning of the year, parents were
invited to a series of parenting workshops on positive discipline and child behavior management.
After these sessions, the sign in sheets were tallied and parent certificates issued. These types of
events are categorized as involvement efforts and tallied accordingly.
In conclusion, Phoenix Elementary has work to do in truly engaging parents to improve
student achievement by not only growing involvement, but by improving engagement. The data
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

59

shows that even though parents came to events, the student achievement outcomes did not
grow across all students by any significant percentage.
Research Question Two
Parents’ knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences impacted their abilities to
interact with school officials’ efforts to achieve the goal of improved student achievement were
mostly validated. Knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences all impact the parent’s
ability to interact with school officials. The findings from the surveys and interviews
demonstrated that certain KMO elements have a greater influence on parent engagement than
other elements. The following sections will demonstrate the validation of KMO influences for
the parent stakeholder group, which supports this answer to research question two.
Findings for Knowledge Influences
Findings from this research came from qualitative surveys and one-on-one interviews that
uncovered three major knowledge factors that impact the parent stakeholders’ ability to interact
with school officials’ efforts to achieve the 100% goal and truly support their child at home from
grades K-12 and in to college. These influential factors were analyzed using Clark and Estes’
(2008) knowledge, motivation, and organization framework. The knowledge factors uncovered
were academic inaction, lack of academic content awareness, and lack of involvement. In the
sections to follow, the three factors that impact parents of ELL students who are of low SES
were identified and validated by the data.
Knowledge findings of academic inaction. Academic inaction caused parents to remain
uninvolved with the numerous opportunities and outreach efforts offered by their children’s
school. This finding validated the assumed cause that parents need to attend school events and
trainings to enhance their understanding of how to better assist their children in school.
Academic inaction is defined as the lack of action in a general or academic setting (Albarracin,
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

60

2008). This finding was consistent with Nordstrom (2004) who highlighted the need to
improve parent engagement by addressing the importance of parental cognition, the key
predictor of stakeholder engagement. Important to note is that when the parents turned in their
survey, most shared that they felt bad. When they were asked to elaborate, they shared that they
realized how little they had actually participated and had mixed feelings. They expressed a sense
of self frustration in that they wish they had participated in the workshops and the other events.
One parent went on to say that “me siento mal, pero tienen que promover los eventos mejor y no
solo un vez” (“I feel bad, but the school needs to promote events better and not just once.”
These sentiments made more sense when the surveys were tallied and the quantities added.
Data from the survey revealed that seven parent stakeholders 14% of those surveyed were
able to take the survey in its entirety, while forty-three skipped some questions and did not
answer all components of the survey. This figure closely correlates to the average level of
involvement at Phoenix Elementary school. As research shows, it is often difficult to have
completed surveys from participants who are juggling multiple activities, in addition to their
limitations in English. Low SES individuals often face issues such as a lack of time, limited
connections with the school, and a lack of awareness of the initiatives available to help their
children (Anello, 2011). These factors make it difficult for them to engage in this type of study
(Cassity and Harris, 2000). Given this consideration, it is important that while not all
participants completed the survey in its entirety, the research and academic communities should
pay close attention to what the respondents had to say using that data and the interview data.
During the interviews, families were asked, “How often do you attend school functions,
specifically workshops, aimed at improving how well your child does in school and why that
often?” Forty-two-year old Lupe, mother of two school-aged children, and proud Phoenix parent
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

61

shared these thoughts, but not without first sharing her dismay about the survey and how little
she actually participated based on the offerings she could not account for attending:
Because of our schedule from a typical Monday through Friday, in workshops,
they're really interesting topics and given my background, I want to attend, but
it's hard because it's either right after the kids go into school, and I'm at work or
it's right before they get out or right after they get out. If some of these
workshops were to be offered, and it doesn't necessarily have to be all of them,
but maybe just two or three that are key offered on a Monday or a Wednesday at
6, I think that would be really good.
Lupe’s responses to the semi-structured interview allowed for further clarifying questions. Since
she seemed to think that her lack of involvement was more her fault and not the school site’s or
organization’s, she was asked if “the reasons you have not attended the events were because of
the times they were offered?” Her response was, “Yes.” During her interview, she was able to
further reflect and also ask questions with regards to her initial perceptions and role. Lupe went
so far as to even recommend adding “child care as a way to remove a barrier” to parental
involvement.
Twenty-nine-year old Juanita, mother of two school aged children, also a proud parent
stated with lots of enthusiasm, because of how involved as a parent she is:
Usually if they give it in the morning, if they have a schedule that works for
me, I try to go every time. I do it because I see that those workshop, it
depends what they are for, I know they will help me. It is very important for
me to attend as many school events as I can. I learn a lot. As a matter of
fact, I always wonder why more parents don’t show up.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

62

Although Juanita and Lupe responded differently, there was a correlation discovered
based on what time, morning or late evening, an activity was made available to parents. As well
as the urgent nature of the content topics offered that determined attendance of a workshop. The
survey data analyzed showed that 70% of the parents did not attend workshops on improving
reading comprehension, writing, or navigating the state issued standardized assessments. When
the interviewees were told of this during the coffee chats, they looked pretty somber about that
information and shared that it was more than likely due to scheduling or to the content seeming
“too hard to follow.” When asked for further clarification to this statement, José shared that “as
a parent, he would not want to feel inferior or oppositional” to the school staff. Cooper (2015)
referenced this phenomenon when she posited the need to build strong home to school
connections to lower the affective filters of the families being served and improve their responses
and interactions. This is consistent with Dillman’s (2007) research on Mexican families and the
assertion that interventions need to take into consideration the concept of acculturation so as to
culturally tailor opportunities for families.
Juanita, José, and Maria benefited from attending parent workshops. Each shared about
their workshops and how they have taken what they learned and used it at home. Juanita in
particular shared about a writing workshop she attended,
You see, okay, it is really impactful to your child if they see your effort, because you can
say, oh this is how they've been teaching you. You see first-hand, okay, this is what my
child has been doing for so long. This is the writing, and you see the progress between
the beginnings to the end.
Armenta (1993) stated that parents need to attend workshops in order to grow and share
their learning with their children and community to grow as a whole. Schools stand to benefit
from creating positive connections and systemic efforts for the families they serve. If Latino
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

63

parents develop a strong connection to their child’s limited academic growth, they will make
every effort to pull them up (Armenta, 1993).
Survey and interview data revealed that parent interactions with school officials at
workshops were limited due to scheduling and content issues. Of the twenty-three respondents,
fourteen shared that time was an issue and eight shared the need to develop how to access the
content better as a reason for their limited interaction. Open-ended responses from twenty-three
of the parents surveyed showed a willingness to interact with the research so as to shed light on
ways to improve and to become involved in workshops aimed at increasing their children’s
academic abilities. Table 4.2 shows a sample of the open-ended responses to question 10.
Table 4.2
Sample of Responses to Open-ended Survey Question #10
Question 10
(open-ended)
Do you feel that the school and administration are open to feedback on ways
to improve parenting classes at your school? If so, please share.
Content
“Can it be by class? By grade levels? So I can work with other parents on
same issues or topics.”
Content
“How do we review what was covered, if we forget something or need to
revisit?”
Content
“I would like an agenda of offerings in advance for the whole year so that I
can make arrangements at work if needed.”
Content
“More sessions throughout the year. Not just once in the year and then no
more, because if you miss the session, then there is no make-up or time to do
until next year.”
Content
“Videos of what was covered to watch on my own time.”
Time “More times in the day and year.”
Time “More times.” “More part II for follow up.”
Time “More info on times. “
Time
“More times. My work stops me from the times offered now.”
Time “No time.”

Each workshop offered was designed using data driven decision making (DDDM),
academic standards and staff input. But, they did not incorporate parent feedback or take their
time constraints into consideration. Organizations will benefit from incorporating parent
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

64

feedback and input when creating workshops. Thus the parents did not engage with the site to
learn more about the workshops and what was being offered. The interviewees shared that if
workshops were offered at a variety of times, they would make the time to attend. All parents
shared that they want their children to succeed. Cooper (2015) asserted that families of English
language learners (ELL) need to understand the importance of home to school partnerships
within a school community. To this point, she asserted that the schools also need to build that
bridge for true collaboration (Cooper, 2015). This will in turn model to the parents what the
school does and how parents can participate in conjunction with the sites so as to support and
extend student learning.
The parent survey, as well as those interviewed, revealed that not all the content offerings
were well attended. For example, poetry, journaling, summarization, and monitoring workshops;
all skills that are needed and also improve academic growth, were workshops with no mention
during interviews and on the surveys. When asked, “What value do you feel the school principal
places on parenting classes at your school?” All fifty (100%) of the participants replied “High
Value.” At the conclusion of the survey, having a clear idea of the intentions of the survey and
the goal of the research, all added a need to attend and take action about how to support their
children and promised to do so.
Knowledge findings of limited awareness of academic content standards. Limited
awareness of academic content standards causes parents to shy away from efforts to interact with
their children’s school. This finding validated the assumed cause that parents need to see what
the standards are in both math and English language arts (ELA), as well as know the average
score and where their school or district scored on standardized tests. Limited awareness of
academic content standards is defined as not having full knowledge and clarity of the academic
content standards in both ELA and Math. Lim’s (2010) investigation of reading in high-stakes
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

65

tests for English language learners finds that there is a correlational between impact on ELL
learners and parents by such variables as SES, ethnicity, and language proficiency which in turn
affect their learning. This finding further proves that parents need modeling of specific strategies
and behaviors aimed at improving self-efficacy, learning, and performance (Denler, Wolters, &
Benzon, 2009). To this end, during the cafecitos (coffee chats) José, Maria, and Lucy; parents
who shared they have a limited education from their native country and were interviewed in
Spanish, shared the following sentiments: “We do what we can,” “feel embarrassed asking
questions,” “The stuff is elementary level.” The statements speak to what Lim (2010) posited,
that language proficiency affects the ELL student and parent.
During the interviews, families were asked “Share what you know about the CA English
language arts (ELA) and math assessments standards?” Thirty-five year old Maria, mother of
two school aged children shared that she was glad to have seen the questions ahead of time so
that she can reflect on them and be able to give her answer with forethought; her body language
showed confidence and exactness. She shared:
From what I know, I know the state does them each year, they are now the most
important things to learn and they tell of the performance levels of the students.
From those scores, the school also gets its own score. From that score, the
school gets additional financial resources to be able to offer tutoring.
Forty-five year old Lucy, mother of two school aged children and the most nervous of
all interviewees shared, “I don’t know much. You could actually say I know nothing
about them.” Lucy went on to share she was close to stopping her interview on many
occasions but did not want to let the study down. After a break and some reassurance
that it is not a judgment of her parenting and the fact that this interview would be
anonymous, she felt comfortable enough to continue and complete the interview. This
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

66

was an important pause in the interview because the questions and survey made Lucy
feel that it was more her fault and not the fault of the organization or of the site for not
making her aware of what was available and how she could better support her children
via a shared collaborative approach.
Lupe shared, “Unfortunately I am not well versed at that. I get the District
report that tells you how your child placed, but I am not completely well versed in it.
I'm not well versed.” This was a shock because of all the participants, Lupe had the
most confidence to start with and based on the coffee talk, she had the most interactions
with school officials. All parents interviewed were asked about the content standards,
and not one of them were able to articulate what their children were going to be
measured on or against. This is consistent with the finding that parents lack academic
content knowledge awareness as well as a critique of the schools and standardized
testing.
Data from the survey also revealed that parents of ELL and low SES students have a
limited awareness of the academic content standards in ELA and Math making it harder to
support their children at home to help their child grow academically. Children from low-SES
and language minority reach school age with lower levels of English language skill than middle
class mono-lingual students (Hoff, 2013). The survey data questions were focused on what
parents actually engaged in during the school year to learn about content standards. Specific
workshops were offered in English language arts, topics included decoding, vocabulary, word
recognition, monitoring, summarization, sentence structures, quick writes, poetry, journaling,
and pleasure reading. Survey data showed that only seven of the fifty respondents actually
attended some of the workshops. The need for more content knowledge and how to support the
children at home were validated areas of need. The following Table 4.3 shows the breakdown of
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

67

attendance at specific events by the parents surveyed. Each workshop offered was in both
English and Spanish and was two hours in duration. No workshop offered was designed in
collaboration with parent input on content, advertising, and time offered; the criteria of
successful workshops.
Table 4.3
Survey Responses to ELA Workshop Attendance (Spanish/English sessions)
Attendance at English Language Arts by Parents Surveyed
Decoding Vocabulary Monitoring Pleasure Reading Poetry
7 (50%) 3 (21%) 4 (29%) 6 (43%) 5 (36%)
Sentence Structures Quick Writes Journaling
5 (36%) 6 (43%) 4 (29%)

Knowledge findings of limited parental involvement due to time constraint. Limited
parental involvement due to time constraints causes parents not to join site committees or interact
with their children’s school. This finding validated the assumed cause that parents need to attend
school events and be active on school committees, as contributors by voting and being aware of
site initiatives. Parental involvement is defined as either supporting student academic
achievement or participating in school-initiated workshops (Lopez et al, 2001). Cooper’s (2015)
research asserted that families of English language learners (ELL) need to understand the
importance of home to school partnerships in a school community. From document analysis it
appears that there is limited parental involvement due to time constraints and a lack of
collaboration at Phoenix Elementary. Table 4.4 shows the document data from Phoenix
Elementary’s Parent Involvement Report for the 2016-2017 school year using the Epstein Model
for key involvement types. Enrollment at Phoenix Elementary was 980 total students.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

68

Table 4.4
Phoenix Elementary Parent Involvement Report
EPSTEIN'S Keys
Opportunities to
attend
Attendance by Key
Parenting 18 997
Communication* 3* 2,150*
Volunteering 22 2,188
Learning at Home 12 1,567
Decision Making 45 235
Collaborating with the Community 12 429
Relationship Building Activities 10 751
Total 122 8,317
*Biggest percentage of attendance (conferences, back-to-school, open-house) 73% attendance.
The finding of limited parental involvement due to time constraints was not supported by
interview data. When parents were asked, “How often do you attend school meetings related to
the operations of the school, for example, School Site Council (SSC), Parent Teacher
Association (PTA), or even English Language Advisory Committee (ELAC) and why?” Only
two of the three parents answered that they were not making clear efforts to be involved. Thirty-
nine year old José is a father of two school aged children at Phoenix. During the pre-interview
coffee talk he had many questions prior to starting and seemed really eager to participate in
interview, he shared, “I try the best I can, but the realities of life make it hard to be involved.”
His body language showed signs of both high energy and of lamentation for his responses. He
was difficult to gauge do to his brief answers, but he did manage to share the following
statement, while smiling:
I appreciate what the school does on a daily basis. I come from a small village with little
to no resources, so I feel fortunate to have my kids here and learning. I do what I can, but
I have to work a lot.
Lucy, no longer too nervous, shared the following with enthusiasm:
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

69

Attendance is very important. Even more important is to vote. It's important to
be involved in Committees. Especially for your children. I know I have to go
to PTA meetings because I think it's important to be aware of what is going on.
At the present, I don’t attend. I am very busy.
Lupe shared:
Unfortunately, because of our schedules at home, we work the typical Monday
through Friday 9 to 5 and with traffic. So we oftentimes just have time to drop
off the kids and then go to work. So our involvement in the morning is not as
much as we would like. We try to participate when there's school events,
whether it's fundraising or whether it's buying something out of their booth. But
I would like to participate more. I've always joked that I want to be that PTA
mom, but I don't have the time. With the ELAC, the English Language
Advisory Committee, I'm not as well-educated on that, so I have not been
involved in ELAC.
Juanita is a very dedicated parent and stay at home mother who overcame a language
barrier to model to her children that there are no excuses. She believes that if there is
an obstacle in your way, then one needs to figure out how to overcome it. She is a firm
believer in being involved and asking questions. To that end, she shared:
I believe the PTA is once every month, or every two months, we will attend. I
will try to attend almost all of them, to the PTA. On the school site council, I
went once, because it was the timeframe that I could, but I saw a lot of the
things. PTA’s, I will try to attend all of them. They were very either after
school, before school. The time, it was a good time for me. I attend because I
was having questions like any of the events that the school was doing. Any
fundraising or any event. If I had a question like why are they spending this
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

70

money, or how come they get this money, or why do I need to help on the
fundraising, the better answer for me for those questions were at the meetings.
Because that's where I could ask, why do you have this fundraising. For why is
it? What are you guys doing? That was one of the main ones. That one of the
main reasons that I attend the meetings. I have heard from ELAC and the
school site council. They told me two years ago, a year ago, but I totally forgot.
So I need to get back to it. That's why.
Maria shared that “I’ve done it to know where the funds are going because as a parent I have the
right to know where the principals are spending the money. For me, involvement is important.”
This finding, of limited parental involvement due to time constraints, was supported by
survey data. Less than one-third of those surveyed shared they attended the workshops offered
as seen in Figure 4.1. These included reading, writing, and training on developing an
understanding of all standardized assessments (CAASPP, CELDT, and other local LEA
assessments) and their value. Phoenix Elementary’s leadership team and CGCSD set out to
define which workshops to offer. This is not done with parent input or feedback. Schedules are
taken into consideration, but work hours on the parent and organizational end do limit when they
can be offered. To that end, Phoenix has made efforts to adjust schedules. They are identifying
environmental influences that affect behavior and providing immediate feedback and the
reinforcement from parents can change this outcome (Tuckman, 2009).
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

