Semester of Gradation
Summer 2025
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Instructional Technology
Department
College of Education
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Dr. Yvonne Earnshaw
Second Advisor
Dr. Yi Jin
Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain insight into parents’ perspectives on how rural Title I elementary school personnel can integrate instructional technology to increase parental involvement. Joyce Epstein’s Parent Involvement Framework (Epstein et al., 2019) on school, family, and community partnerships and Epstein's Overlapping Spheres of Influence (1995) served as theoretical frameworks for this study. The study design included both parent and teacher surveys, parent workshops using Google Classroom during which parent and teacher interviews were conducted. The study revealed affordances and constraints for the digital learning platform used in this study and other communication tools that the school uses and how it can increase parental involvement at the local elementary school level. Suggestions from both parents and teachers revealed similar results to previous research, such as addressing barriers for parents whose children attend a Title I school, how educational communication technology can be a benefit for improving school-home communication, and how schools can build upon the use of educational communication technology to continue to improve their practices in building strong school-home relationships and parent capacity.