Date of Award
Spring 5-17-2016
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Secondary Education
Department
Education
Committee Chair
Dr. Nita A. Paris
First Committee Member
Dr. Mei-Lin Chang
Second Committee Member
Dr. Anete Vásquez
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to; a) design an instrument that could be used to assess parent’s access to school social networks; b) to determine if relationships exist between parents’ beliefs and ability to access school networks and resources; and, c) to determine if there are significant differences in parents’ access to school networks and resources as it relates to social class. A total of 430 respondents replied to a 37-item survey consisting of 31-Likert scaled items and six demographic questions. All respondents were parents or guardians of middle grade students in one of two middle schools in a large suburban area in the Southeastern United States. Items on the survey were developed to align with social network theories, influences of social capital, and accessibility factors identified in previous research and aligned with Hatala’s (2009) research on social networks. An exploratory analysis using principal components factoring method with direct oblimin rotation was used to examine the factors and to investigate if the influences of social capital uncovered in the review of literature were indeed accessibility factors of school networks. Four factors (Management of Educational Experience, Network Information and Resources, Structural Barriers, and Parent Beliefs about Responsibilities) and two sub-factors (Negotiating the Context of School Structures and Accessing Information) were identified in the exploratory analysis. Furthermore, related samples t tests indicated there were significant relationships between parents’ beliefs, their actions, and their access to school networks. Also, independent samples t test of social class differences revealed that parents’ access and involvement within school networks is significantly impacted by certain structural barriers. The present findings suggest that the survey, School Network Accessibility for Parents Scale (SNAPS), is a useful tool for investigating parents’ social capital in school networks and highlights the importance of social capital research in educational settings. Further research is needed to validate the scale across several school settings and contexts. Additionally, future research is needed to explore the impact of social class differences on family members’ access to school networks.