71

Figure 4.1. Parent workshops offered and parent attendance at workshops.
Motivation Findings
Findings from this research came from qualitative surveys and one-on-one interviews that
uncovered two major motivation factors that impact the parent stakeholders’ ability to interact
with school officials’ efforts to achieve the 100% goal, and truly support their child at home
from grades K-12 and into college. These influential factors were analyzed using Clark and
Estes’ (2008) knowledge, motivation, and organization framework. The influential factors
boiled down to limited participation in planning for the future and limited self-efficacy. In the
sections to follow, the three factors that impact parents of ELL students who are of low SES will
be identified as validated by data or invalidated by data.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

72

Motivation findings of limited participation in planning for the future. Limited
participation in planning for the future has affected parents’ ability to interact with their
children’s school. This finding validates the assumed cause that parents of English language
learners (ELLs) need to see the value of participating in quarterly school wide functions in order
to improve their child’s efforts in school and future planning. This finding was consistent with
Schraw and Lehman (2001) who asserted that all trainings need to be clear, coherent, complete,
and user friendly.
Data from the survey revealed that all parent stakeholders who took the survey felt a
“high change” when asked to “please rate the level of importance that participating in parenting
classes now has in your own home after having attended classes at your child’s school during the
2015-2016 school year.” There options were no change, little change, moderate change, or high
change. The fact that parents felt that there was a high change is a step in the right direction.
Phoenix Elementary knows that parents feel a “high Change” in value rating, now it is time to
improve the awareness of course offerings and the scheduling efforts. Armenta’s (1993)
research showed that there is a huge need to improve the level of awareness of parent training
programs among Latino parents. Families need to see that their time constraints are recognized
and that both parties are making efforts to build that partnership. The responsibility should not
be shouldered by the families or school sites alone but in a collaborative effort for the betterment
of the students. The clear and targeted trainings helped improve parents’ motivation and desire
to grow in this area. During the interviews, families were asked the following questions
regarding their children's futures and how they plan for them, in an effort to gauge how far ahead
they plan academically for their children. “Tell me about a recent conversation you had with
your child about their future after high school?” “What do you imagine your child’s life will look
like after they graduate high school?” “What sorts of things do you do to help them accomplish
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

73

those expectations?” This particular series of questions were met with trepidation. The
parents who did not review the questions ahead of time gave a longer than normal stare. Then
they thought about it and answered. José asked if pausing the recording was an option at that
point. It was offered and accepted. The conversation was centered on feelings of confusion
because he felt conflicted in his pending response. His current thought process was more about
his children aging so that they can earn income to help alleviate the financial woes. He felt
guilty that he was not focusing on schooling after high school.
Lucy shared:
I have a son who is seventeen years old who is in 12th grade. Recently we were
discussing his past problems at school. It hasn’t been long since school started this year
and now he has A's. He understands that he needs to stay focused or he would end up
having a hard life.
Juanita and Lucy both answered the questions with short term references and no indications that
they were in contact with the school or any school official getting counseling or feedback. Their
commentaries were more about jobs and living, not career oriented or academically inclined.
Further probing into their older students academics revealed that they had low GPA’s and had
previously failed core classes. Both families were advised to reach out to their children’s
academic counselors for next steps and long term planning assistance.
To the contrary, Lupe shared:
My son, he is very rambunctious. He focuses very well. He will target, and he will do it.
He's a good learner. He's a fast learner, so with him, and he's really good with numbers.
With him, we're hoping that he'll stick with the numbers and maybe do architecture,
engineer or something like that. We always tell the kids no matter what you do, you've
got to do it with heart. No matter where you pick to go to school, you have to do it.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

74

There's no option for you, but you have to go to college. I don't care if it's a career
college. I don't care if it's a two-year. I don't care, but you have to do it. After that, once
you do it, that's it.
Like Lupe, Maria shared her sentiments about her child’s academic future in the affirmative:
"We have taken our daughter to visit three universities. She even asked us about how we
would feel if she chose to attend an out-of-state school. We told her that it was her
choice and we would support it."
Lupe and Maria shared a strong desire to see their children go to college and had conversations
about it with their children, as well as had plans for their children to attend college. The other
three did not have conversations focused on the value of, or plans to attend post-secondary
school with their children. Survey and interview data revealed that parents do not interact with
school officials regularly, nor know enough about how to direct their children into post-
secondary institutions. This finding is an area of high priority and need for Phoenix Elementary
and CGCSD. Daly (2006) found that if we want a behavior strengthened, we need to reinforce it.
If families are going to plan for their children's future, then clinics on how to plan need to happen
frequently with parental input, support, and legitimate engagement.
Motivation findings for limited self-efficacy. Limited self-efficacy has affected parents’
ability to interact with their children’s’ school. This finding validated the assumed cause that
parents of ELLs need to believe that they are capable of effectively supporting their children
through grades K-12 and on into College. Self-efficacy is defined as a person’s belief in their
capabilities to learn or perform a task at a certain level (Pajares, 2006). This finding was
consistent with Pajares (2006) who reinforced the belief that high self-efficacy can positively
influence learning and motivation, especially when learners have positive expectations for
success.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

75

The finding of limited self-efficacy was confirmed during the data analysis. Data from
the survey revealed that 14% of the parent stakeholders who took the survey felt a “moderate
change.” The parents were each asked to “Please rate the level of change in your ability to help
your child at home with learning after participating in parenting classes at your school during the
2015-2016 school year.” The participants were asked to rate their level of change by the
following options: no change, little change, moderate change, or high change. During the
interviews, families were asked the following questions regarding their self-efficacy. “Can you
tell me about a time that your child struggled with an academic concept?” “How did you
approach that situation?” And the follow up question, “Did you feel comfortable with your
abilities to support your child’s academic needs and progress?” Maria and Lupe both answered in
the affirmative that they felt comfortable in their abilities. Maria shared that, “When my
daughter had a hard time in class with a topic I went to the teacher first and then the
administrators after it did not improve fast enough.” She said that she “did not see it as an issue
because it was about her daughter and her school.” Juanita was very passionate in her response
and shared that she felt very comfortable talking to the teacher about her daughter and her
struggles. She saw it more as her helping and not about her own abilities. Lupe, who has a
college education, was confident and sure of herself and her efforts as a parent during this part of
the interview; a classic example of self-efficacy. Lupe shared that as a college graduate, yet
humble parent, she would support her daughter until she was out of her home, even if that meant
asking the teacher to try harder to get her daughter to understand. Three of the five parents
interviewed were confident and exhibited self-efficacy, while the other two did not know how to
advocate because they felt that the teaching was left up to the teacher, the expert, and felt that
they were not qualified to question them. Their responses and conversation during cafesitos
made it obvious that post-secondary dialogues were not a common dialogue. When I asked each
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

76

parent if they were saving money for their child’s education, only Lupe answered “yes.” Based
on the interviews and survey data collected, the parents are in need of additional support and
training to better grow their own self-efficacy in the area of supporting their children’s learning
from K-12 and on into post-secondary schooling. Their need for self-efficacy and support is
consistent with Aguinis’ (2009) thoughts who asserted that organizations need to train
stakeholders in an effort to move a group into a desired goal. CGCSD wants all students to be
college and career ready to that end, and they are making efforts to study the parent stakeholder
more to learn how to better serve their population. Armenta (1993) has also asserted that the
approach should include community agents, promotion of trainings at various organizations, and
offering the sessions in both languages. Providing these options demonstrates respect for
parents.
Organizational Findings
Findings from this research came from qualitative surveys and one-on-one interviews that
uncovered two major organizational factors that impact the parent stakeholders’ ability
to interact with school officials’ efforts to achieve the 100% goal and truly support their child at
home from grades K-12 and into college. These influential factors were analyzed using Clark
and Estes’ (2008) knowledge, motivation, and organization framework. The findings suggested
that there were too many initiatives and limited educational social capital. In the sections that
follow, the two factors that impact parents of ELL students who are of low SES are either
identified as validated by data or invalidated by data.
Organizational findings of over-initiatives. Multiple parent participation initiatives
cause parents to feel overwhelmed and confused during their interactions with their children’s
school. This finding validated the assumed cause that parents were overwhelmed by the content
and the number of trainings available. Too many initiatives distract organizations from focusing
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

77

on mastery (Anderman, Eric M.; Anderman, Lynley H.; Yough, Michael S.; Gimbert, Belinda
G., Apr 2010). This finding was consistent with Pintrich (2002) who posited that organizations
need to provide structures that encourage personal and social responsibility within a safe
environment in order to grow.
The data from the survey revealed that 86% of the parents were not participating in all of
the offered supports. Of the 14% that did complete every portion of the survey, none
participated in the workshops to improve familiarity with the standardized assessments being
used to classify students (CAASPP ELA, CASSPP Math, and CELDT). Deeper analysis into the
supports offered revealed that as a site, Phoenix Elementary offered 13 content related
workshop, 12 parenting classes, six Friday morning literacy related events, and 11 PTA
meetings, conferences, back-to school and open house meetings. These findings are detailed in
figure 4.2.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

78

Figure 4.2. Parent Workshops offered at Phoenix Elementary by Content and Parent attendance
at workshops.
During the interviews, families were asked the following questions regarding their
motivations and attendance expectations. “How often do you attend and why?” Lupe stated that,
“We were only able to participate in one, again, because of so many activities and all that. We
try to do as much as we can. But there are a lot.” Lucy shared, “I try to attend all of them, PTA,
school site council, the Friday events, all of them.” The reasons both women gave for why they
attempted to attend events, were always to be in support of their children academically. The
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

79

reasons for why they do not attend every event were due to there being too many, a lack of
time, and limited evening options to attend. Based on the survey data, interviews, and document
analysis the organizational stakeholders, the parents of Phoenix Elementary, had many
opportunities to become more involved; however there was limited coherence between what was
required to help the students and what parents needed in order to fill the gap. For example, was
it possible that the staff was being reactionary and creating trainings that the staff knew were
needed, but did not survey the parent stakeholder group and take their capacity into
consideration? Did parents have the needed tech skills and comfort levels to use the internet to
track student reading achievement? Did parents feel ready to admit that they did not have a data
plan capable of integrating the training with their phones? Were the parent trainings taking into
consideration the parent education level and support system at home? Without this necessary
information the desire to increase participation appears shallow. This level of limited clarity
made choosing which event to attend and becoming involved difficult for parents. Scheduling
these meetings five times a day and even on a Saturday could happen, but without a full scope
and sequence of content and skill sets, then the scheduling alone would not suffice. A limited
skill set would mean that filling the parent request of a video and digital library to view during
their own time would not be a great use of resources unless that skill set was addressed, and then
supported. This is consistent with Alderman, et al. (2006) who stated the need to design learning
tasks that are not only novel, but varied and diverse; that are interesting in order to promote
mastery.
Organizational findings of social capital. Limited educational social capital is causing
parents to not interact with their children’s schools. This finding validated the assumed cause
that organizations needs to create a more conducive environment for families to feel welcomed
and in turn become more involved in school activities. Academic social capital is a person’s
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

80

belief in their capabilities to secure academic ties and gain access and mobility within
academic institutions (Stanton-Salazar, 1997). Parents were asked “Tell me about the successful
people in your child’s life and the role they play in shaping how they feel about education.”
Forty-two year old Lupe was the only one who was able to identify that her family had such a
social capital. She shared:
We've been very blessed on both sides of the family where we have a lot of our, my
cousins and aunts and uncles, we have engineers, my brother is a doctor. He is probably
the number one biggest pusher. He's a little aggressive, I'm not going to lie to you.
When he gets into my kids, and my kids are the oldest ones, the oldest grandkids, my
daughter being the oldest grandkid, granddaughter. So he's very involved. He's pushing
and pushing and pushing, so I have to tell him back off. I appreciate that, and he's in
Kentucky, so when we go visit him, we know that Uncle Marty is going to sit and have
that conversation about where are you at with this? What's your goal? The kids know
that. It's funny. Education is a huge priority because you have to do it. There's just no
other option. Our parents didn't have that, but they gave that to us, and fortunately, a lot
of us in the family do have our degrees. Our kids are expected to do the same.
Lupe’s reflection on how her family is so in tune with what really matters academically is
exactly what the Latino community strives for when the first generation breaks through the
barriers and becomes that model institutional agent. When there is now a model of success
others want to emulate them and use them as poster children for what to do. Lupe herself went
to college. Her uncle was her institutional agent, her uncle set a new standard for the family and
now her own children know that achieving success in school and college can happen and the
expectations are higher for them. During the course of the interview Lupe went on to share how
her business has gone up and down, as well as her income. She shared that in a different year,
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

81

prior to 2009, “I would not have been able to participate in the study because I was making
good money. Now, things are hard and we are barely bouncing back.” A capacity she attributes
to her grit and education.
Initially, the other families were not able to identify any social capital connections that
directly contribute to growing academic ties. During the interview, thirty-five year old Maria
stated “I feel bad that we don’t have successful people around my children with careers. I feel
that it is unfair for me to insist that my child have a career when I myself do not have one.”
When Maria was asked “Why not mention her children’s teachers and administrators could serve
or be those role models?” Her answer was “That’s a great point, I never thought of that. It never
occurred to me to reach out to them in that capacity.” This was also seen when Lucy shared;
In my home there is no one who has graduated or gone to college. My daughter will
be the first one to do so. She is the oldest child of my family. I remind her to see around
her and to notice how hard we work and how hard life can be. I always tell her that all
the time.
Lucy was also asked “Why she did not mention that her children’s teachers and administrators
could serve or be those role models?” Her answer was “That is true. I didn’t think I was able to
say that.” Based on the interviews the participants shared that they did not feel comfortable or
capable of referring to their children’s administrators nor teachers as partners. They felt that
culturally, they were not worthy and that they would feel that they were being rude. José shared
that he would have never even thought to think that way had he not been involved in the
interview. As far as he was concerned, the school and teachers were the experts. In his humble
opinion, he did not feel comfortable. Prior to concluding any of the interviews, all those
interviewed were informed that social capital was a broader concept tethered to securing
academic ties, and gaining access and mobility within academic institutions. Based on the
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

82

interviews and survey data collected, the organization’s parents are in need of additional
supports and training to better grow their social capital; their agency. There missing element to
improving social capital and it is the awareness of this facet, of institutional agency, and how to
grow it. It is of great importance to have and to establish institutional agents; it is how the
dominant cultures function in an effort to deepen ties that secure success (Stanton-Salazar,
1997). This idea is consistent with Pajares’ (2006) thoughts who stressed the need to provide
opportunities to observe similar and credible models engaging in behavior that has functional
value, thus building self-efficacy and enhancing motivation.
Because the Latino community is so deeply rooted culturally in family and service, it has
a strong network of support in social capital with regards to economic and spiritual survival. The
families interviewed have other forms of capital, which are utilized effectively. Juanita for
example, shared during the cafecito chats that she and her husband “have a business and that it
started off with just him as a worker in construction to now having a few employees under
them.” Lucy too had a success to share. She and her husband “own a home and have no
mortgage balance.” She shared,
When we first bought it, we wanted to make sure that it would never get taken from us
and always have a home, so they paid extra each month and poured all their taxes into it
until it was paid off completely.
These families made tremendous headway in those areas. Those advantages were huge and
praised. Each success was shared with others and continues to be shared. Both of these families
made the connection that sharing what they did and how they did it meant that they too can serve
as agents to others and thus grow their social capital in that area and also help their network to
branch out. The conversation led them to see the need to improve their academic social capital
in order to gain academic schooling advantages once unavailable to them.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

83

Synthesis
Both CGCSD and Phoenix Elementary send out surveys annually to parents to gauge the
effectiveness of their efforts. In an effort to compare raw participation data from both the LEA
and Phoenix Elementary, survey data from the fifty respondents was cross referenced using total
participation data from the LEA over the past two years. The analyzed survey data for this
research showed that parents at Phoenix Elementary participated at levels consistent with those
of the larger LEA. In 2015-2016 parents from all CGCSD were asked to take a parent
involvement survey. The survey was designed to gauge which training workshops were attended
and valued the most. The survey also allowed for open ended responses where families could
share what they would like to see and do in conjunction with the LEA. The numbers are
reflected in TableOut of all CGCSD families, 10% took the survey in comparison to the 8% of
Phoenix Elementary families who took the survey. In the following school year 2016-2017,
14% took the survey with a growth goal of 3% in mind; 14% of CGCSD families took the survey
and 17% of Phoenix Elementary families took the survey. The survey data from the Phoenix
Elementary site is consistent with the data output of CGCSD; as such the findings are within the
standard margin of error. Table 4.5 shows the rates of parental involvement within CGCSD and
Phoenix Elementary over the last two years while this research was conducted. The data
includes total enrollment at CGCSD and Phoenix Elementary.
Table 4.5
Parent Involvement Survey from CGCSD and Phoenix Elementary During a 2 Year Span
Parent Involvement Survey

2015/2016

2016/2017
CGCSD Total Student Enrollment 18,575 18,189
Survey Participation 1,893 10% 2,483 14%
Phoenix Elementary Student Total 976 989
Survey Participation 79 8% 166 17%

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

84

The Phoenix Elementary survey showed that no parent physically attended all events
aimed at improving their children's academic outcomes. The survey also revealed that parents
want to be more involved and feel welcomed, but they are not always able to do so because of
scheduling issues, language barriers, knowledge, motivation, or life circumstances. The
qualitative interviews showed us that parents care about their children’s academic futures and are
willing to be involved if their knowledge and motivational needs are met, especially if their time
is taken into consideration. All scheduling cannot be limited to early AM or late PM, there needs
to be flexible offerings. Another factor that arose was the lack of consideration for their already
existing efforts. The site is comprised of one thousand students and many of those families
already do many things to support their children at home, but their efforts are not being
recognized nor taken into consideration. Those families who are involved, and what they do are
not being shared so that other families can follow suit. Their already supportive skill set is not
expanded upon. Both surveys and interviews revealed that the organization needs to make
changes. The training needs to be specific and targeted, as well as better promoted. This is
consistent with Pintrich (2002), who asserted that organizations need to link rewards with
progress to better motivate and move groups forward.
Conclusion
Chapter Four presented data that addressed these research questions: To what extent has
Phoenix Elementary met its goal of increasing parent involvement to 100% participation, as
evidenced by its goal-related strategic actions? And, “What are parents’ knowledge, motivation,
and organizational influences that interact with school officials’ efforts to achieve the
goal? Clark and Estes’ (2008) knowledge, motivational, and organizational gap analysis showed
that there were validated and non-validated needs. The findings reveal that parents from
CGCSD and Phoenix Elementary do need to grow their involvement in all areas of academics.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

85

However, doing that will require improved efforts by the organization. These workshops need
to be co-authored rather than solely authored by the school staff and school authored initiatives.
Parents do need more procedural knowledge on what to do to grow their children’s academic
prowess, but that does not mean that they are not currently making efforts at home.
Organizational surveys need to expand to include focus groups that can link the existing
practices already in place to the over 17,000 families served. Parents of emergent bilinguals
(EB) do need to develop their utility value more, so that they recognize the benefits of knowing
about the content and assessment; however, that will only happen if they are a part of the
solution and not seen as part the problem. Parents also need to further develop their declarative
knowledge regarding why and how to grow their academic social capital. To do this, the
organization will need to first act as the institutional agent and overtly share how they can
support each student and parent beyond K-12 academic success. Organizationally, there is a
need to develop larger safety nets in order to grow participation and develop it into engagement
by being the social network that promotes academics and self-efficacy. The parent stakeholder
group did share anecdotally that they are doing the best they can. Some went so far as to admit
that they are limited in their knowledge in certain key academic areas, but each interviewee did
share that they wanted to do whatever they could in partnership with the schools. One parent, in
tears, upon turning in her survey shared,
I have had seven children attend this school. My last one is in sixth grade. All are doing
well and the two oldest finished at their colleges with honors. I am super proud of them,
but so far no one has ever asked me how I do it or what motivates me. The teachers
know my kids and know about the oldest ones too.
Her tears now wiped away, she was asked to participate in the interviews but was unable
to due to prior obligations. These findings have provided knowledge regarding the feelings of
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

86

the stakeholder group which will allow for better recommendations based on research driven
solutions. In the world of K-12 academics, there is a long standing philosophy that there are
factors that a school site cannot change; factors like poverty and parent literacy rates, so they
choose to focus only on the factors within their respective wheel house. Organizations thus
make decisions regarding interventions at the site level without the use of stakeholder focus
groups to help determine if they are headed in the right direction or effective. Leaving parents
out of the equation is a big mistake. It is essential to view parents as allies and relevant to the
solution. Currently, the parents of low SES and EB students are not taken seriously and treated
more like an obstacle or crutch. The current deficit orientation approach taken by organizations
who serve low SES and ELL students, is a subconscious sign of disrespect and a failure on its
part to provide academic social capital (agency). Without a paradigm shift and subsequent
action on the part of the school site and district, the opportunity gaps will persist. To prevent the
norm from continuing, a solid effort to create grade level teams of parents is essential. Focus
groups and surveys that discover what the current parent academic assets are, play an integral
part in meeting the problem of practice head on. Chapter Five addresses research question three,
and focuses on solutions to findings using the Clark and Estes’ (2008) knowledge, motivational,
and organizational gap analysis and Kirkpatrick's new model (2002) for evaluation. It covers the
steps needed to support the families of students who are both ELL, otherwise known as emergent
bilinguals, and of low SES.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

87

CHAPTER FIVE: SOLUTIONS, IMPLEMENTATION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree to which Citrus Grove City School
District is meeting its goal of closing the achievement gap for underperforming student groups
through parent engagement. Chapter Four addressed the first two research questions of this
study by presenting the factors related to CGCSD’s parent stakeholder group. Chapter Five
addresses the third research question: “What are parents’ recommendations in the areas of
knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources that interact with school officials' efforts to
achieve the goal?” by offering solutions to address the parent stakeholders needs. Using the New
World Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016) as a framework, an integrated
implementation and evaluation plan is suggested in order to execute the recommended solutions.
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences
Knowledge Recommendations
The knowledge influences listed are prioritized based on their validation. Such
influences include the parent stakeholder group requiring more knowledge about state content
standards in both English and math; a validated assertion. Parents also need to learn more about
the standardized assessments, specifically the CELDT, and how they play a role in their
children’s education; a validated assertion. Parents also need to know more about the need to
attend and participate in school meetings; assertion validated. The following was a low priority
knowledge influence: participating in school council meetings; not yet a priority. These
influences were categorized based on their impact and ease of implementation if validated. From
the initial review of the influencers in Table 5.1, we can see that the parent stakeholder group
plays a huge role in student achievement. Denler, et al (2009), showed that schools can impact
student learning by modeling “to-be-learned” strategies that improve performance. Using the
Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis and Kirkpatrick's new model (2002) for evaluation, the plan
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

88

is to highlight the knowledge gaps of the current stakeholders based on what social cognitive
theorists posit would work best to impact that group towards the organizational goal of student
achievement.
Table 5.1
Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Assumed
Knowledge
Influence: Cause,
Need, or Asset*

Validated
Yes, High
Probability
, or No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Declarative Factual
Need: Parents need to
see so as to better
understand what the
standards are in both
math and English
Language Arts (ELA),
as well as know the
average score and
where their school or
district landed on
standardized test
scores.

HP Y Modeling to be
learned strategies
or behaviors
improves self-
efficacy,
learning, and
performance
(Denler, Wolters,
& Benzon,
2009).
Family members
need to learn that
their perceptions
are preventing
them from
supporting their
children’s
academic success
(Nordstrom,
2004).
Identify ways parents
are supporting numeracy
and literacy at home.
Build and support
additional ways to grow
those efforts.
Create workshop
opportunities with staff
and parents to better
understand the standards
that their children are
being taught to ensure
the existing efforts are
meaningfully aligned.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

89

Declarative Factual
Need: Parents need to
see where English
language learner
(ELL) students score
historically on the CA
English Language
Development Test
(CELDT) and the
consequences of not
passing this
assessment.
HP Y Identify specific
behavioral
objectives for
learning. (Daly,
2006)
Parents need to
learn engagement
and barriers to
participation in a
community-
based preventive
intervention
(Mendez et al.,
2009).
Provide parents with
opportunities to learn
about CELDT and other
ELD related academic
demands on their
children. Parents will be
asked to identify
practices they could
engage in to support
their child, as well as
what practices they
already engage in that
support the second
language acquisition.
Procedural Need:
Parents need to attend
school events and
training meetings to
enhance their
understanding of how
to better assist their
children in school.
V Y Identify
environmental
influences that
affect behavior.
Provide
immediate
feedback and
reinforcement.
(Tuckman, 2009)
Organizations
and families of
Bilingual
Emergent
students need to
understand the
importance of
home to school
partnerships in a
high school
community
(Cooper, 2015).
Provide parents with
input opportunities on
content and topics
related to school events
and include them as
relevant partners and not
only recipients of
information. Schedule
items with their input on
time and date options.
Offer opportunities to
learn how to support the
learning from the home,
via streaming, and or
digital recordings.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

90

Procedural/Metacognit
ive Need: Parents need
to be and will be active
on school committees,
as contributors by
voting and being
aware of site initiatives
if their time and date
needs are met.
HP N The use of
metacognitive
strategies
facilitates
learning (Baker,
2006).
Have learners
identify prior
knowledge (what
they know and
what they do not
know about a
topic) before a
learning task
(Mayer, 2011).
Not a priority yet.

TBD: Administration to
model and share their
own metacognitive
process by talking out
loud and assessing
strengths and
weaknesses as they
embark in learning a
new concept.
*Indicate knowledge type for each influence listed using these abbreviations: (D)eclarative =
(C)onceptual & (F)actual; (P)rocedural; (M)etacognitive

Declarative (factual) knowledge solutions, or description of needs or assets. Parents
need to see, so as to better understand what the standards are in both math and English Language
Arts (ELA), as well as know the average score and where their school or district landed on
standardized test scores. Once parents see the standards, they can have a better understanding of
what their children will need to prepare for, and what they can do to help. School sites benefit
from implementing and modeling these to-be-learned strategies, that in the end, improve the
stakeholders’ sense of self-efficacy, thus improving the learning, and performance of all affected
persons (Denler, Wolters, & Benzon, 2009). Accordingly, Nordstrom (2004) shared that parents
and family members need to learn that their perceptions are preventing them from supporting
their children’s academic success. Therefore, it is recommended that sites identify ways in
which parents are supporting numeracy and literacy at home, as well as building and supporting
additional ways for parents to grow in those efforts. School sites are also encouraged to create
workshop opportunities in collaboration with staff and parents alike, to better understand the
standards that their children are being taught to ensure the existing efforts are meaningfully
aligned. Both the organization and the families benefit from setting and reviewing goals at
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

91

trimester’s end and assessing student progress. This effort and level of engagement can help
foster a deeper richer partnership between the home and the school sites.
Behavioral theorists have argued that if there is a need to change behaviors and make
them more desirable, then LEA’s need to change the environment (Daly, 2006; Tuckman, 2009).
Schools and LEA’s should take into account the cultural differences that exist and create a
bridge. Latino families do not historically have a strong academic social capital or network to
draw from, and to tap into (Stanton-Salazar, 1997). The lack of social capital has created a void
which needs to be met by the institution. The institution needs to become the agency that
promotes such a network and helps to grow the parent stakeholder groups’ understanding of
traditional forms of assessments and testing. By modeling the value and need for vocabulary
development it is recommended that the best approach is to ask parents questions that are
assessed using multiple choices (Tuckman, 2009). As a result, families have a learned model to
rely on; a newly learned behavior that promotes desirable outcomes and actions with clear
behavioral and performance objectives taught to them by the same agency that promotes learning
(Stanton-Salazar, 1997). The recommendation being made is for the LEA to overtly share the
importance of developing a social capital and the need for families to tap into their agency.
Parents can achieve this by becoming participants and learners alongside their children during
this academic journey. Parents become participants when school sites provide parents with
workshop opportunities and training sessions with staff to better understand the standards that
their children are being taught. School staff are encouraged to ask the parents to identify the
ELA and math strands where their children scored the lowest, and have them compare their
student’s scores to the state and district averages on SBAC and other assessments in an effort to
assess their growth.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

92

Parents need to see where English language learner (ELL) students score historically
on the CA English Language Development Test (CELDT) and the consequences of not passing
this assessment (F). Behavioral theorists such as Daly (2006) would have organizations identify
specific behavioral objectives for parent stakeholders to learn. This way the objectives are clear
and achievable, and thus reinforceable. The idea is to promote growth learning by the parent so
as to impact student achievement. To this point, parents need to learn that their involvement is
urgently needed and a true must have; that the barriers to participation in a community-based
preventive intervention must be addressed (Mendez et al., 2009). Therefore the recommendation
is that local LEA’s need to provide parents with opportunities to learn about CELDT and other
ELD related academic demands on their children. Parents can then be asked to identify practices
that they could engage in to support their child, as well as what practices they already engage in
at home that support the second language acquisition.
Procedural knowledge solutions, or description of needs or assets. Parents need to
attend school events and training meetings to enhance their understanding of how to better assist
their children in school. Behavioral theorists have proven that if we want to impact change in
social behaviors, we need to differentiate the schedules of reinforcement, to best control the
strength and rate of responses (Daly, 2009). These procedures are not obvious and must be
taught. Organizations and families of Bilingual Emergent students need to understand the
importance of home to school partnerships in a high school community (Cooper, 2015). Thus, it
is recommended that LEA’s provide parents with input opportunities on content and topics
related to school events and include them as relevant partners and not only recipients of
information. Organizations need to schedule sessions with parent stakeholder input on time and
date options. Sessions cannot be face-to-face only. There needs to be a shift towards digital
acquisition of content as well. Organizations should offer opportunities for the parent to learn
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

93

how to support learning from the home, via streaming and or digital recordings. To teach
growth, parents will be asked to keep a log of how often they attended school events and
meetings as a means to recall and reaffirm their own agency development. These workshops
should not only be centered on procedural elements of learning content and assessments, but also
in growing social capital, to grow a connection to institutional agents and to even become agents
themselves and for their communities (Stanton-Salazar, 1997). When surveyed, parents will be
able to articulate that they are also learning alongside their children and the importance of their
role in relation to the success of their children.
Metacognitive knowledge solutions, or description of needs or assets. Parents need to
be and will be active on school committees, as contributors by voting and being aware of site
initiatives if their time and date needs are met. Information processing system theory tells us that
we need to embark in the use of metacognitive strategies to best facilitate learning (Baker, 2006).
Parent stakeholders are not fully aware of the utility value of becoming involved in school site
committees and their low levels of self-efficacy make it difficult to engage them in such a task.
Mayer (2011) shared the value of having learners identify prior knowledge, what they know and
what they do not know about a topic, before a learning task to better know how to support them.
The idea is to have the administration model and share their own metacognitive process by
talking out loud and assessing strengths and weaknesses as they embark in learning a new
concept. This can in turn show families that it is safe to try to learn new things.
Parents need to make time to attend and learn from trainings to best grow their sense of
self-efficacy and increase their involvement to best support their children (Aguinis & Kraiger
2009). The current stakeholder group, parents of ELL and low SES students, vary in their
knowledge types and require different things to bring about needed change and help them to
function at their best. There is a high value in training parents using a systematic approach
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

94

during trainings so as to affect not just the group at large, but individual knowledge, skills, and
attitudes about learning (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009). The focus is to impact growth on the
individual, the team, and organizational effectiveness to help make the best data driven
decisions. The idea is to not focus on culture change, but instead on the business problem: what
isn’t working. The key is to be very specific (Schein, 2010). As such, it is recommended that
the trainings be specific to parents and the identified problem of need, and that they be ongoing
in a systematic cycle so as to not miss the learning opportunities.
Motivation Recommendations
Introduction. Table 5.2 is designed to highlight the motivation influences and
recommendations based on what researchers and supporting literature have suggested can
positively impact the organizational goal of improved student achievement. There were two
validated motivational influences: (1) parents need to see the utility value of participation in the
quarterly school wide functions, which seek to improve their child’s efforts in school and future
planning; (2) parents also need to believe and develop their self-efficacy to best support their
children through K-12 and into college, and that connection with their church, successful family
friends, and the school all build the needed social capital to move their family upward. These
influences were ranked and categorized based on their priority and implementation likeliness. It
is important to recognize that to affect motivation, schools and LEA’s need to affect the
stakeholder by activating and building upon personal interest in an effort to increase their
learning and motivation (Schraw & Lehman, 2001). Using the Clark and Estes (2008) gap
analysis model, we were able to decipher the needs of the stakeholder group and make
recommendations based on motivational solutions that align with what researchers believe are
effective strategies, consistent with the organizational goal of student achievement.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

95

Table 5.2
Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Motivation
Influence: Cause,
Need, or Asset*

Validated
Yes, High
Probability,
No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Utility Value: Parents
of English Language
Learners (ELLs) need
to see the value in
participating in
quarterly school wide
functions that improve
their child’s efforts in
school and future
planning.

HP Y Information learned
meaningfully and
connected with prior
knowledge is stored
more quickly and
remembered more
accurately because it
is connected with
prior learning
(Schraw &
McCrudden, 2006).

Latino parents will
develop a strong
connection to their
child’s limited
academic growth in
an effort to pull them
out of that learning
gap (focus)
(Armenta, 1993).

Participate in their
children’s
educational
endeavors
(spelling bee,
literacy nights,
open house,
sporting events,
etc.).
Organizations
should recognize
the Latino parents’
of ELLs of low
SES existing
knowledge and
tailor events by
visiting and
establishing
partnerships with
groups that
promote and work
with universities
(M.E.S.A, PTA,
etc.). Make the
events culturally
responsive and
relevant.
(utility value).
Self-Efficacy: Parents
of EL learners need to
believe that they are
capable of effectively
supporting their
children through K-12
and into College. As
well as, feel capable of
connecting with their
church and school
(social capital) to aide
HP Y Provide opportunities
to observe a credible,
similar model
engaging in behavior
that has functional
value; use models that
build self-efficacy
and enhance
motivation (Pajares,
2006).

Parents will
develop a strong
sense of self-
efficacy (via
trainings) in their
ability to support
their children in
school by having
visited other
models of similar
demographics
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

96

in growing their self-
efficacy.

Effective
observational learning
is achieved by first
organizing and
rehearsing modeled
behaviors, then
enacting them overtly
(Mayer, 2011).
having success.
As well as setting
initial assessments
at current levels of
self-efficacy, then
gradually
increasing the
challenge.

Utility value. Parents of ELLs need to see the value in participating in quarterly school
wide functions that improve their child’s efforts in school and future planning. Research tells us
that information learned meaningfully and connected with prior knowledge is stored more
quickly and remembered more accurately because it is connected with prior learning (Schraw &
McCrudden, 2006). Thus, family involvement events need to be focused and have a connection
to student achievement so parents will appreciate, learn, and stay the course when it comes down
to them charting a path towards post-secondary school. As an organization and institution, there
needs to be clear advocacy for agency to promote a high level of involvement laden with
supports (Stanton-Salazar, 1997). Armenta’s (1993) work demonstrated that Latino parents
should develop a strong connection to their child’s limited academic growth so as to assist them
in decreasing the learning gap. If getting parents to become more regularly involved is to work,
there needs to be calibration and constant evaluation of the approaches implemented in order to
best gauge if the efforts are worthwhile (Clark and Estes, 2008). Therefore, it is recommended
that the organization work with families to develop an acute awareness of the value of
participating in their children’s educational endeavors. To increase parent participation in their
children’s educational endeavors such as spelling bees, literacy nights, open houses, and sporting
events, organizations should recognize the needs of Latino parents’ of ELLs’ of low SES
existing knowledge and tailor these events to the parents. It is possible to accomplish this by
visiting and establishing partnerships with groups that promote and work with universities
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

97

(M.E.S.A, PTA, etc.), as well as making these events culturally relevant and responsive.
These efforts will attract families and the word will spread about how to support one’s child.
Utility value insists that there first be both value and enjoyment in the task for there to be
a long term investment in the actions needed to attain the rewards; therefore, the visits should
include meetings with stakeholders from the sites visited so as to allow a connection to be
fostered (Eccles, 2006). The idea here is to grow the connection to the activity thus growing its
utility value. This makes it important to include rationales about the importance and utility value
of the task (Pintrich, 2002). The value to be forged from this effort is the idea that all families
must want to become involved in their children’s academic life. When LEA’s create these
systems, they must ensure that the efforts be calibrated with the parent stakeholders in mind, as
well as include the stakeholder in the creation phase. Providing systematic opportunities to
calibrate via feedback is very important. Feedback on the processes as well as actual success on
challenging tasks positively influences people’s perceptions of competence (Pajares, 2006).
Organizations need to hear from their stakeholders directly so that they know what they value
most; they need to know how these efforts align with pre-existing goals or plans (Eccles, 2006).
No value, results in no goal (Eccles, 2006).
Self-efficacy. Parents of EL learners need to believe that they are capable of effectively
supporting their children through K-12 and into college. Connecting with their church and
school in order to grow social capital, will aide in growing their self-efficacy. Clark and Estes
(2008) showed us that evaluation is an absolutely essential ingredient when attempting to close
the performance gap, especially if there is to be an improved performance. Pajares (2006)
posited the need to provide opportunities to observe a credible, similar model engaging in
behavior that has functional value; organizations need to use models that build self-efficacy and
enhance motivation. The parent stakeholder’s level of self-efficacy is not high enough to make
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

98

the necessary moves to grow their child’s academic performance levels. Models need to be
put into place, trust needs to be established, and a move towards clearly defining agents and
growing one’s agency are paramount to creating the structure and social capital necessary to
compete in the marketplace. Therefore, it is recommended that parents develop a strong sense of
self-efficacy in their ability to support their children in school. This is accomplished through
trainings based on other models of similar demographics which have had success in involving
families whose children have moved into post-secondary schools. Parents should set their initial
assessments at their current levels of self-efficacy, then gradually increase the challenge.
According to Pajares (2006) self-efficacy beliefs are the self-perceptions that individuals
hold about their own capabilities with regards to completing a task from start to finish. When
creating new opportunities and challenges for families to embark upon, LEA’s should remember
to allow time for the participants to use their newly developing skills, as they may question their
judgment and internal beliefs about what they perceive they are trying to accomplish (Pajares,
2006). The social cognitive theory (SCT) has shown that self-efficacy affects more than the
individual, it affects the group as well. Bandura (2000) asserted that people are agents of change
and they can help determine, and even set outcomes when the incentives are right. LEA’s can
move the individual, they can effect change by affecting the environment. Changes in the
environment can affect behavior. (Daly, 2006; Tuckman, 2009). When environments become
affected and circumstances change, so do those affected by them (Bandura, 2000). It is
important to recognize that the social construct of self-efficacy is a hurdle necessary to address
by LEA’s. Pajares (2006) acknowledged that it is both a personal and a social construct that can
be developed (Pajares, 2006). As such, it is recommended that parents and LEA’s work closely
in the development of efforts to grow involvement and self-efficacy. The belief in oneself is
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

99

huge and affects the behavior that will either support or harm the efforts needed to improve
student achievement.
Organization Recommendations
Table 5.3 is designed to highlight the validated organizational influences, and provide
specific recommendations to address the high priority needs based on what researchers and
supporting literature have suggested can positively impact the organizational goal of improved
student achievement. The organizational influences differ from the knowledge and motivational
components, in that they also take into account different stakeholders within the organization
such as, organization leaders and site teachers. Each stakeholder group has a unique hierarchy
and culture. In the following cultural model of influence, the organization needs to create a more
conducive environment for families to feel welcomed so that they may in turn become more
involved in important school activities such as: parent conferences, homework help, afterschool,
and during school events. This is difficult to impact parent interest and involvement without
integrating personal interests or a common interest (Schraw & Lehman, 2001). A second
cultural influence is the culture that the parents are overwhelmed by the amount of content and
trainings offered at the school.
Working within the cultural model and design, the organization can impact the
stakeholders by working within their interest levels. Parents feel overwhelmed and have a
limited number of choices in regards to time offerings for trainings; these limits are inhibiting
parents from becoming more involved in an effort to improve student achievement. Addressing
these negative influences needs to be a top priority for the organization. These influences were
ranked and categorized based on their priority and the likelihood of their implementation. It is
equally important to recognize that to affect these organizational influences that tether to the
organizational culture, the organization will need to support the affected stakeholders by
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

100

activating and building upon personal interest in an effort to increase their learning and
motivation (Schraw & Lehman, 2001). Here, through the lens of the Clark and Estes (2008) gap
analysis model, it is possible to see the needs and recommend solutions that align with what
researchers believe are effective strategies consistent with the organizational goal of student
achievement. Table 5.3 reveals the actual validated organizational needs, and provides specific
recommendations to address the high priority needs based on the research.
Table 5.3
Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations
Assumed
Organization
Influence: Cause,
Need, or Asset*

Validated
Yes, High
Probability,
No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and Citation

Context-Specific
Recommendation
Cultural Model
Influence 1: The
organization needs to
create a more
conducive environment
for families to feel
welcomed, and in turn,
become more involved
in school activities (e.g.
parent conferences,
homework help,
afterschool and during
school events).
HP Y Activating and building
upon personal interest
can increase learning
and motivation
(Schraw & Lehman,
2001).

Team members
experience a system of
monitoring performing
(mutual performance
monitoring/accountabil
ity) Campion, M. A.,
Medsker, G. J., &
Higgs, A. C. (1993).
Co-develop
protocols that
foster transparent
communication
between faculty
and parents to
facilitate buy-in
and trust. Parents
should share in
some of the
workload to
increase the
relevancy and
participation.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

101

Cultural Model
Influence 2: There is a
miscommunicated
expectation of how to
support the
institutional goal of
involving more
parents to improve
student achievement.
HP Y Activate personal
interest by providing
choices and control,
subsequently building
upon personal interests
and prior knowledge
(Schraw & Lehman,
2001).

Team members receive
direction such as goals
and missions from
organization (Chang et
al., 2010; Durham et
al., 1997; Griffin et al.,
2001; Paris et al., 2000;
Rabey, 2003; Salas et
al., 2005)

Support of
stakeholders and
their growth is
necessary for
culture change.
The shift should
evolve from
mandates and
compliance to
engagement and
collaboration
between schools
and parents.
Schools need to
act as institutional
agents working
towards involving
families in
educational
processes.
Cultural Setting
Influence 1: Parents
need to attend as many
trainings as possible
and not become
overwhelmed by the
content and amount of
trainings offered at the
school.
HP Y Increasing germane
cognitive load by
engaging the learner in
meaningful learning
and schema
construction facilitates
effective learning
(Kirshner et al., 2006).
Model enthusiasm or
interest. Activate
personal interest by
providing choices and
control, subsequently
building upon personal
interests and prior
knowledge (Schraw &
Lehman, 2001).

Team members
experience a level of
freedom and
independence to
complete work
(Autonomy).
(Campion, M. A.,
Medsker, G. J., &
Higgs, A. C., 1993).
Organizational
leaders model
interactions and
expectations like
institutional agents
who work to move
communities
towards academic
and social
advancement.
Provide support by
creating good
relationships with
each other.
Develop trust and
a reciprocal
relationship where
both can call on
each other for
support.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

102

Cultural Setting
Influence 2: Parents
and teachers have no
access to training
opportunities within
successful
organizations that
encompass other
relevant stakeholders
who have integrated
effective parent
engagement practices
with observable gains
in student achievement.
Goal isGrowing Social
Capital for parents.
V Y Be explicit about the
value and relevance of
the learning task for the
learner (Schraw &
Lehman, 2001).

Institutionalization of
district and the
ideological
mechanisms that hinder
help-seeking and help-
giving behaviors within
the school by low
status children and
youth (Stanton-Salazar,
1997).
Knowing the
culture is key.
Working within
the confines of
what the
perceptions are
will allow for trust
and buy-in to
occur. Work with
families using
Stanton-Salazar’s
Social Capital
Framework of five
overlapping
institutional
problems.

Cultural models. The organization needs to create a more conducive environment for
families to feel welcomed and in turn become more involved in school activities. For an
organization to grow in this area, the research stated that the needed steps would be activating
and building upon personal interest to increase organizational learning and motivation (Schraw
& Lehman, 2001). Parents will not make the needed change unless they feel respected, taken
into consideration, and relevantly supported. This is achievable by inviting them into co-create
sessions and taking into account their skills and schedules. Consideration of these factors creates
buy-in and motivates the parents to learn how they can support the organizational effort.
Strebel’s (1996) work on leadership in the Harvard Business Review outlines the three steps to
make this change from within happen:
1. Draw attention to the need for change and establish the context for revising personal
commitments.
2. Initiate the process in which stakeholders are able to revise and buy into new
commitments.
3. Lock in commitments with new formal and informal rules.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

103

Taking these actions this will foster an organizational level of accountability and
commitment. The goal being that all stakeholders work together on the same initiatives with the
same level of commitment. This means that team members will experience a system of
monitoring performance and mutual performance monitoring that is needed for accountability
(Campion, M. A., Medsker, G. J., & Higgs, A. C. (1993). These actions allow for trust to happen
and for buy-in to begin. Culturally, we are in dire needs to understand that not only are we
dealing with a need for improved andragogy because we are working with adult learners, but
there is also a need to understand that they resist learning when they feel others are imposing
information, ideas, or actions on them (Fidishun, 2000). Therefore, it is recommended that
parent involvement systems be co-developed. These protocols should be designed to foster
transparent communication between faculty and parents so as to have buy-in and trust. Parents
should share in some of the workload to increase the relevancy and participation rates.
Schein (2010) found that a strong organizational culture controls organizational behavior
and can in turn block an organization from making the necessary changes to adapt to a changing
environment. The more a leader acts in a way that followers feel is appropriate ethical leader
behavior, the more a leader will be trusted (Van den Akker, Heres, Lasthulzen & Six, 2009). In
essence, best practices ask that organizations be supportive, as well as bring diverse opinions to
the table in an effort to support and engage in responsible risk taking trial and error. Moorman &
Grover (2009) shared that followers use attributions of leader integrity as a predictor for how the
leader will behave in the future. It is important to be considerate of the adult stakeholder. Adult
learners resist learning when they feel others are imposing information, ideas, or actions on them
without input (Fidishun, 2000). These are trust building efforts; efforts that when increased will
change performance that best meets the organizational goals (Clark & Estes, 2008). As such, it
is recommended that relevant stakeholders, parents and organizational leaders, share back
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

104

frequently on the process and challenges of involving parents so as to always keep the line of
ideas, communication, and trust open.
Cultural settings. Parents need to attend as many trainings as possible and not become
overwhelmed by the content and number of trainings offered at the school. According to
Kirshner et al. (2006), increasing the germane cognitive load by engaging the learner in
meaningful learning and schema construction facilitates effective learning. The idea would be to
use a conversational rather than a formal style that allows for the stakeholder to absorb new
information as they outline, summarize, or elaborate on the material (Mayer, 2011). A growing
sense of trust and freedom will allow stakeholders to experience a level of freedom and
autonomy to complete work (Campion et al., 1993). If organizational leaders and site leaders
model enthusiasm and interest, as well as activate personal interest by providing choices and
control, subsequently building upon personal interests and prior knowledge, then this will assist
in the stakeholder feeling less overwhelmed (Schraw & Lehman, 2001). Therefore, it is
recommended that organizational leaders model interactions and expectations like institutional
agents who work to move communities towards academic and social advancement.
Organizations should also provide support by creating a good and reciprocal relationship with
the parent stakeholder. Development of a thoughtful relationship built on trust where both can
call on each other for support is essential. Doing this will assist in what researcher, Stanton-
Salazar (1997) would refer to as the, “help-seeking and help-giving behaviors” that need to exist
within schools.
Sirkin et al (2005), stated that some of the hard factors that affect a transformation
initiative are the time necessary to complete it, and the number of people required to execute it.
Constant review of the time and efforts required for such a task will ensure that frequent
reflection takes place. Voices in the process matters as well as follow through. Studies show
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

105

that a long project that is reviewed frequently is more likely to succeed than a short project
that is not reviewed frequently (Sirkin, Keenan, & Jackson 2005). Subsequently, it is
recommended that organizations dedicate the time to map out the social capital growth and
training initiatives, share with all stakeholders regularly why it is valued, and allow for there to
be autonomy to create aligned activities they can support.
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
Implementation and Evaluation Framework
The implementation and evaluation framework used for this study is the new world
Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). This new model by Kirkpatrick has four
levels of training and evaluation: level one, reaction; level two, learning; level three, behavior;
and level four, results. Kirkpatrick’s new model recommends that when implementation is set to
begin, to do so with the end in mind. Essentially, to start with level four, results, and work
towards level one, reaction. In level four focus on outcomes and metrics that show growth
towards desired results. In level three this can be seen as the platform to look back at the goals
and metrics in level four and forward to levels one and two. The idea is that since you have
already had the training, critical behaviors should be in place and here in level 1 is where
monitoring of the required drivers can live (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). In level two, the
organization ensures that the adequate levels of knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence, and
commitment are learned from their trainings. Lastly, in level one, as an organization it is
important to evaluate the reaction. Were the participants satisfied and engaged during trainings?
Did they see the relevance? Thus, the new world Kirkpatrick model is used to design and
integrate the implementation and evaluation framework as an organization to support the families
of ELL and low SES families impacted by CGCSD (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

106

Organizational Purpose, Need, and Expectations
Citrus Grove City School District’s (CGCSD) mission is to provide a high quality
education designed to reach and teach all students and to prepare them for a bright and promising
future in our rapidly changing world. It seeks to develop student responsibility, confidence,
creativity, enthusiasm, and strong academic and social skills for lifelong learning. CGCSD is
100% committed to its four Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) goals:
1. To support academic success to ensure equal access.
2. To support academic success and prepare students for college and career.
3. Hire highly effective staff and provide support to develop their abilities.
4. Encourage and welcome the involvement of parents and the broader community
in the educational process.
CGCSD has laid out a three-year plan where they clearly articulate each state priority and
allocate dedicated funds to ensure they achieve each goal. One of the four goals directly targets
the achievement gap of low socioeconomic students who are English language learners. The
organizational performance goal is that by June 2018, underperforming student groups, socio-
economically disadvantaged, English learners, Hispanic students, students with disabilities, and
foster youth will make progress in meeting grade level standards and achieve academic parity.
With a clearly articulated goal of decreasing the achievement gap by learning growth, this
evaluation provides targeted data to show the efficacy of the efforts. The problem this paper
addresses is the problem of opportunity and achievement gaps for students who are both ELLs
and are of low SES in California’s K-12 urban public schools. This study examines the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational barriers that affect the parents’ and organizational
stakeholders’ abilities to use the data on perceived barriers to develop and recommend precise
activities and trainings, that would attract families to participate with the organization in its
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

107

efforts to improve student learning outcomes for ELLs of low SES. The proposed solution is
to provide specific training for both the parent stakeholder group and the organizational leaders.
The training for the parents would focus on how they can improve the learning outcomes of their
children and the training for organizational leaders should focus on how to prioritize and attract
parents to the organization using workshops that are co-created by teacher and parents centered
on student learning. The proposed solutions for internal outcomes will allow organizational
leaders to (a) increase knowledge about how to attract parents to sites, establish a rapport, and
build trust to attract different parents, (b) increase teacher knowledge on how to foster a
collaborative classroom, (c) increase awareness of their currently limited opportunities for
families to be involved in a collaborative nature due to scheduling issues, (d) increase their skills
in building relationships with parent stakeholder group, and (e) increase self-efficacy to provide
academically and age appropriate parent-learning workshops. The proposed solutions for
external outcomes are (a) increase student learning outcomes for students who are of low SES
and are ELLs by involving their parents in the academic journey by growing academic social
capital, and (b) improved collaborative and trusting relationships with the parent stakeholder
group.
Level Four: Results and Leading Indicators
The following Table 5.4 is based on the KMO recommendations presented earlier. It
covers both external and internal proposed outcomes, metrics and methods. Table 5.2 shows
that the parent stakeholder group wants to be supported and moved in the positive direction when
working with their children and that organizationally there are areas of growth in the efforts to
include the parents more in the planning and designing of the content. It is believed that with
specific training and support for this stakeholder group the organizational goal can be met. The
external outcomes will be met to some level of satisfaction, if the internal outcomes are met.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

108

Table 5.4
Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for Internal and External Outcomes
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
External Outcomes
1. (a): Increase student
learning outcomes for
students who are of low SES
and are ELLs by
(b): involving their parents
in the academic journey.
1. (a): Improved results from
standardized local and
national assessments.
1) (b): increased parent
participation at co- sponsored
workshops and events.
1. (a): Assessment outcomes in
student information database.
1. (b): Sign in sheets from site
and organizational events.
2. Improved trust and
collaborative relationships
with staff to strengthen the
parent stakeholder group.
Positive feedback from annual
parent stakeholder surveys.
Annual survey results. Exit
slips after events.
Internal Outcomes
1. (a): Increase knowledge
for parents about how to
interact with staff to
improve workshops at
school sites.
(b): Establish a rapport and
trust to encourage different
parents to come in.
1. (a): Positive feedback from
workshops on parent/school
connections by parents.

1. (b): Positive verbal and
written feedback from parents
about how the school and
organization have made them
feel.
1. (a): Exit slips from parent
meetings
1. (b): Parent surveys and exit
slips
2. Increase parent
knowledge on how to
participate in a collaborative
classroom.
Positive reports of efforts
towards the goal by parents.
Feedback forms after each
even.t
3. Increase parent awareness
about opportunities to be
involved in a collaborative
nature.
Positive reports and open lines
of communication while
building this bridge.
Parent meeting exit slips and
feedback forms after each event.
4. Increase the parents’ skill
at building relationships
with staff.
Positive feedback about their
efforts towards working with
staff.
Parent training exit slips.
5. Increase self-efficacy to
provide academically and
age appropriate parent
learning workshops.
Positive peer feedback and
constant dialogues about a
growth mindset.
Parent feedback forms. Exit
slips from trainings

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

109

Level Three: Behavior
Critical behaviors. The stakeholders of focus for this study are the parents and staff at
CGCSD. The first critical behavior is communication between parents and staff. A constant
open line of communication between the stakeholders will grow a collaborative effort towards
the improvement of student learning outcomes. The second critical behavior is parent
collaboration with the organization in designing the learning workshops. The third critical
behavior is the staff making the the parent stakeholder a priority and providing them with
ongoing trainings and support (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The specific metrics, methods,
and timing for each outcome behaviors appear in Table 5.5.
Table 5.5
Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation
Critical Behavior Metric(s)
Method(s)
Timing
Parents and staff will
have constant lines of
communication open
to grow a collaborative
effort towards
improving the student
learning outcomes.
The number of
meetings attended
by both parents and
staff where each
reported adding to
the meetings value.
Site and organizational
leaders to set up
debriefs after district
and site meetings to
review meeting notes
and goals.
Monthly (as
needed).
Parents collaborate in
the process and design
of the learning
workshops if they are
to be expected to make
connections with the
organization.
Parents from school
committees and
staff share at
meetings their role
and the values
added to the
workshops aimed at
more parent
engagement ideas.
District and site leaders
create meetings that
allow for these sessions
to occur and support
the stakeholders by
rallying behind the
efforts.
Monthly (as
needed).
Staff to receive
ongoing trainings and
support towards
making the parent
stakeholder a priority.
The number of
training sessions
offered by sites and
district level aimed
at growing capacity
at creating more
parent engagement
opportunities..
District and site leaders
to offer monthly
meetings inviting key
parents and adding new
faces to the meetings to
show a desire to grow
this area of need.
Monthly (as
needed).

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

110

Required drivers. Staff need the support of their peers and leaders, as well as a clear
connection to the LCAP goal. It is critical that the organization reinforce, encourage, reward,
and monitor all activities learned from meetings and trainings. Reinforcement is the tool to
model support for staff and parents as they participate in the learning and meetings.
Encouragement for stakeholders serves as a formal way to connect with staff and calibrate
efforts. Rewarding stakeholders regularly via certificates and praise is designed to move critical
behaviors (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Lastly, accountability, this is to be done by
monitoring training sessions and parent meetings for engagement of the participants (Kirkpatrick
& Kirkpatrick, 2016). Table 5.6 shows the recommended drivers to support critical behaviors of
all stakeholders; parents, district, and site staff).
Table 5.6
Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing
Critical Behaviors Supported
1, 2, 3
Reinforcing
Create a culture of open and clear communication
between the District and Site about the value
parents play in the academic outcomes of their
children.
Ongoing 1, 2, 3
Provide training to staff on how to empower
teachers and parents by creating a collaborative
working environment focused on student learning
and a culture of community.
Ongoing 1, 2, 3
Encouraging
Praise staff and district peers for meeting
regularly in quads or triads and sharing their
results and supporting each other's efforts aimed
at growing parent participation rates.
Ongoing 1, 2, 3
Recognize site teachers for meeting by grade
level and reviewing and planning based on their
previous month’s goal and outcomes via
newsletters and meetings.
Bi-weekly
(Ongoing)
1, 2, 3
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

111

Rewarding
District level recognition for parental
engagement at management meetings and in the
online newsletter.
Monthly 1, 2, 3
Site level recognition for staff efforts towards
improving parental participation using site
website and during meetings.
Monthly 1, 2, 3
Monitoring
District will keep monthly logs of events,
meeting notes, parent feedback forms, and exit
slips from staff trainings and share them with all
stakeholders.
Weekly 1, 2, 3
Site leaders will track sign in sheets, meeting
notes, exit slips, and feedback forms all
catalogued for use in meetings to brainstorm and
continue growing their efforts.
Weekly 1, 2, 3

Organizational support. To ensure that the critical drivers are implemented on a
continuous basis by CGCSD, the district will provide the following support. First, design a
reboot of the LCAP goal and re-launch the efforts with a commitment to the vision.
Additionally, review the current site plans and organizational goals to ensure goals are aligned
and all stakeholders are aware. Finally, the district and site will provide monthly check-ins to
evaluate and asses progress towards, the feedback received, and the notes from meetings, new
ideas, what is working, or needs to improve (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Level Two: Learning
Learning goals. The following is a list of what the stakeholders need to know and be
able to do in order to improve the student achievement rates of ELLs of low SES by performing
the critical behaviors listed above (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Staff stakeholders:
1. Know the LCAP goal and other related initiatives to prioritize time and efforts
needed to involve parents in the learning.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

112

2. Able to train parents on co-creating workshops with parent stakeholder input
on time and content.
3. Know how to grow agency by building partnerships with local community
agencies that offer services to parent stakeholders.
4. Co-create high value workshops for parents aimed at growing awareness of
academic assessments and how to support their children, after assessing actual
needs by of parents.
5. Build rapport with parents to grow trust and to improve engagement in school
related learning events.
Parent stakeholders:
1. Support and help prepare their children for local and state assessments by
attending workshops.
2. Prioritize their schedules to carve out time to meet with school staff or attend
school event or training on a monthly basis.
3. Learn to communicate with the school ideas on what their needs are.
4. Learn to collaborate with the school and local partners to grow their own self-
efficacy and educational Social Capital.
Program. The learning goals listed in the previous section, are possible to achieve
through a training program focused on stakeholders’ knowledge, motivation, and organizational
efforts. The training program is delivered through workshops, most co-created, and aimed at
growing each stakeholder’s knowledge, motivation, and the organization’s overall efficiency at
leading all stakeholders towards improving student learning via parent stakeholder partnerships.
Each learning module and workshop will consist of pre and post training that requires two hours
to complete, for a total training program completion time of 10 sessions per school year.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

113

During the workshops, stakeholders will be provided a workshop passport as an aid
for tracking key learning. Another learning aid will be a pre and post learning chart tracking
growth in core areas. The learning aids will be used as formative charts that gauge the direction
of the workshops and next steps. Each stakeholder will be provided the opportunity to practice
using the learning aids and receive real time feedback from the workshop facilitators. The
demonstrations of competence and feedback from stakeholders will also be used to establish a
baseline skill set and to prioritize the planning and creation of future workshops. Additionally,
workshops on agency and educational social capital will be incorporated to develop institutional
agency for and with the stakeholders. The goal is to promote academic partnership and
community building via such workshops to improve student learning and motivation.
Components of learning. Table 5.7 lists the methods and activities used to evaluate the
learning goals established for both stakeholders to ensure that they know the newly taught
content. In order to meet the goal of improving student learning, staff and parents must have
adequate levels of knowledge and motivation to be able to correctly follow procedures. To
accomplish this, a series of workshops for both stakeholders will need to take place, to increase
confidence and attitudes about the work. One workshop should be to build and assess the
knowledge base of the stakeholders, and the other to build and assess the interest and buy-in
level (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). At the end of such workshops there will be an
expectation to gain working commitments from both stakeholder groups to improve student
learning outcomes. As such, Table 5.7 lists the assessment methods and timing for these
learning components.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

114

Table 5.7
Components of Learning for the Program.
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Declarative Knowledge “I know it.”
Knowledge checks via pre/post
assessments parents.
At the onset of each workshop throughout the
year.
Knowledge checks for parents on how to
work with staff to co-create opportunities
for involvement.
Quarterly.
Procedural Skills “I can do it right
now.”

Feedback from parents after co-creating
workshops.
After the workshop is concluded.
Number of parents enlisted to attend
workshops via passports
Signed passport logs.
Attitude “I believe this is worthwhile.”
Initial surveys and feedback forms from
parents where they articulate their thoughts
on parent involvement.
At the onset of each workshop throughout the
year.
Confidence “I think I can do it on the
job.”

Feedback from parents during parent
engagement events.
After each parent engagement event.
Commitment “I will do it on the job.”
Parent commitments via parent workshop
passports submitted at back to school
nights or other related school event.
After each school event attended.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

115

Level One: Reaction
It is critically important to determine how both stakeholders are going to react to the
workshops offered. Each workshop needs to be designed with the organizational goal in mind
and the current knowledge base of the stakeholders. Each session will also require the
aforementioned assessments to determine if they are valuable (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
As such, Table 5.8 lists the reactions of the participants to the learning event being high in
customer satisfaction, engaging, culturally relevant, and responsive.
Table 5.8
Components to Measure Reactions to the Program.
Method(s) or Tool(s) Timing
Engagement
Observation at workshops of both stakeholders. After each workshop or training.
Ice breakers based on stakeholders interest. After each workshop or training.
Workshop exit slips (feedback forms) After each workshop.
Relevance
Calibration of each workshop with organizational
goals and participants own self efficacy.
After every workshop or training.
Completion of the stakeholder’s activity of co-
creating workshops.
After each workshop.
Workshop exit slips (feedback forms) After each workshop.
Customer Satisfaction
Interviews stakeholders. After each workshop.
Feedback forms.. After each workshop.
Workshop exit slips (feedback forms) After each workshop.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

116

Evaluation Tools
Immediately following the program implementation. Staff and parents will engage in
training dedicated to improving student learning and building partnerships with school sites and
the community. After each training, staff and parents will take a brief survey (see Appendix E
for the survey questions). The survey will focus on the attitude, confidence, commitments,
engagement, relevance, and overall customer satisfaction of the stakeholders involved.
For gauging level one reactions, at each training workshop, the facilitator will use
formative open ended questions to gauge stakeholder engagement, content relevance and overall
customer satisfaction on the new learning and its connectedness to the organizational goals.
Level two learning is focused on checking for understanding using skills based measurement
activities that demonstrate the stakeholders can perform the skill, like team crafted responses to
open ended scenario questions.
Table 5.8
Level One and Two During and Immediately Following Program Implementation
Evaluation Tools
Declarative Knowledge Item
Knowledge checks for parents using Y/N
response:
I know when/where to attend parent
workshops. (Yes or No)
I know how to co-create/facilitate
workshops: (Yes or No)
Procedural Knowledge
Parent demonstrates procedural knowledge
by enlisting in workshop via passports.
Survey Question: (Y/N)
Did you sign commitment passports
(Y/N)?
Attitude
Facilitated discussions about the need and
value of working with schools to improve
Open-ended response:
Describe the value of parents working with
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

117

student learning outcomes. staff to support student learning.
Parents work with Staff to co-create survey
of needs and interest for the designing of
engaging learning workshops.
Survey Question: What did you like most
about the workshops that were offered?
Please elaborate
Confidence
Scaled surveys on confidence to engage in
new learning for parent stakeholder group.
Likert Scale Item: I can engage in co-
creating workshops with staff and parents
aimed at improving student learning
outcomes.
0 5 10
Commitment
Parents attend learner/community
workshops
I have signed up to participate in this
amount of learner and community building
workshops:
0 1-3 4-7 8-10

Delayed for a period after the program implementation. Approximately eight weeks
after the training and again at the end of each trimester, site and organizational leadership will
administer a survey with both scaled and open ended items using Kirkpatrick’s blended
evaluation approach (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). By this time the required drivers have
been in effect and both stakeholders have had the opportunity to apply the new skills. Each
stakeholder will be able to share their level one reaction: How satisfied and relevant was the
training? Level two learning: on the value of the training and their confidence to implement.
Level three behaviors: applying the newly acquired learning and constant support from
organizational leaders and peers (See Appendix F). Level four results and leading indicators:
using this approach and strategically selected learner-centered items will allow for maximum
response rate and usable data (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

118

Table 5.9
Level one and two during and immediately following the program implementation
Methods or Tools
Engagement Item
Attendance at Parent Workshops Signed passport entries from workshops.
Relevance
Feedback from Parent groups Exit slip: Open ended response:
How useful was the workshop you attended
and how will you implement the newly
acquired knowledge?
Customer Satisfaction
Parent survey (Y/N) response. I was satisfied with the workshop provided.
(Yes/No)

Data Analysis and Reporting
The level four goal of increased parent engagement to improve student learning outcomes
is measured by the amount of hours involved at school related workshops and staff training to
co-create and facilitate parent workshops. Each month, the sites will track the number of staff
that engaged in the trainings and co-facilitated, as well as the number of parents that attended
and actively participated. The LCAP goal tracking report will have data that measures levels of
participation and serve as an accountability tool (see Figure 5.).
LCAP Goal for 2016- 2017
Parent Engagement Participation: 2016-2017: 8,317 (+10%)
Goal was a 3% Increase from 2015-2016: 7,564.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

119

Figure 5.1 Parent Participation Goal and Outcomes: 2015-2016 and 2016-2017.
Summary
In order to plan the process, implement the necessary steps, and evaluate the
efficaciousness of the recommendations, I used the new world Kirkpatrick model. This Blended
evaluation approach calls for co-created Likert scale items to be used, open ended questions that
allow for elaboration and closed ended responses (yes or no) by well trained staff and engaged
parents. This will allow for the aforementioned levels to be addressed. Parents will be gauged
against this model by measuring their own commitment at each level. Level one, reaction; how
do they feel about their individual efforts and about the outcomes of the co-created workshops?
Level two, learning; did the parents learn enough to move forward in their parenting after they
participated in the training? Level three, behaviors; are they applying the new learning and
working closely with their children and school community? Level four, results and leading
indicators; how many of the parent and organizational goals were met (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016)? Ultimately, there is great value in using this approach due to the anticipated
high return on outcomes when facilitated accurately and with fidelity.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

120

For this to be successful, an organization has to be sure to gather data concurrently, so
as to not wait until the end of any level to gauge if something's working or not. Kirkpatrick
(2016) asserted the need to touch base regularly with the participant’s in this case the parent
stakeholder group, to ensure that as you go through this model they are being formatively
assessed through each level. As such, there are key components to keep in mind: (a) Does this
training meet the expectations of what the content creators set out to do? (b) If not, why not? (c)
If so, why? (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Collaborative Framework: Organizations and Families
Creating the Momentum: How to Work with Parents
A structured approach to establishing trust and building collaboration starts with what
Stanton-Salazar (1997) calls the process of network construction. The idea is to create a sense of
urgency for families where they see that becoming involved is the best way to ensure their
children succeed. Promote agency and teach negotiation and help-seeking as products of social
and educational capital. Each organization can promote their vision about student achievement
and their commitment to creating the best environment for all students to learn and grow into
amazing young adults. Each site leader is to focus on how they can best represent their
organization and foster parent collaboration.
Organizational efforts. The first step of this collaborative framework is to create buy-in
and support for families. Survey families to learn of their interests and skills. Using the
newfound knowledge, create culturally relevant experiences for them to attend. These events
should be informal and designed to build relationships such as extracurricular activities, parent-
child dances, performances, and donuts with a loved one are all examples of building
relationships. Kirkpatrick (2016) insisted that change and growth happen through systematic
evaluation and planning. Organizations will benefit from planning with the end in mind and
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

121

building a relationship with families from each grade level to maintain proficiency and
promote self-efficacy. Kerkorian (2006) reminds organizations that there are barriers to never
lose site of; these are cultural and structural barriers that when recognized and addressed, prove
to be less damaging on the desired outcome and targets have a better chance of being met.
Targets include child care, transportation, time constraints, attitudes, beliefs, or perceptions.
Parental efforts. The principal effort to expect from the parent stakeholder is honest
feedback. Parents who are open to collaboration can also assist in the creation of opportunities
for all children. Step one is to talk through all the fears that parents have and focus on common
ground, the students. Parents can join the school by first taking the survey, answering the
questions, and reviewing the results. Parents can offer opinions on the design and timing of each
workshop so as to ensure that they are speaking for as many of the stakeholders not currently
attending as possible. The goal is to attract more and grow the level of engagement for parents.
Table 21 illustrates the beginning ideas for improving involvement. It takes into consideration
the findings that there are “too many initiatives” and focuses on the following three things;
English language arts (ELA), math, and relationship building. The main idea is that this cannot
be pre-scripted. It needs to serve as a springboard to foster ideas and must be finalized only
when parents are involved in its entire design. This “how” section can then be plugged back into
the Kirkpatrick model, levels one through four, and incorporate the use of periodic measures of
success and needs.
Table 5.10
Starter Plan to Grow Parental Engagement
Co-Created (Student/Parent) Workshops Ideas
ELA Workshops
How to improve reading Cultural legends, international titles, etc. w/ parent
How to build vocabulary Story flip books, etc. w/ parent
How to summarize Story summary cards, etc. w/ parent
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

122

Poetry Co-created poetry with parent, etc. w/ parent
Bring your own device How to incorporate the use of technology w/ parent
Tbd…
Math Workshops
How to regroup Using household items w/ parent
How to multiply Using beans, and other small items w/ parent
How to divide Using food (pizza, cookies, snacks, etc.) w/ parent
Bring your own device How to incorporate the use of technology w/ parent
Tbd…
Family and School Activities
Color Run w/ parent
Mother/Father Activity w/ parent
Living Museum w/ parent
Family Day w/ parent
Mariachi w/ parent
Awards Presentations w/ parent
Back to School Nights w/ parent
Open House w/ parent
Learning Walks w/ parent
Community Mapping w/ parent
Coffee Talks with: tbd (Agency) w/ parent
Bring your Own Device How to incorporate the use of technology w/ parent
Tbd…

Collaboration. The stakeholders’ meetings to design workshops does not have to be the
work of a few. From the findings, we learn that all families have varied skills and can offer
different elements to incorporate into the partnership. This is what Mendez (2009) called the
person-oriented analyses, where she posited that the main unit of analysis is the whole
individual, with a goal to better train and group others and foster cohesion and action. Site
leadership should then have parent leaders represented in all grade levels with varied levels of
expertise. These partners serve as liaisons to recruit and retain other parent leaders into the fold.
Timing of collaborative planning sessions. This partnership and planning should not be
done once and then left alone. It is best to start the planning sessions in January with an August
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

123

launch date in mind. Each workshop can be pitched and should also have key participants
identified. The site leaders can incorporate the sessions into the school calendars and also track
the survey and exit slips. Each grade level can work to ensure that they are offering varied level
content workshops, as well as opportunities for families to share out at coffee talks how they are
doing, and what they are doing to support their children. Giving families a voice to share out
what they do and how they already support their children also validates their efforts and further
solidifies the partnership. They serve as an example to the other stakeholders that there are other
ways to support their children through modeling hard work ethic, punctuality, high levels of
attendance, positive attitudes, and respect for others. These are soft skills that should not go
unnoticed.
Limitations
Merriam and Tisdale (2016) asserted that researcher’s biases exist. As the lead
researcher, I am also an insider of the organization and Latino community; there is the ethical
consideration of how to report the data with an awareness of possible biases. The interactions
with the parents were very emotional and the connection themselves were genuine. The
researchers deep sense of empathy when the interviewees felt dismayed by the survey results
made for a quick establishment of rapport and trust behind the statements “This is not a judgment
of you.” Additionally, a hard to let go of and longtime bias also had to be confronted during the
research. As a twenty-six-year veteran of education, I have been engrained with a bias that since
parents of ELL and low SES students were not seen at the same levels as those of the dominant
culture, then it was their fault for not knowing enough and or how, as well as not being
motivated enough to help. That bias was thus corrected and a deeper understanding emerged.
Knowing this, actions were taken by peer triangulating coding and survey findings to ensure that
any inferences made were accounted for and valid. The researcher engaged in a qualitative
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

124

inquiry focusing on making meaning within context, data collection via survey that was
purposeful for digging out the underlying factors during the gathering and interpreting of data
(Merriam & Tisdale, 2016). Maxwell (2013) posited the need to self-report observational
feelings and notes as they are interpreted, as well as the limitation that the researcher can develop
a reliance on inferring. The researcher’s biases are clear in that the researcher is emotionally
drawn to this population. The goal of the researcher is to capture the voice of the participants to
improve the academic outcomes of the Latino population. As previously stated, the survey
response totals were fifty (50) participants. Of the fifty who volunteered to take the survey, only
seven (7) were able to complete it in its entirety. Due to the small size of the complete data set,
the numbers were corroborated using larger organization survey data. That effort yielded the
finding that the numbers were consistent across the LEA. The final survey response rate was
14%, seven out of 50 parents responded despite efforts to get more surveys completed. This
meant that there was a need to generalize within the organizational context of the data results.
As stated previously, triangulation by means of using surveys, interviews, documents, and
referencing the literature review was critical to maintaining integrity in the study. Table 5.11
represents the member checks from the interviewees. Each person was shown their response
transcripts (some were translated) and the context of how they were used. Each was also asked if
they had any edits they wanted to make and or any elaboration to add. All were asked to state
verbally, “approve as is, approve with edits, disapprove.” All 100% approved.
Table 5.11
Member Checks
Interviewee Age Approval of commentaries and interpretations
José 39 I approve these statements and agree. (translated from Spanish)
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

125

Maria 35 Approve. (translated from Spanish)
Lucy 45 Approved. (translated from Spanish)
Juanita 29 I approve. That’s pretty much what I meant.
Lupe 42 Approve.

Recommendations for Future Research
The organizational mission of many LEA’s incorporate positive language asserting they
want students to become lifelong learners and positive contributors to society. As such, each
organization with student demographics that incorporate large percentages of ELLs and low SES
stand to improve the academic outcomes of their student body if they pursue making additional
changes to how they support their parent stakeholder. Currently, the parent stakeholder is not
fully engaging in or reciprocating the efforts of the LEA; they are not true partners in their
children’s academic endeavor. As such, taking the research provided here to the next step and
digging deeper into how involvement can become engagement can be a huge factor in decreasing
the achievement gap and growing opportunities for ELLs of low SES. Parent involvement is
great, but it is not enough. The next steps need to incorporate clear steps to develop parent
engagement. As stated before, involvement requires attendance, but engagement incorporates a
conscious effort and an investment of time and effort. To this end, let us look at students who
are ELL and low SES; yes, they are involved by mere daily attendance in school, yet that will not
impact the opportunity and achievement gaps that still persist. As such, the literature supports
growing engagement. For the ELLs of low SES and their parents, this means growing
engagement via culturally relevant professional development and pedagogy (Franco et al, 2011 ).
Future research can marry these two concepts by proving that engaging the parent stakeholder
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

126

can also grow student achievement outcomes. Not growing engagement leaves CGCSD at
status quo. For example, CGCSD has grown parental involvement using the Epstein model
(Bower and Griffin, 2011) by exponential numbers; yet, the academic data clearly shows that
involvement by attendance is not enough. It is time to dig deeper into engagement. Table 5.12
shows the data for overall parent involvement at CGCSD in hours involved and academic data
for growth, as well as the student data from national standardized student assessment data,
CASSPP (CDE).
Table 5.12
Parent Involvement and Student Assessment Data
Student Standardized Assessment Data and Parental Involvement Data

Total Parent
Participation
Overall Results: Standards Met or
Exceeded on Standardized Data

(CAASPP) ELA (CAASPP) Math
School Year 2015-2016 117,526 26.43% 21.70%
School Year 2016-2017 163,979 26.39% 21.00%
Increase 39.5% 0.4% 0.7%

Conclusion
Local education agencies, as well as families all want their students to do well. The
purpose of this study was to use Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis framework to evaluate the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that impact CGCSD’s efforts to improve
student achievement outcomes by involving parents more to decrease the achievement gap.
Chapter Two dove into the literature that supported the basis for the need to improve this
evaluative effort. Going off of the assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences impacting the LEA and parent partnership, the research validated the need and
outlined the gaps in the actions of the parent stakeholder group via surveys, document analysis,
and interviews. This study explored how the organization could better support the parent
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

127

stakeholder group by involving them more to ensure engagement, as well as to ensure the use
of culturally relevant approaches using the new world Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016). This comprehensive approach was presented along with an evaluation plan
that monitors the efforts in stages to ensure fidelity and application are sustained long term. The
belief is that through coherent and outlined workshops designed in partnership with the impacted
stakeholder, the organizations desired goal will be mapped out and much more attainable. These
recommendations are designed to increase crucial elements needed to engage the parent
stakeholder more in this effort. It starts with thoughtfully designing the goal and implementing
the recommended steps in collaboration with the parent stakeholder, rather than for the parent
stakeholder.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

128

References
Armenta, F. (1993). Latinos and group parent training: A research study with implications for
increasing parental participation in group parent training programs (Ph.D
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/304038403?accountid=14749
Aguinis, H., & Kraiger, K. (2009). Benefits of training and development for individuals and
teams, organizations, and society. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 451–474.
Albarracín, D., Handley, I. M., Noguchi, K., McCulloch, K. C., Li, H., Leeper, J., . . . Hart, W. P.
(2008). Increasing and decreasing motor and cognitive output: A model of general action
and inaction goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(3), 510-523.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.1037/a0012833
Alonzo, T. L. (2006). Closing achievement gaps through data-driven decision making in a
success for all school (Ed.D.). Available from Dissertations & Theses @ University of
Southern California, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text, ProQuest Dissertations &
Theses Global. (304977420). Retrieved
from http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/304977420?accountid=14749
Anderman, Eric M.; Anderman, Lynley H.; Yough, Michael S.; Gimbert, Belinda G. Educational
Psychologist Vol. 45, Iss. 2, (Apr 2010): 123-137.
Anello, V. (2011). Parent- and family-based interventions: An investigation of parental intention
to participate (M.A.).
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy2.usc.edu/docview/915643504?accountid=14749
Armenta, F. (1993). Latinos and group parent training: A research study with implications for
increasing parental participation in group parent training programs (Ph.D.).
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/304038403?accountid=14749
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

129

Baker, L. (2006). Metacognition. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/reference/article/ metacognition/
Bandura, A. (2000). Exercise of human agency through collective efficacy. Current Directions in
Psychological Science, 9(3), 75–78.
Barnard, W. M. (2004). Parent involvement in elementary school and educational attainment.
Children and Youth Services Review, 26, 39-62.
Benbow, C. P., & Stanley, J. C. (2006). Inequity in equity: How "equity" can lead to inequity for
high-potential students. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 2(2), 249-292.
http://dx.doi.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.1037/1076-8971.2.2.249
Bower, H. A., & Griffin, D. (2011). Can the Epstein model of parental involvement work in a
high-minority, high-poverty elementary school? A case study. Professional School
Counseling, 15(2), 77-87. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/912754374?accountid=14749
CAASSP CA Assessment Student Performance and Progress
https://caaspp.cde.ca.gov/sb2017/ViewReport?ps=true&lstTestYear=2017&lstTestType=B
&lstGroup=1&lstCounty=30&lstDistrict=66423-000&lstSchool=6027221
California Department of Education. (2015) Measures for College and Career Indicators.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/pa/documents/apr14item06ho3.pdf#search=Integrated%20Posts
econdary%20Education%20Data%20System&view=FitH&pagemode=none
Ca Ed Code. Charter School Operation.
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=47614&law
Code=EDC
California Legal Information Center. (2018). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

130

Campion, M. A., Medsker, G. J., & Higgs, A. C. (1993). Relations between work group
characteristics and effectiveness: Implications for designing effective work groups.
Personnel psychology, 46(4), 823-847.
Carter, P. L., & Welner, K. G. (2013). Closing the opportunity gap: What America must do to
give every child an even chance. Oxford University Press.
Cassity, J., & Harris, S. (2000). Parents of ESL students: A study of parental involvement.
National Association of Secondary School Principals. NASSP Bulletin, 84(619), 55-62.
Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/216033112?accountid=14749
Clark, R. E. & Estes, F. (2008). Turning research into results: A guide to selecting the right
performance solutions. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
College Board. (2014). The California AP expansion program. Retrieved from
http://apcentral .collegeboard.com/apc/html/cape-program/cape-program.html
Cooper, L. (2015). Building home-school partnerships with parents of English language learners
in a high school community: A mixed methods phenomenological study of one high school in
southern California (Ed.D.). Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/1666454700?accountid=14749
Creswell, J.W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods
Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
D'Addario, A. L. (2005). Understanding professional development and the process of change: A
case study of effective primary literacy teachers (M.A.). Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/305376296?accountid=14749
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

131

Denler, H., Wolters, C., & Benzon, M. (2009). Social cognitive theory. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/reference/article/social-cognitive-theory/
Daly, E. (2006). Behaviorism. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference
/article/behaviorism/
Dillman Carpentier, F. R., Mauricio, A. M., Gonzales, N. A., Millsap, R. E., Meza, C. M.,
Desimone, L. (1999). Linking parent involvement with student achievement: Do race and
income matter? The Journal of Education Research, 93, 11-30.
Dillman Carpentier, F. R., Mauricio, A. M., Gonzales, N. A., Millsap, R. E., Meza, C. M.,
Dumka, L. E., . . . Genalo, M. T. (2007). Engaging Mexican origin families in a school-
based preventive intervention. Journal of Primary Prevention, 28(6), 521-46.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.1007/s10935-007-0110-z
Dumka, L. E., . . . Genalo, M. T. (2007). Engaging Mexican origin families in a school-based
preventive intervention. Journal of Primary Prevention, 28(6), 521-46.
http://dx.doi.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.1007/s10935-007-0110-z
Eccles, J. (2006). Expectancy value motivational theory. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/reference/article/expectancy-value-motivational-theory/
Education Trust: Closing the Achievement Gap Newsletter. 2015. http://edtrust.org/
Epstein, J. L. (1986) "Parents' reactions to teacher practices of parent involvement." Elementary
School J. 86: 277-294.
Fink, A. (2013). How to conduct surveys: A step-by-step guide (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
SAGE Publications.
Franco, C. S., Ott, M. G., Robles, D. P., Lindsey, R. B., & Graham, S. M. (2011). A culturally
proficient society begins in school: Leadership for equity Corwin Press.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

132

Glesne, C. (2011). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction (4th ed.). Boston, MA:
Pearson.
Grossman, R., & Salas, E. (2011). The transfer of training: What really matters. International
Journal of Training and Development, 15(2), 103–120.
Hoff, E. (2013). Interpreting the early language trajectories of children from low-SES and
language minority homes: Implications for closing achievement gaps. Developmental
Psychology, 49(1), 4-14. doi:http://dx.doi.org.libproxy2.usc.edu/10.1037/a0027238
House, J. S., Kessler, R. C., & Herzog, A. R. (1990). Age, socioeconomic status, and health. The
Milbank Quarterly, 68(3), 383-411. doi:10.2307/3350111
Institute for Educational Sciences (IES): NCES, National Center for Educational Statistics
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/report.aspx?app=NDE&p=3-MAT-3-
20133%2c20093%2c20053-MWPCM-SLUNCH3-NT-
ALC_BB%2cALC_AB%2cALC_AP%2cALC_AD-Y_J-0-0-5
Kerkorian, D., McKay, M., & Bannon, W. M. (2006). Seeking help a second time:
Parents’/caregivers’ characterizations of previous experiences with mental health services
for their children and perceptions of barriers to future use. American Journal of
Orthopsychiatry, 76, 161–166.
Kirkpatrick, J., & Kirkpatrick W., K. (2016). Four levels of training evaluation. Alexandria, VA:
ATD Press.
Kist, W., & Pytash, K. E. (2015). "I love to flip the pages": Preservice teachers and new
literacies within a field experience. English Education, 47(2), 131-167. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/1642338158?accountid=14749
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

133

Krathwohl, David R. (2002) A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy: An Overview, Theory Into
Practice, 41:4, 212-218, DOI: 10.1207/s15430421tip4104_2
Lashway, L. (2002). The Superintendent in an Age of Accountability. ERIC Digest.
Lim, H. J. (2010). A longitudinal investigation of reading in high-stakes tests for adolescent
English language learners (Ph.D.). Available from Dissertations & Theses @ University of
Southern California, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text, ProQuest Dissertations &
Theses Global. (366332169). Retrieved
from http://search.proquest.com.libproxy2.usc.edu/docview/366332169?accountid=14749
Loera, G., Rueda, R., & Nakamoto, J. (2011). The association between parental involvement in
reading and schooling and children's reading engagement in Latino families. Literacy
Research and Instruction, 50(2), 133-155. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/1283767713?accountid=14749
Lopez, G. R., Scribner, J.D., & Mahitivanichcha, K. (2001). Redefining parental involvement:
Lessons from high performing migrant-impacted schools. American Educational Research
Journal, 38, 253-288.
Marsh, J. A., & Farrell, C. C. (2015). How leaders can support teachers with data-driven decision
making A framework for understanding capacity building. Educational Management
Administration & Leadership, 43(2), 269-289.
Martinez-Cosio, M. (2010). Parents' roles in mediating and buffering the implementation of an
urban school reform. Education and Urban Society, 4, 283-306.
Maxwell, J. A. (2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed.). Thousand
Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. pp. 39-72.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

134

Mayer, R. E. (2011). Applying the science of learning. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Mendez, J. L., Carpenter, J. L., Laforett, D. R., & Cohen, J. S. (2009). Parental engagement and
barriers to participation in a community-based preventive intervention. American Journal of
Community Psychology, 44(1-2), 1-14. http://dx.doi.org.libproxy2.usc.edu/10.1007/s10464-
009-9252-x
Menken, K. (2013). Emergent bilingual students in secondary school: Along the academic
language and literacy continuum. Language Teaching, 46(4), 438-476.
http://dx.doi.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.1017/S0261444813000281
Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and
implementation (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Mickelson, R. A. (2003). When are racial disparities in education the result of racial
discrimination? A social science perspective. Teachers College Record, 105(6), 1052.
Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/211337721?accountid=14749
Milner, H. R. (2010). What does teacher education have to do with teaching? implications for
diversity studies. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(1-2), 118-131.
Molle, D. (2013). The pitfalls of focusing on instructional strategies in professional development
for teachers of English learners. Teacher Education Quarterly, 40(1), 101-124. Retrieved
from
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.usc.edu.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/1496077003?accou
ntid=14749
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

135

Nordstrom, A. H. (2004). Engagement and retention in family-based preventive
interventions: The role of parental attributions and perceived barriers to participation
(Ph.D.). Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy2.usc.edu/docview/305146061?accountid=14749
Oakes, J. (1990). Multiplying inequalities: The effects of race, social class, and tracking on
opportunities to learn mathematics and science Rand Corp. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/59551079?accountid=14749
OPRS Office for the Protection of Research Subjects. https://oprs.usc.edu
Pajares, F. (2006). Self-efficacy theory. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/reference/article/self-efficacy-theory/
Parent Trigger Law. http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/pe/
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
SAGE Publications.
Pintrich, P. R. (2002). The role of metacognitive knowledge in learning, teaching, and
assessing. Theory into Practice, 41(4), 219. Retrieved from
http://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.libproxy2.usc.edu/docview/2
18833025?accountid=14749
Porter A. C., Gamoran A. (Eds.), . Washington, DC, USA: National Academies Press.
Methodological advances in cross-national surveys of education achievement (2002).
Rance-Roney, J. (2009). Best practices for adolescent ELLs. Educational Leadership, 66(7), 32.
Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/224838315?accountid=14749
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

136

Rock, M. L., Gregg, M., Ellis, E., & Gable, R. A. (2008). REACH: A framework for
differentiating classroom instruction. Preventing School Failure, 52(2), 31-47. Retrieved
from http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/228486162?accountid=14749
Rogers, E. M., Kmg-Fullerton, S., DeFord, D. E. (2003). Making a difference with professional
development in E. M Rogers & G. S. Pirmell (Eds), Learning from teaching in literacy
education (pp. 52-62). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Rueda, R. (2011). The 3 dimensions of improving student performance. New York: Teachers
College Press.
Saeki, E., & Quirk, M. (2015). Getting students engaged might not be enough: The importance
of psychological needs satisfaction on social-emotional and behavioral functioning among
early adolescents. Social Psychology of Education : An International Journal, 18(2), 355-
371. http://dx.doi.org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.1007/s11218-014-9283-5
Schein, E.H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Schraw, Gregory; Lehman, Stephen. Educational Psychology Review; New York Vol. 13, Iss. 1,
(Mar 2001): 23-52.
Schraw, G., & McCrudden, M. (2006). Information processing theory. Retrieved from http://
www.education.com/reference/article/information-processing-theory/.
Schneider, B., Brief, A. P., & Guzzo, R. A. (1996). Creating a climate and culture for sustainable
organizational change. Organizational dynamics, 24(4), 7-19.
Shaunessy, E., & Mchatton, P. A. (2009). Urban students' perceptions of teachers: Views of
students in general, special, and honors education. The Urban Review, 41(5), 486-503.
http://dx.doi.org.libproxy2.usc.edu/10.1007/s11256-008-0112-z
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

137

Simoes de Carvalho, M. S. (2006). The use of the California English language development
test in English learner program design (Ed.D.). Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/304909030?accountid=14749
Sirkin, H. L., Keenan, P., & Jackson, A. (2005, October). Harvard Business Review, 83(10),
108–118.
Stanton-Salazar, R. D. (1997). A social capital framework for understanding the socialization of
racial minority children and youths. Harvard Educational Review, 67(1), 1-40. Retrieved
fromhttp://search.proquest.com.libproxy1.usc.edu/docview/212284572?accountid=14749
Strebel, P. (1996). Why do employees resist change? Harvard Business Review, 74(3), 86-92.
Ted Talks: Pedro Noguera: Closing the Gap - Conversations from Penn State 11/15/2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWNg7xG1kcg
The College Campaign (2017). The State of Higher Education in California
http://collegecampaign.org/
Tuckman, B. (2009). Operant conditioning. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/reference/article/operant-conditioning/
U.S. Department of Education http://nces.ed.gov/
US Census. (2015) Orange County, Ca.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/RHI125215/06059
Warren, M. R., Hong, S., Rubin, C. H., & Uy, P. S. (2009). Beyond the bake sale: A community-
based relational approach to parent engagement in schools. Teachers College
Record, 111(9), 2209-2254. Retrieved from
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

138

http://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.libproxy2.usc.edu/docview/
61844676?accountid=14749.
Zellman, G.L., & Waterman, J.M. (1998). Understanding the impact of parent school
involvement on children's educational outcomes. Journal of Educational Research. 91, 370-
380
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

139

APPENDIX A
Survey Items (English)
Knowledge Influences on Parental Involvement:
1. During the 2015/2016 school year we offered parenting classes at your school, did you
want to participate in more:
a. Yes □
b. No □
(If No, please skip to question number 3)
2. If you marked Yes in question number 1, please indicate which of the following sessions you
would have liked to participate in if more were available at your school. Please mark all that
apply.
Reading Comprehension Session
i. Decoding □
ii. Vocabulary □
iii. Word knowledge □
iv. Monitoring □
v. Summarization □
Writing support for the child at home
vi. Sentence structures □
vii. Quick writes □
viii. Poetry □
ix. Journaling □
x. Pleasure Reading □

Training on reading standardized testing results
xi. CA English Language Development Test (CELDT) scores □
xii. CAASPP (State and Federal Test) scores □
xiii. AR (Accelerated Reader) Reading and Fluency scores □

3. During the 2015/2016 school year you were offered a variety of parenting classes at your
school to promote and improve your child’s learning. How much did each of the following
sessions help you in your efforts to support your child?

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

140

a. Reading Comprehension workshops:
i. Decoding
□ No Help □ Some Help □ Lots of Help □ Did not attend
ii. Vocabulary
□ No Help □ Some Help □ Lots of Help □ Did not attend
iii. Word knowledge
□ No Help □ Some Help □ Lots of Help □ Did not attend
iv. Monitoring
□ No Help □ Some Help □ Lots of Help □ Did not attend
v. Summarization
□ No Help □ Some Help □ Lots of Help □ Did not attend

b. Writing support for the child at home:
i. Sentence structures
□ No Help □ Some Help □ Lots of Help □ Did not attend
ii. Quick writes
□ No Help □ Some Help □ Lots of Help □ Did not attend
iii. Poetry
□ No Help □ Some Help □ Lots of Help □ Did not attend
iv. Journaling
□ No Help □ Some Help □ Lots of Help □ Did not attend
v. Pleasure Reading
□ No Help □ Some Help □ Lots of Help □ Did not attend

c. Training on reading standardized testing results:
i. CA English Language Development Test (CELDT) scores
□ No Help □ Some Help □ Lots of Help □ Did not attend
ii. CAASPP (State and Federal Test) scores
□ No Help □ Some Help □ Lots of Help □ Did not attend
iii. AR (Accelerated Reader) Reading and Fluency scores
□ No Help □ Some Help □ Lots of Help □ Did not attend

4. During the 2015/2016 school year you were offered a variety of parenting classes at your
school to promote and improve your child’s learning. What additional supports do you need to
ensure you are able to help your child with the following skills?
a. Reading Comprehension Session:
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

141

Session(s):______________________________________________________
___
b. Writing support for the child at home:
Session(s):_________________________________________________________
c. Training on reading standardized testing results:
Session(s):_________________________________________________________

Motivation Influences on Parental Involvement
5. Please rate the level of change in your ability to help your child at home with learning after
participating in parenting classes at your school during the 2015/2016 school year.
□ No Change □ Little Change □ Moderate Change □ High Change □ Did not attend
6. Please rate the level of importance that participating in parenting classes now has in your
own home after having attended classes at your child’s school during the 2015/2016 school year.
□ No Change □ Little Change □ Moderate Change □ High Change □ Did not attend
Organizational Influences on Parental Involvement
7. Do you feel there should be a variety of time slots that parenting classes are offered at your
child’s school:
a. Yes □
b. No □
8. Did you feel welcomed at the school when you attended the parenting class?
a. Yes □
b. No □
9. What value do you feel the school principal places on parenting classes at your school?
□ No Value □ Moderate Value □ High Value □ Do not know
10. Do you feel that the school and administration are open to feedback on ways to improve
Parenting classes at your school?
a. Yes □
(If Yes, please describe what feedback you have given administration to improve the
sessions and their turnout.)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

142

__________________________________________________________________________
b. No □
(If No, please describe what feedback you have given administration that was never
addressed.)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for participating in this study. Your name will be entered into the raffle. If your
name is selected, you will be contacted via phone or email to arrange pick up. If you have any
questions, comments or concerns, please direct them to munozg@usc.edu

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

143

Survey Items (Spanish)
Artículos de la encuesta

Influencias del Conocimiento sobre la Participación de los Padres:
1. Durante el año escolar 2015/2016 ofrecimos clases de crianza en su escuela, ¿quería
participar en más:
i. Si □
ii. No □
(Si la respuesta es No, pase a la pregunta número 3)
2. Si marcó Sí en la pregunta número 1, indique en cuál de las siguientes sesiones le gustaría
participar si hubiera más disponibles en su escuela. Marque todas las que correspondan.
Sesión de Comprensión de Lectura
i. Decodificación □
ii. Vocabulario □
iii. Conocimientos de palabras □
iv. Seguimiento □
v. Resumen (Volver a contar usando versión más corta) □
Escribir apoyo para el niño en casa
i. Estructura de oraciones □
ii. Escrituras rápidas □
iii. Poesía □
iv. Diario (Escribiendo sus pensamientos) □
v. Lectura de placer □
Entrenamiento en la lectura de los resultados de las pruebas estandarizadas
i. Resultados del Examen de Desarrollo del Idioma Inglés (CELDT) □
ii. Resultados CAASPP (Prueba Estatal y Federal) □
iii. AR (Lectura Acelerada) Resultados de Lectura y Fluidez □
3. Durante el año escolar 2015/2016 se le ofreció una variedad de clases para padres en su
escuela para promover y mejorar el aprendizaje de su hijo/a. ¿Cuánto les ayudó cada una de las
siguientes sesiones en sus esfuerzos por apoyar a su hijo?
Talleres de comprensión de lectura:
i. Descodificación
□ Ninguna Ayuda □ Alguna Ayuda □ Mucha Ayuda □ No asistió

ii. Vocabulario
□ Ninguna Ayuda □ Alguna Ayuda □ Mucha Ayuda □ No asistió
iii. Conocimiento de la palabra
□ Ninguna Ayuda □ Alguna Ayuda □ Mucha Ayuda □ No asistió
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

144

iv. Supervisión
□ Ninguna Ayuda □ Alguna Ayuda □ Mucha Ayuda □ No asistió
v. Resumen
□ Ninguna Ayuda □ Alguna Ayuda □ Mucha Ayuda □ No asistió

Apoyo de la escritura para el niño en el hogar:
vi. Estructuras de oraciones
□ Ninguna Ayuda □ Alguna Ayuda □ Mucha Ayuda □ No asistió
vii. Escrituras rápidas/ breves
□ Ninguna Ayuda □ Alguna Ayuda □ Mucha Ayuda □ No asistió
viii. Poesía
□ Ninguna Ayuda □ Alguna Ayuda □ Mucha Ayuda □ No asistió
ix. Diario
□ Ninguna Ayuda □ Alguna Ayuda □ Mucha Ayuda □ No asistió
x. Lectura de placer/leer para agredecimiento
□ Ninguna Ayuda □ Alguna Ayuda □ Mucha Ayuda □ No asistió

Entrenamiento en la lectura de resultados de pruebas estandarizadas:
xi. iCalificaciones de CA English Language Development Test (CELDT)
□ Ninguna Ayuda □ Alguna Ayuda □ Mucha Ayuda □ No asistió
xii. Resultados del CAASPP (Prueba Estatal y Federal)
□ Ninguna Ayuda □ Alguna Ayuda □ Mucha Ayuda □ No asistió
xiii. AR (Lectura Acelerada) Resultados de Lectura y Fluidez
□ Ninguna Ayuda □ Alguna Ayuda □ Mucha Ayuda □ No asistió

4. Durante el año escolar 2015/2016 se le ofreció una variedad de clases para padres en su
escuela para promover y mejorar el aprendizaje de su hijo. ¿Qué apoyos adicionales necesita
para asegurarse de que puede ayudar a su hijo con las siguientes habilidades?
a. Sesión de comprensión de lectura:
Sesión (es):________________________________________________________
b. segundo. Apoyo de la escritura para el niño en el país:
Sesión (es): ________________________________________________________
c. Entrenamiento en la lectura de resultados de pruebas estandarizadas:
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

145

Sesión (es):
________________________________________________________

Motivación Influencia en la Participación de los Padres
5. Califique el nivel de cambio en su capacidad para ayudar a su hijo en casa con el
aprendizaje después de participar en las clases para padres en su escuela durante el año escolar
2015/2016.
□ Ningún Cambio □ Poco Cambio □ Cambio Moderado □ Cambio Alto □ No asistió
6. Por favor, califique el nivel de importancia que la participación en las clases para padres
ahora tiene en su propia casa después de haber asistido a clases en la escuela de su hijo durante el
año escolar 2015/2016.
□ Ningún Cambio □ Poco Cambio □ Cambio Moderado □ Cambio Alto □ No asistió
Influencias Organizacionales en la Participación de los Padres
7. ¿Siente que debe haber una variedad de horarios que se ofrecen clases de crianza en la
escuela de su hijo:
a. Si □
b. No □
8. ¿Se sintió bienvenido en la escuela cuando asistió a la clase de padres?
a. Si □
b. No □
9. ¿Qué valor considera el director de la escuela sobre las clases para padres en su escuela?
□ No hay valor □ Valor moderado □ Alto valor □ No sé

10. ¿Siente que la escuela y la administración están abiertas a comentarios sobre cómo mejorar
las clases para padres en su escuela?
a. Si □
(Si la respuesta es Sí, por favor describa la información que le ha dado la administración
para mejorar las sesiones y su participación).
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

b. No
(Si la respuesta es No, por favor describa qué tipo de comentarios le han dado la
administración que nunca fue abordada.)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

146

Gracias por participar en este estudio. Su nombre será ingresado en la rifa. Si su nombre es
seleccionado, se le contactará por teléfono o correo electrónico para organizar la recogida. Si
tiene alguna pregunta, comentario o inquietud, comuníquese con munozg@usc.edu

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

147

APPENDIX B
Interview Protocol (English)
Introduction:
“Thank you for coming in today to interview with me. During the interview, I will be asking you
questions related to your experience here at CGCSD as a parent of an English Language
Learner. My interest in this research stems from wanting to identify key practices that lead to
student success and duplicate them for my organization and sites benefit.
The purpose of this research is to dig deeper in the role parents play in the academic
development their children. Your participation is greatly appreciated. If for any reason, you do
not want to answer a question or feel uncomfortable, please feel free to say, “I Pass”.”
For the record, I would like to reiterate that your participation in this research completely
voluntarily. It is confidential and all data collected will be anonymous and completely
unidentifiable. Be advised, our conversation will be recorded, using audio and video devices. In
order to participate, you must agree to these means. If you do not want to record, we cannot
proceed. Are you okay with this?
Closing: Do you have any questions before we begin?
1) Has language ever created a barrier to your ability to participate in your child’s
education? If so how? If not, what did you do to overcome it?
2) Every year each school has to spend, certain categorical dollars based on student needs
and with parent feedback. How important do you think it is for you to attend and to vote
on such school initiatives aimed at proper spending of your school’s resources?
3) How often do you attend school meetings related to the operations of the school, for
example, School Site Council (SSC), Parent Teacher Association (PTA), or even English
Language Advisory Committee (ELAC) and why?
4) How often do you attend school functions, specifically workshops, aimed at improving
how well your child does in school and why that often? (see follow up questions)
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

148

a. What motivated you to attend?
b. Why have you not attended?
5) Share what you know about the CA English Language Arts (ELA) and Math
Assessments Standards?
6) Tell me about your reaction when you saw your child’s overall scores in the State
administered English Language Arts and Math Assessments.
7) How do you feel about your school’s yearly ranking in comparison to similar schools
within the district?
8) How do you feel about the value of reading to and with your child at home? (see follow
up questions)
a. Who does this with them?
b. Is it daily?
c. Do you ever discuss what to read with your children’s teachers?
9) How did you go about choosing a place and time at home dedicated to homework or
learning? (see follow up questions)
a. If not set up: Would you like to learn about the benefits of setting one up?
i. Would you like help to set it up?
10) What do you imagine your child’s life will look like after they graduate high school?
11) What sorts of things do you do to help them accomplish those expectations?
a. Who do you go to get information about careers?
12) Tell me about a recent conversation you had with your child about their futures after high
school.
a. What did they say they wanted to do?
b. How did they plan on getting to that goal?
13) Tell me about the successful people in your child’s life and the role they play in shaping
how they feel about education.
14) Can you tell me about a time that your child struggled with an academic concept? How
did you approach that situation?
a. Did you feel comfortable with your abilities to support your child’s academic
needs and progress?
15) Can you think of a time you recently discussed your child’s progress with their teacher?
a. What did that conversation look like? What sorts of things do you discuss?

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

149

Interview Conclusion
At the conclusion of the interview, the following statement will be shared:
“Thank you very much for your time. I truly appreciate it. As a courtesy reminder, any and all
statements given will be kept confidential.”

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

150

Interview Protocol Spanish
Introducción:
"Gracias por venir hoy a entrevistar conmigo. Durante la entrevista, le haré preguntas
relacionadas con su experiencia aquí en CGCSD como padre de un estudiante de inglés. Mi
interés en esta investigación se deriva de querer identificar las prácticas clave que conducen al
éxito de los estudiantes y duplicarlos para el beneficio de mi organización y todos los sitios.
El propósito de esta investigación es profundizar el papel que desempeñan los padres en el
desarrollo académico de sus hijos. Su participación es altamente apreciada. Si por alguna razón,
no desea responder a una pregunta o sentirse incómodo, por favor, siéntase libre de decir "paso".
Para que conste, quisiera reiterar que su participación en esta investigación es completamente
voluntaria. Es confidencial y todos los datos recogidos serán anónimos y completamente no
identificables. Tenga en cuenta que nuestra conversación será grabada, utilizando dispositivos de
audio. Para poder participar, debes aceptar estos medios. Si no desea grabar, no podemos
continuar. ¿Estás de acuerdo con esto?
¿Tiene alguna pregunta antes de comenzar?
1. ¿El lenguaje ha creado alguna vez una barrera para su habilidad de participar en la
educación de su hijo? ¿Si es así, cómo? Si no, ¿Qué hiciste para superarlo?
2. Cada año cada escuela tiene que gastar, ciertos dólares categóricos basados en las
necesidades de los estudiantes y con la retroalimentación de los padres. ¿Que tan
importante crees que es para que asistan y voten en esas iniciativas escolares dirigidas a
un gasto adecuado de los recursos de su escuela?
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

151

3. ¿Con qué frecuencia asiste a las reuniones escolares relacionadas con las operaciones
de la escuela, por ejemplo, el Consejo Escolar (SSC), la Asociación de Padres y Maestros
(PTA), o incluso el Comité Asesor del Idioma Inglés (ELAC) y por qué?
4. ¿Con qué frecuencia asiste a las funciones de la escuela, específicamente talleres, con el
objetivo de mejorar el rendimiento de su hijo en la escuela y por qué? (Ver las preguntas
de seguimiento)
a. ¿Qué te motivó a asistir?
b. ¿Por qué no asiste?
5. ¿Comparte lo que sabe acerca de las Normas de Evaluación de Matemáticas de las Artes
de la Lengua Inglesa (ELA) de la CA?
6. Cuénteme acerca de su reacción cuando vio las calificaciones generales de su hijo(a) en
las evaluaciones de artes y matemáticas administradas por el estado.
7. ¿Cómo te sientes sobre el ranking anual de tu escuela en comparación con escuelas
similares dentro del distrito?
8. ¿Cómo te sientes sobre el valor de leer y con tu hijo en casa? (Ver las preguntas de
seguimiento)
a. ¿Quién hace esto con ellos?
b. ¿Es diario?
c. ¿Alguna vez discute qué leer con los maestros de sus hijos?
9. ¿Cómo eligió un lugar y una hora en casa dedicados a la tarea o al aprendizaje? (Ver las
preguntas de seguimiento)
a. Si no está configurado: ¿Le gustaría aprender sobre los beneficios de establecer uno?
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

152

i. ¿Quieres ayuda para configurarlo?
10. ¿Cómo crees que será la vida de tu hijo después de graduarse de la escuela secundaria?
11. ¿Qué tipo de cosas haces para ayudarlos a lograr esas expectativas?
a. ¿A quién le va para obtener información sobre carreras?
12. Cuénteme acerca de una conversación reciente que tuvo con su hijo acerca de su futuro
después de la escuela secundaria.
a. ¿Qué dijeron que querían hacer?
b. ¿Cómo planearon llegar a ese objetivo?
13. Cuénteme acerca de las personas exitosas en la vida de su hijo y el papel que desempeñan
en la forma de cómo se sienten sobre la educación.
14. ¿Puede decirme acerca de un momento en que su hijo tuvo problemas con un concepto
académico? ¿Cómo se acercó a esa situación?
a. ¿Se siente cómodo con sus habilidades para apoyar las necesidades y el
progreso académico de su hijo?
15. ¿Puede pensar en una ocasión en la que recientemente discutió el progreso de su hijo con
su maestro?
a. ¿Cómo era esa conversación? ¿Qué tipo de cosas discutieron ustedes?
Conclusión de la Entrevista
Al concluir la entrevista, se compartirá la siguiente declaración:
"Muchas gracias por tu tiempo. Realmente lo aprecio. Como recordatorio de cortesía, todas y
cada una de las declaraciones dadas se mantendrán confidenciales"

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

153

APPENDIX C
Informed Consent/Information Sheet
Consentimiento informado / hoja informativa

University of Southern California/ USC
USC Rossier School of Education
3470 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA 90089

INFORMATION/FACTS SHEET FOR EXEMPT NON-MEDICAL RESEARCH
FICHA DE INFORMACIÓN PARA INVESTIGACIONES NO MEDICAS EXENTOS

Increase Parental Involvement at Phoenix Elementary to Improve Student Achievement
Outcomes for English Language Learners of Low Socioeconomic Status.
Aumentar la participación de los padres en la Escuela Primaria Phoenix para mejorar los
resultados de los logros estudiantiles para estudiantes de inglés de bajo nivel socioeconómico.

You are invited to participate in a research study. Research studies include only people who
voluntarily choose to take part. This document explains information about this study. You should
ask questions about anything that is unclear to you.
Usted está invitado a participar en un estudio de investigación. Los estudios de investigación
incluyen sólo las personas que deciden participar voluntariamente. Este documento explica
información sobre este estudio. Usted debe hacer preguntas acerca de cualquier cosa que no
está claro para usted.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY (PROPÓSITO DEL ESTUDIO)
The purpose of this study is to understand the impact that families can have when they are
involved in the academic lives of their children with the goal of improving student achievement
outcomes
El propósito de este estudio es entender el impacto que las familias pueden tener cuando están
involucradas en la vida académica de sus hijos con el objetivo de mejorar los resultados de los
logros estudiantiles.
PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT (PARTICIPACIÓN DE LOS PARTICIPANTES)
If you agree to participate in the study, you will be asked to fill out a survey, which is anticipated
to take about 5 minutes. You do not have to answer any questions you don’t want to answer. You
might also participate in a semi-structured interview lasting approximately 30 minutes each. The
interview will be at the end of the study. Guiding questions will be asked but the interview will
be conversational and follow-up questions may be asked as well. The conversations will be audio
recorded. You do not have to answer any questions you don’t want to answer. If you do not want
to be recorded, you will not be able to participate in the study.
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

154

Si acepta participar en el estudio, se le pedirá que rellene una encuesta, que se espera que
tarde unos 5 minutos. No tiene que responder a ninguna pregunta que no quiera responder.
También puede participar en una entrevista semi-estructurada de aproximadamente 30 minutos
cada una. La entrevista será al final del estudio. Se harán preguntas orientadoras, pero la
entrevista será conversacional y las preguntas de seguimiento también se harán. Las
conversaciones serán grabadas en audio. No tiene que responder a ninguna pregunta que no
quiera responder. Si no desea ser registrado, no podrá participar en el estudio.

ALTERNATIVES TO PARTICIPATION (ALTERNATIVAS A LA PARTICIPACIÓN)
Your alternative is to not participate. Your relationship with Citrus Grove City School District
will not be affected whether you participate or not in this study.

Su alternativa es no participar. Su relación con el Distrito Escolar de Citrus Grove no se verá
afectada si participa o no en este estudio.

CONFIDENTIALITY (CONFIDENCIALIDAD)
There will be no identifiable information obtained in connection with this study. Your name,
address or other identifiable information will not be collected. Any identifiable information
obtained in connection with this study will remain confidential. Your responses will be coded
with a false name (pseudonym) and maintained separately. The audiotapes will be destroyed
once they have been transcribed. The data will be stored on a password-protected computer in
the researcher’s office for three years after the study has been completed, and then destroyed.
The members of the research team and the University of Southern California’s Human Subjects
Protection Program (HSPP) may access the data. The HSPP reviews and monitors research
studies to protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.
No habrá información identificable obtenida en relación con este estudio. Su nombre, dirección
u otra información identificable no será recopilada. Cualquier información identificable
obtenida en relación con este estudio permanecerá confidencial. Sus respuestas se codificarán
con un nombre falso (pseudónimo) y se mantendrán por separado. Las cintas de audio serán
destruidas una vez que hayan sido transcritas. Los datos serán almacenados en una
computadora protegida por contraseña en la oficina del investigador durante tres años después
de que el estudio haya sido completado y luego destruido.
Los miembros del equipo de investigación y el Programa de Protección de Sujetos Humanos de
la Universidad de Southern California (HSPP) pueden acceder a los datos. El HSPP revisa y
monitorea los estudios de investigación para proteger los derechos y el bienestar de los sujetos
de la investigación.

INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION (INFORMACIÓN DEL INVESTIGADOR)
Principal Investigator Guillermo Muñoz via email at munozg@usc.edu or phone at (213) 280-
9763.
Investigador Principal Guillermo Muñoz por correo electrónico a munozg@usc.ed o al teléfono
(213) 280-9763.

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

155

IRB CONTACT INFORMATION (INFORMACIÓN DE CONTACTO DEL IRB)
University Park Institutional Review Board (UPIRB), 3720 South Flower Street #301, Los
Angeles, CA 90089-0702, (213) 821-5272 or upirb@usc.edu
Junta de Revisión Institucional del Parque Universitario (UPIRB), 3720 South Flower Street #
301, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0702, (213) 821-5272 o upirb@usc.edu

By signing below, you consent to allowing your childs data reviewed and used for research
purposes.
Al firmar a continuación, usted acepta permitir que los datos de su hijo sean revisados y
utilizados con fines de investigación.
Name of Student Parent Consent: (name)
______________________________ __________________________________

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

156

APPENDIX D
Recruitment Letter (English)

06/27/2017

CGCSD
1001 Orange Fountain Ave
Happy Place, CA 92808

Participant Address
Street Address
City, State Zip

Dear Participant:

As your community liaison, I am forwarding you this letter on behalf of Guillermo
Muñoz to inform you of a research opportunity being conducted here at Phoenix Elementary
school. The research study is centered on Latino students and their families. It focuses on impact
parental support plays on achievement and learning. The criteria being used is the following:
parents of student who are English language learners and that are eligible to get free school
lunch. You may be eligible to participate based on this criteria. It is possible that you will be
selected to do both survey and interviews.

As the community liaison at this site, I want to stress that your participation in this
research study is voluntary. There will be no consequences to you whatsoever if you are not
interested and my commitment to your child or any other student here at school will not be
affected. If you would like to participate and check if you meet the criteria, please let me know
and or email Guillermo Muñoz at munozg@usc.edu or call me at (555) 777-8888 and provide
your name, and the information that you would like to be contacted about this research study.

Of course, if you have any questions for me, please contact me or the researcher.

Sincerely,

Mr. Guillermo Muñoz
USC Doctoral Candidate
DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

157

Recruitment Letter (Spanish)
06/27/2017
CGCSD
1001 Orange Fountain Ave
Happy Place, CA 92808

Domicilio de participante
Numero, Calle,
Ciudad, Estado, Codigo postal

Estimado participante:
Como enlace de la comunidad, le envío esta carta en nombre de Guillermo Muñoz
para informarle de una oportunidad de investigación que se está llevando a cabo aquí en la
escuela primaria Phoenix. El estudio se centra en los estudiantes latinos y sus familias. Se centra
en el impacto del apoyo de los padres sobre el logro y el aprendizaje. Los criterios que se utilizan
son los siguientes: padres de estudiantes que son estudiantes de inglés y que son elegibles para
recibir almuerzo escolar gratis. Usted puede ser elegible para participar sobre la base de este
criterio. Es posible que usted será seleccionado para hacer encuestas y entrevistas.

Como enlace de la comunidad en este sitio, quiero enfatizar que su participación en este
estudio de investigación es voluntaria. No habrá consecuencias para usted si no está interesado y
mi compromiso con su hijo o cualquier otro estudiante aquí en la escuela no se verá afectado. Si
desea participar y verificar si cumple con los criterios, por favor hágamelo saber y envíe un
correo electrónico a Guillermo Muñoz a munozg@usc.edu o llámeme al (555) 777-8888 y
proporcione su nombre y la información que usted Como para ser contactado acerca de este
estudio de investigación.
Por supuesto, si usted tiene alguna pregunta para mí, por favor póngase en contacto
conmigo o con el investigador.
Sinceramente,

Sr. Guillermo Muñoz
USC Candidato Doctoral

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

158

APPENDIX E
Immediate Survey After Training

Survey Items (Multiple Choice)
1) I know when/where to attend parent
workshops. (Yes or No) Declarative
Y N
2) I know how to co-create/facilitate
workshops: (Yes or No) Declarative
Y N
3) Did you sign parent commitment
passports (Y/N)?
Procedural
Y N
4) Were you a participant in the parent
workshop that was offered? Procedural
Y N
Likert Scale (0-10)
5) I can engage in co-creating workshops
with staff and parents aimed at improving
student learning outcomes. Confidence
0 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10
6) I have signed up to participate in this
many Learner and Community building
workshops:
Commitment
0 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10
Open Ended
7) Describe the value of parents working
with staff to support student learning.
Attitude

8) What did you like most about the
workshops that were offered? Attitude

DECREASING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS FOR ELL AND LOW SES STUDENTS

159

APPENDIX F
Quarterly Survey After Training

Survey Items
(Choice)
Likert Scale (0-10)
1) What I learned at the workshops
was very valuable to me and I am still
engaging in the learning.
0 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10
2) I have started working with
community members and feel
comfortable growing my Agency.

0 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10
3) I feel comfortable working with
the school, other parents and the
community to improve student learning
outcomes.
0 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10
Open Ended
4) Describe what supports you feel
you need that could aid in improving the
learning for both you and your child.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This study uses Clark and Estes’s gap analysis framework to evaluate the organizational measures in place in a K-12 public school aimed at improving student achievement outcomes for underserved and struggling English language learners who are also of low socioeconomic status. The purpose was to identify the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that impact a parent’s ability to engage with their child’s school in an effort to grow their child’s achievement outcomes as measured by state and federal assessments. The findings and recommendations from this research provide a model for the development of targeted efforts for use across other local education agencies (LEA) who serve Latino families in urban areas of high poverty. The study was comprised of a literature review, interviews, and surveys aimed at evaluating the parent engagement efforts versus parent involvement practices of our local LEA. This study identified needs relating to the parent stakeholder with regards to knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences. The most notable findings were a cultural barrier (knowledge) that exists between the families being served and their own self-efficacy about how to better support their children during their educational journey. The second notable finding was an existing motivational barrier within the parent stakeholder group to engage other social factors to use as models (institutional agents), so as to engage in the actions needed to support their children into post-secondary institutions. Lastly, the organizational design flaw of not creating an acute awareness of what agency is and how to leverage social capital like other cultures that are succeeding do. Using the Kirkpatrick New World Model, this research shared an analysis and implementation plan.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

The parent voice: an exploratory study to understand Latino parent involvement in schools

PDF

The impact of parental involvement on student achievement

PDF

Parental participation in efforts to reduce the African-American math readiness gap at Timber Middle School: an evaluation study

PDF

Knowledge, motivation and organizational influences impacting recruiting practices addressing the gender gap in the technology industry: an evaluation study

PDF

Increasing parent involvement at the high school level using the gap analysis framework

PDF

Teacher role in reducing the achievement gap: an evaluation study

PDF

Eliminating the technology equity gap for students through parent support at home: an evaluation study

PDF

One to one tablet integration in the mathematics classroom: an evaluation study of an international school in China

PDF

A gap analysis of homeless student school attendance in a large urban school district

PDF

Nonprofit donor retention: a case study of Church of the West

PDF

Innovative parental involvement: Utilizing information and communication technologies to increase parental involvement

PDF

The Bridge Program and underrepresented Latino students: an evaluation study

PDF

Equity and access: the under-identification of African American students in gifted programs

PDF

Emirati parents of gifted students: a study of role construction and involvement

PDF

Collaborative instructional practice for student achievement: an evaluation study

PDF

Closing the achievement gap for students with disabilities: a focus on instructional differentiation - an evaluation study

PDF

Implementation of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program in an urban secondary school: an improvement practice to address closing the achievement gap

PDF

Increasing family engagement at Lily Elementary School: An evaluation model

PDF

Employee retention and the success of a for-profit cosmetics company: a gap analysis

PDF

Increasing parent involvement in social-emotional learning workshops in high school using the gap analysis approach

Asset Metadata

Creator Muñoz, Guillermo (author)

Core Title Increase parental involvement to decrease the achievement gaps for ELL and low SES students in urban California public schools: an evaluation study

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 03/14/2018

Defense Date 12/07/2017

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag decrease the achievement gaps,English language learners,increase parental involvement,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Crawford, Jenifer (committee chair), Aguilar, Rosemary (committee member), Maddox, Anthony (committee member)

Creator Email gmunoz333@hotmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-487277

Unique identifier UC11267376

Identifier etd-MunozGuill-6115.pdf (filename),usctheses-c40-487277 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-MunozGuill-6115.pdf

Dmrecord 487277

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Muñoz, Guillermo

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA