Parental involvement in schools in Spain and Germany: Evidence from PISA 2015

International Journal of Educational Research xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

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Parental involvement in schools in Spain and Germany: Evidence from PISA 2015 ⁎

Charo Reparaz , María Angeles Sotés-Elizalde School of Education and Psychology, University of Navarra, Spain

A R T IC LE I N F O

ABS TRA CT

Keywords: Parental involvement School efforts to involve parents PISA 2015 Spain PISA 2015 Germany

This article analyses parental involvement in schools in Germany and Spain based on the results of PISA 2015. The authors examine the SPSS and Excel databases for the responses of the school principals, the parents and the students. Among other points two of the main indexes calculated in PISA 2015 are analyzed: the Index of School efforts to involve parents and the Index of parental involvement in school-related activities. Then, some of the main elements of parental involvement as parental attitudes, habits and opinions in relation with their children’s academic performance are examined. An ex post facto descriptive study of the specific aspects of parental involvement in each of the countries is presented. The results show the great efforts made in the schools to involve parents, according to the principals interviewed. The parents have a more moderate evaluation in this respect. Regarding performance in science, it is found in Spain and in Germany that not all factors related to parental participation favor a higher achievement.

1. Introduction In many countries, the involvement of parents in the education of their children in the school area is a fact and a right which is acknowledged and channeled through legislation and specific organs. Some pieces of research which construct indicators of parental educational rights include the right to involvement together with mechanisms for their training (Navaridas & Raya, 2012; Rizzi et al., 2011). US legislation orders this participation and contemplates it as a factor that contributes to academic achievement (No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 2002No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 2002). Moreover, such participation is considered by the EU and the OECD as an indicator of quality within the national education systems (Egido, 2014; European Commission, 2000; Reparaz & Naval, 2014; Rizzi et al., 2011). Previous meta-analyses of studies carried out between 1969 and 1999 (Jeynes, 2011) & 1986 and 2006 (Hill & Tyson, 2009) have found that parental involvement improves students’ academic performance, although not all types of involvement are equally effective, particularly at the secondary education stage. Within the framework of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015, parents’ opinions on the school and on how they interact with their children have become more relevant. Parental involvement has been assessed in PISA since 2006, when a questionnaire directed to parents was introduced for the first time. But now, in PISA 2015, more specific aspects regarding parental involvement have been added, both in the questionnaire for the school, which is filled in by the school principal, and in the questionnaires designed for students and teachers. In PISA 2015, parental involvement is one of the contextual elements which accompany the assessment of student performance. Specifically, the questionnaire for parents, which on this occasion has been used in 18 countries, and the other contextual

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Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (C. Reparaz).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2018.10.001 Received 11 May 2018; Received in revised form 10 August 2018; Accepted 1 October 2018 0883-0355/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Reparaz, C., International Journal of Educational Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2018.10.001

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questionnaires applied to school principals, teaching staff and students, contribute to the achievement of the principal objectives of PISA, that is: “Providing indicators on the effectiveness, equity and efficiency of education systems, setting benchmarks for international comparison, and monitoring trends over time are the most important goals of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)” (OECD, 2016a: 102). This set all PISA questionnaires are referred to as background questionnaires. In this way PISA acknowledges that, to achieve its objectives, validly and reliably measuring students’ academic performance is not enough. Nevertheless, several of the contextual questionnaires, including that provided for the parents, are optional and not all countries have applied them, which means that in this sense the information is incomplete. On the other hand, currently, the contextual assessment design of PISA responds to a modular structure which includes the “four major areas” on which PISA informs those in charge of educational policies. These are: the results, student backgrounds, the teaching and learning processes, and the school and government policies. Within this structure there is a module called parental involvement (module 14) in the area of the school policies (OECD, 2016a). 2. Theoretical framework 2.1. Parental involvement in school: General considerations The involvement of parents in school is a subject which has been well researched and there are numerous studies from different perspectives. Some authors offer or analyses models and classifications (Desforges & Abouchaar, 2003; Edwards & Alldred, 2000; Froiland, Peterson, & Davison, 2012; Green, Walker, Hoover-Dempsey, & Sandler, 2007; Swap, 1993; Topor, Keane, Shelton, & Calkins, 2010). Others focus more on the parents’, teachers’ and students’ perception of this involvement (DePlanty, Coulter-Kern, & Duchane, 2007) or on the leadership of principals in all matters which affect families-school relationships (Sanders & Sheldon, 2009). There are also publications which are more focused on practice which suggest or propose specific strategies for family-school collaboration (Bull, Brooking, & Campbell, 2008; Epstein et al., 2009; Glasgow & Jameson Whitney, 2009). One of the most typical benchmarks is the framework provided by Epstein (1995), who claims that families, schools and communities should not act separately but rather as partners for several reasons, the main one being “to help all youngsters succeed in school and in later life” (p. 701). The authors suggests that schools should apply themselves to achieving six types of involvement which may contribute to this objective: “1. Parenting (Helping all families establish home environments to support children as students), 2. Communicating (Designing effective forms of school-to-home and home-to-school communications about school programs and children’s progress), 3. Volunteering (Recruiting and organizing parent help and support); 4. Learning at home (Providing information and ideas to families about how to help students at home with homework and other curriculum-related activities, decisions, and planning), 5. Decision-making (Including parents in school decisions, developing parent leaders and representatives) and 6. Collaborating with the community (Identifying and integrating resources and services from the community to strengthen school programs, family practices, and student learning and development)” (p. 704). This framework, which was based on work with schools and families at elementary, middle and high school levels, also gives examples of practices that may be carried out in order to develop each of the involvement types. In short, one could say that the elements linked with parental involvement are comprehended in two often-mentioned categories (Hartas, 2015; Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2001; Johnson & Hull, 2014; Kreider & Suizzo, 2009; Murray et al., 2014; OECD, 2012; Strickland, 2015; Yotyodying & Wild, 2014): school-based parental involvement, in which parents participate more in activities at the school, such as having meetings or communication with the teaching staff or other members, attending events or participating on the school governing board and home-based parental involvement where the role of the parents is in the home, where they carry out activities related with their children’s academic activity, such as homework, conversations with their children on their academic progress or non-formal activities shared by parents and children which complement school subjects. Despite recognizing the positive aspects of parental involvement in various types of activities in their children’s school lives, the focus is frequently directed towards barriers. For example, parents often refer to limitations on their collaboration with the school due both to physical barriers and the infrequent activities and opportunities for involvement offered by the school, which sometimes causes mistrust of the participation system established. With reference to involvement at home, parents cite obstacles such as lack of time due to labor reasons and others, children's reluctance to do homework, or a lack of academic knowledge and the guidelines needed in order to assist their children (Russell & Granville, 2010). Groups with problems of integration into the community due to their cultural differences or a low socioeconomic status (SES) may feel greater difficulties, particularly at secondary level (Murray et al., 2014; Russell & Granville, 2010). The teaching staff is also frequently cited as an obstacle when, due to lack of time, mistrust or lack of interest, they show a negative attitude towards parental involvement. Insufficient early training of teachers in this area is a factor which means that they do not have the tools needed for a collaborative relationship with parents (Hoover-Dempsey, Walker, Jones, & Reed, 2002). 2.2. Parental involvement and student performance Numerous empirical studies contribute results obtained after cross-comparison of certain specific aspects within the global concept of parental involvement or after relating this with other variables. In this sense, one of the most studied issues is the relationship between parental involvement and the children’s academic performance. In general, a positive relationship is shown between the two variables, but not all authors coincide. To continue, we quote from some meta-analysis and other recent research works which offer information on the secondary stage of education, which covers the age of the students assessed by PISA. 2

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The meta-analysis by Jeynes (2011) confirms that parental involvement is associated with better academic results in secondary school. This is so in general and regarding specific variables such as expectations, family conversations on subjects to do with school, checking homework, participating in school-organized activities or having rules in the home about school work. In the meta-analytical synthesis carried out by Castro, Expósito, Lizasoáin, López, and Navarro, 2014: 94): “With regard to Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary education levels, the largest effect is for secondary education (0.138) followed by primary education (0.125). For kindergarten however, the magnitude of the mean effect is 0.05”. In their meta-analysis, Hill and Tyson (2009) pondered on the strength of the relationship between the types of parental participation in education and performance. They found, among other discoveries, that at secondary level there is a positive relationship between parental participation and children’s academic results, although this relationship is stronger in the components linked to school-based parental involvement than to home-based parental involvement. From the students’ perspective, we can mention the descriptive study by Núñez et al. (2015), according to which, secondary students see a great relationship between their academic performance and their parent’s involvement school work than primaries students do. González and Reparaz (2012) have also studied this subject of the help or support that secondary students need in order to carry out their school work. They explain that students who fail acknowledge that they need more help, given that it is more difficult for them to do things alone and that, in addition, their parents do not know what homework they have to do each day. 2.3. Parental involvement in the framework of PISA 2015 PISA 2015, when producing its contextual framework and constructing its own indexes, has, in turn, echoed research which underlines the importance of parental involvement, in consonance with the contributions which, from different standpoints, grant a role to the parents and the school alike (OECD, 2012, 2016a, 2016b). In this way, by adopting a dynamic perspective, PISA 2015 contextualizes and accepts various dimensions of parental involvement which have been documented over the years. This participation, along with parents, involves school principals, teaching staff and the student body (OECD, 2016a). The PISA questionnaires ask about two categories of involvement mentioned above: school-based parental involvement and homebased parental involvement, although PISA does not specifically mention these categories. For example, regarding school-based parental involvement, there are items referring to how the school welcomes appearance and offers information to them, their inclusion in school decision-making, the smoothness of communication between both parties on the children’s progress or the involvement of parents in numerous extracurricular activities, referring both to their training and voluntary work (OECD, 2016a). Moreover, they include questions about the community, an issue which, according to Shumow (2009), has been more neglected in secondary school in as far as it refers to parental involvement in the area of the family-school relationship. As for the questions referring to home-based parental involvement we highlight for items designed to be answered by the parents and the students, which are included under the title of “parental support”. They deal with parents’ interest in their children’s school activities, the support they offer their children in their achievements and their problems, and parental stimulus which leads to children being sure of themselves. Jude, Hertel, Kuger, and Sälzer, (2016) have stressed the emotional nature of these questions, which have been included in the PISA 2015. Sebastian, Moon, and Cunningham, (2017) have presented results from PISA 2012 in several countries, and link parental involvement in schools with the students’ achievements, on the basis of the questionnaires applied to the principals and the parents. However, PISA 2012 focused principally on the assessment of Mathematics and moreover the contextual questionnaires supplied were not exactly the same as those of PISA 2015. Likewise, the OECD (2012) in the comparative study with the title Parental involvement in selected PISA countries and economies, published the 2009 edition results, a year when what was assessed was Reading. In both the 2009 and 2012 editions, German parents responded to the questionnaire. In contrast, in Spain the questionnaire for parents was not distributed for either edition. Authors such as Cordero Ferrera, Crespo Cebada, and Pedraja Chaparro, (2013) were disappointed that the questionnaire for parents had not been applied in Spain in earlier editions of PISA. In this sense, this study deals in an innovative way with parental involvement in this country, as it is the first time it has contributed to PISA in this way. At the same time, the modifications and extensions introduced by PISA 2015 and the fact that the two countries responded to the same questionnaires, have allowed us to make comparisons, as another step towards carrying out future more far-reaching studies. The object of this study is the analysis of parental involvement in the school where their children study, based on the data provided by PISA 2015. Specifically, based on our review of all the items contained in the background questionnaires, we propose to analyze the variables of major relevance in parental involvement. In addition, we wish to confirm the relationship between some of these variables, such as parental attitudes, habits and opinions, and the children’s performance in science. Our intention is to compare and contrast the data for Spain, in which for the first time the questionnaire for parents has been applied, with those of the EU country that, apart from having applied said questionnaire, has obtained the highest score in science, that is, Germany. Despite the fact that the United Kingdom obtained the same score as Germany, the results it contributes are not global, as only Scotland collected data on parental involvement; for this reason the UK has not been an object of our study. More specifically, on the subject of the results in science, the priority area assessed in PISA 2015, of the 10 EU countries who answered the parental questionnaire, Germany obtained 509 points and Spain 492 points. This latter score places it on the mean for OECD countries. The efforts made by Germany based on the PISA 2000 results in order to improve their students results, and what has been achieved, have been articulated by Reiss et al. (2016). One point the two countries have in common is great territorial decentralization and a relatively similar sample of schools, as can be verified in the section describing the sample. Given that, as has been pointed out, the studies show that parental involvement improves academic performance, it will be stimulating to find which of the specific components of this participation have a greater relationship with the results obtained in Sciences in PISA 2015, both in 3

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Germany and in Spain. We present an in-depth descriptive study of the specific aspects of parental involvement in each of the countries. From very early on, many publications have stated that parental involvement is a many-sided concept (Castro et al., 2015; Egido, 2014; Epstein et al., 2009; Sanders & Sheldon, 2009; Swap, 1993) which, when studied globally, leads to contradictory results; therefore, as Sebastian et al. (2017) indicate, it is necessary to study both the source of the information and the consideration of the different dimensions of this construct separately. Firstly, for the two countries selected we analyses two of the main indexes calculated in PISA 2015 with reference to this subject: the Index of school efforts to involve parents and the Index of parental involvement in school-related activities. Besides these indexes, but clearly connected to them, we then make a comparative study of other contextual variables contemplated in PISA 2015 which are covered in the questionnaires for principals, parents, and students. Some of them refer to knowledge of the legislation on parental involvement in the school area and their participation in the governing bodies, to the time the parents spend talking to their children, the help they give with homework, etc. Thirdly, some of the main elements of parental involvement are analyzed in relation with the academic performance of their children in both countries. 3. Method The methodology for data analysis followed in this study has consisted in analyzing the PISA 2015 databases corresponding to the SPSS and Excel files (http://www.oecd.org/pisa/data/). Specifically, our main study variable has been the involvement of parents in school life. We have analyzed this, firstly, within the conceptual framework of PISA 2015. Based on this theoretical reference of what is understood by parental involvement in the school, we later carried out the statistical analysis of their indicators in the databases corresponding to principals, students and teachers (the data referring to parents are found in the student database, which allows for their comparative study). The statistical analyses carried out on the data are descriptive; the main indexes proposed in the PISA framework have been calculated in relation to parental involvement, both from the perspective of the school (mainly from questionnaires for principals) and from the perspective of the parents and the students. In addition, this study was completed with a more detailed analysis of some of the more relevant items, and the relationship between some of these variables and the students’ performance in scientific knowledge was examined. In the case of some variables, we have calculated contrast statistics (in those from the SPSS) and in others we have used the statistics previously calculated by PISA in Excel. 3.1. Participants The sample for this study was made up of the cases corresponding to Germany and Spain. Specifically, regarding the number of participating schools in PISA 2015 and the type of schools, we tested their similitude in the following table (Table 1). Regarding the participating subjects, the sample was made up of the school principals, the students and their parents. It must be stressed that in neither of the two countries is there 100% parental participation. As can be seen in the following table, fewer parents from the German sample have participated than from the Spanish one (Table 2). Approximately 540,000 students completed the assessment in 2015, representing about 29 million 15-year-olds in the schools of the 72 participating countries and economies. 3.2. Instruments The instruments used are:

• School Questionnaire (for principals): http://www.oecd.org/pisa/data/2015database/ • Student Questionnaire: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/data/2015database/ • Parent Questionnaire: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/data/2015database/ To gather contextual information, PISA 2015 asked students and the principal of their school to respond to questionnaires. The student questionnaire took about 35 min to complete; the questionnaire for principals took about 45 min to complete. The responses to the questionnaires were analyzed with the assessment results to provide both a broader and more nuanced picture of student, school and system performance. The PISA 2015 Assessment and Analytical Framework (OECD, 2016a) presents the questionnaire Table 1 Schools participating in the study sample. Source: authors’ own from SPSS PISA 2015 data.

Germany Spain

Number of schools

Mean size schools

Mean size classes

Students /teacher ratio

256 201

723 725

24 27

14.38 12.51

4

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Table 2 Subjects participating in the study sample. Source: authors’ own from SPSS PISA 2015 data.

Germany Spain

Principals

Students

Parents invited to participate

Parents who have responded

% Parents who have responded

256 201

6504 6736

6504 6736

3382 4782

52% 71%

framework in detail. The questionnaires from all assessments since PISA’s inception are available on the PISA website: www.pisa. oecd.org A parent questionnaire, focusing on parents’ perceptions of and involvement in their child’s school, their support for learning at home, school choice, their child’s career expectations, and their background (immigrant/non-immigrant). Quality assurance procedures were implemented in all parts of PISA 2015, as was done for all previous PISA surveys. The PISA 2015 Technical Standards (www.oecd.org/pisa/) specify the way in which PISA must be implemented in each country, economy and adjudicated region. International contractors monitor the implementation in each of these and adjudicate on their adherence to the standards. The survey was implemented through standardized procedures. The Technical Advisory Group and the Sampling Referee. Its role is to review the adjudication database and reports to recommend adequate treatment to preserve the quality of PISA data. For further information, see the PISA 2015 Technical Report (http://www.oecd.org/pisa/data/2015-technical-report/) 3.3. Design and data analysis 3.3.1. Description of the indexes PISA 2015 The first analysis carried out consisted of a description of the main indexes calculated by PISA regarding the participation of parents in their children’s school (OECD, 2016b). The Index of school efforts to involve parents is an index based on the responses of the school principals to the following four questions (Table 3): This index has been calculated by PISA for the school principals. However, the same questions have been asked of the parents. Therefore, they have been taken into account for comparison. The Index of Parental Involvement is another indicator calculated by PISA based on the following aspects evaluated by the parents (OECD, 2016b). Specifically, they are asked if during the school year prior to the assessment they had participated in the following school-related activities (Table 4): All items analyzed come from the questionnaire for parents, and in some cases, when the same questions have been given to the principals, they have been taken into account for comparison. But in this case PISA does not calculate the index for principals, only for parents. 3.3.2. Description of other contextual variables This section analyzes some contextual variables which are considered relevant by PISA 2015 regarding the indexes calculated. Some of these are: existence of national, state or district legislation on including parents in school activities (SCO63Q09NA); parental support (PA004Q01NA to PA004Q04NA and ST123Q01NA to ST123Q04NA), the student’s school (PA007Q01TA to PA007Q15NA), barriers to parental involvement (PA009Q01NA to PA009Q11NA) among other variables. These context variables come from the questionnaires for principals, students and parents, and only in some of these cases have we been able to calculate contrast tests as direct data are not available for all the variables. In the comparative analyses of parents and children, the calculations have been carried out on the coincidence data. 3.3.3. Study of the relationship between parental attitudes, habits and opinions and the children’s performance in the science area In this part of the work we shall analyze whether there is any type of relationship between the parent’s opinions and the achievement of the children in the scientific test. We refer only to those questions in which we have found some relevant trend Table 3 Index of school efforts to involve parents. Source: OECD (2016a). SC063. Do the following statements about parental involvement apply to your school SC063Q02NA SC063Q03NA SC063Q04NA SC063Q06NA

Our school provides a welcoming and accepting atmosphere for parents to get involved. Our school designs effective forms of school-to-home and home-to-school communications about school programmes and children’s progress. Our school includes parents in school decisions. Our school provides information and ideas for families about how to help students at home with homework and other curriculumrelated activities, decisions, and planning.

5

Yes

No

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Table 4 Index of Parental Involvement in school-related activities. Source: OECD (2016a). PA008. During the last academic year, have you participated in any of the following school-related activities? PA008Q01TA PA008Q02TA PA008Q03TA PA008Q04TA PA008Q05TA PA008Q06NA PA008Q07NA PA008Q08NA PA008Q09NA PA008Q010NA

Yes

No

Not supported by School

Discussed my child’s behaviour with a teacher on my own initiative. Discussed my child’s behaviour on the initiative of one of his/her teachers. Discussed my child’s progress with a teacher on my own initiative. Discussed my child’s progress on the initiative of one of their teachers. Participated in local school government, e.g. parent council or school management committee. Volunteered in physical or extra-curricular activities (e.g. building maintenance, carpentry, gardening or yard work, school play, sports, field trip). Volunteered to support school activities (volunteered in the school library, media centre, or canteen, assisted a teacher, appeared as a guest speaker). Attended a scheduled meeting or conferences for parents. Talked about how to support learning at home and homework with my child’s teachers. Exchanged ideas on parenting, family support, or the child’s development with my child’s teachers.

without assuming causal relationships between the two types of variable. All items analyzed come from the questionnaire for families, and in some cases, when the same questions have been given to the students, they have been taken into account for comparison1. Some of the variables analyzed are: spending time just talking to my child (PA003Q03TA); helping my child with his/her science homework (PA003Q04TA); taking an interest in school activities (PA004Q01NA and ST123Q01NA), amongst others. 4. Results 4.1. Index of school efforts to involve parents in school-related activities As already described in the Method section, this index has been calculated based on the principals’ answers to four items. 4.1.1. Principals’ perception of school efforts to involve parents In the results obtained there are no significant differences between the means of the samples from both countries (t(403)=−.92, p = .360). Of a total of 4 points, the sample of German principals is 3.5, and that of Spain 3.6 points. According to the OECD, such high results are not strange because they are only asked to answer with a dichotomic yes or no; and they are not asked to what degree or how they are implemented in the school. Besides, the response may reflect a certain social desirability by the directors (OECD, 2016b). On separately analyzing the different measures taken by the schools according to their principals, the first thing we find is that in Spain there is a significant difference regarding the involvement of parents in school decision-making (χ2(1, N=388) = 29.68, p = .000), as can be seen in Fig. 1, standing at almost the same level as the OECD mean and well below the German mean. Significant differences are also found, in this case with Spain ahead, regarding the help the school offers to the parents on their children’s homework (χ2(1, N = 380) = 7.62, p = .006). In this aspect Spain comes above OECD mean (final item in Fig. 1). 4.1.2. Parents’ perception of school efforts to involve them PISA in turn asked the parents same four questions. The results show that the sample of Spanish parents is more in agreement on the four variables than the German sample as regards the measures adopted by the schools. However, in the four points assessed, the parents in both countries are a lot more moderate in their opinions, as can be seen in Fig. 2. 4.2. Index of parental involvement in school-related activities The index of Parental Involvement is another indicator calculated by PISA based on ten aspects evaluated by the parents (OECD, 2016b), ascribed in the Method section. Specifically, they are asked if during the school year prior to the assessment they had participated in the different school-related activities. 4.2.1. Parents’ perception of their involvement in school-related activities On a scale from 0 to 10 points, the average parental involvement of the German sample (M = 3.81, SD = 2.27) is inferior to that corresponding to the Spanish sample (M = 4.85, SD = 2.30). The difference is significant (t(8158)=−20.159, p = .000)2. A more detailed analysis of the most outstanding items on this index allows us to observe where the differences are produced (in the following 5 variables the differences are significant: χ2(2, N = 8030) = 238.211, p = .000; χ2(2, N = 7935) = 387.641, 1 2

The results presented here belong to the Excel databases and there are no individual data available for the statistical calculation of contrast. In this case a medium effect size (d= 0.46) is obtained. 6

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Fig. 1. School efforts to involve parents. Source: authors’ own from SPSS PISA 2015 data.

Fig. 2. Parents’ opinions of school efforts to involve them. Source: authors’ own from SPSS PISA 2015 data.

p = .000; χ2(2, N = 7983) = 761.057, p = .000; χ2(2, N = 7985) = 375.145, p = .000; χ2(2, N = 8025) = 724.729, p = .000). The five variables are those shown in Fig. 3. The differences between the two countries are much lower when dealing with aspects regarding parental involvement in decisionmaking bodies or voluntary actions organized by the school. Nor are there differences regarding parents’ attendance at meetings or talks, although in this case the participation percentage is high. 4.2.2. Principals’ perception of some activities to do with Parental Involvement in school-related activities The school principals were also asked to assess how much the parents participated in certain school-related activities during the academic year prior to the PISA evaluation (SC064), such as discussing their child’s progress with a teacher on their own initiative (SC064Q01TA) or on the initiative of one of their child’s teachers (SC064Q02TA), participating in local school government (e.g. parent council or school management committee) (SC064Q03TA) or volunteering in physical or extra-curricular activities (e.g.

Fig. 3. Percentage of Parental Involvement in different school-related activities. Source: authors’ own from SPSS PISA 2015 data. 7

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Fig. 4. Principals’ opinions on parental involvement in school-related activities. Source: authors’ own from SPSS PISA 2015 data.

building maintenance, carpentry, gardening or yard work, school play, sports, field trip) (SC064Q04NA) (OECD, 2016a: 140). The results are shown in Fig. 4, on a 100-point average. The results show that the Spanish sample has a significantly higher mean for the first three activities (t(385)=−5.906, p = .000; t (385)=−6.966, p = .000; t(371)=−6.804, p = .000)3. When the parents are asked the same questions, they respond as follows. 74% of the parents in the Spanish sample state that they discuss their child’s progress with the teacher on their own initiative, compared to 53% of the German sample; meetings to speak with the teacher on their child’s progress are fewer when they come from the initiative of the teachers, both in Germany and in Spain. Both groups have low participation rates as volunteers, which coincides with the opinion of the school principals (Fig. 5). Significant differences are produced between the first two items (χ2(2, N = 7952) = 387.641, p = .000; χ2(2, N = 7936) = 761.057, p = .000). As we have stated on the subject of involvement in decision-making bodies and in volunteer actions, there is very little difference between the opinions of German and Spanish parents. On comparing the two figures, we can see that the opinions of the school managers on the parents are not very accordant when referring to holding meetings between parents and teachers to discuss children’s progress. The principals are more optimistic when discussing the teachers than are the parents, and vice versa: the parents themselves are more optimistic when they discuss their own initiative than are the school principals when talking about them. 4.3. Other contextual variables apart from those defined in the calculated indexes As described in the Method section, he shall now analyze some contextual variables the results of which are significant for the objective of this study. 4.3.1. The existence, according to the principles, of legislation on including parents in school activities Within the context of the evaluation of PISA, apart from asking about this index of school effort, the principals were also asked whether there was national, state or district legislation on including parents in the school activities (SC063Q09NA) (OECD, 2016a: 139). The results again show that the principals from the German sample (88%) confirm this in a higher proportion than those of the Spanish sample (66%: χ2(2, N = 383) = 25.71, p = .000). Regarding this result, according to the OECD, school principals tend to involve parents more in school activities in as much as they recognize that there is a specific legislation on the matter: “across OECD countries, school principals were six times more likely to say that their schools include parents in school decisions when there is legislation on including parents those activities than when there is no such legislation” (OECD, 2016b: 101) (Fig. 6). 4.3.2. “Parental support” from the perspective of parents and students As can be seen in Figs. 7 and 8, in general, the parents in both samples are a lot more optimistic than the students regarding the assistance they receive from parents in their school life. The parents’ mean evaluations are higher than those of the children, and the differences are statistically significant in all cases4. In both samples the children’s opinions are more moderate, and in both countries the main difference occurs on the issue of parental help to make their children confidents. 4.3.3. Parents’ opinions on the school their children attend The parents’ opinion of their children’s school is as follows: in general, both the German parents and the Spanish ones consider 3 On calculating Cohen’s d, the effect size for each of the contrasts (d= 0.60; d= 0.71; d= 0.70, respectivamente) has been found to be mediumlarge. 4 Germany, respectively from right to left: t(3254)=-27.870, p=.000; t(3270)=-16.145, p=.000; t(3268)=-4.520, p=.000; t(3279)=-11.533, p=.000. Spain, respectively from right to left: t(4677)=-27.611, p=.000; t(4652)=-20.200, p=.000; t(4676)=-17.109, p=.000; t(4686)=-9.248, p=.000.

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Fig. 5. Parents’ opinions of their participation in school activities. Source: authors’ own from SPSS PISA 2015 data.

Fig. 6. There is a legislation on including parents in school activities (SC063Q09NA). Source: authors’ own from SPSS PISA 2015 data

Fig. 7. Parents and children on parental support. German sample. PA004Q01NA to PA004QO4NA. Source: authors’ own from SPSS PISA 2015 data

that most of the teachers are competent and make an effort with their children; they are satisfied with the discipline environment in the school, with the contents taught and with the methodology used; they believe that the performance levels are high and that their children’s progress is carefully controlled. The highest mean evaluation scores in both countries correspond to opinions on the teachers at the children’s schools, whom they consider to be competent. The mean in the Spanish sample is higher than in the German one (t(8034)=-7.297, p = .000). The lowest to mean evaluations scores refer to the training courses for parents offered by the schools. On this point, the mean assessment scores are also significantly for the sample of Spanish parents (t(7646)=−35.443, p = .000) (Fig. 9). 4.3.4. Parents’ opinions on the main barriers to involvement in the schools The parents also give their opinion on the main barriers they find in being involved in the school. The parents from the German sample point out the following three main obstacles: having to leave work (36%); the timetable for the meetings (35%) and the belief that participation is not relevant (15%). For the Spanish parents also, the difficulty of leaving work (34%) and the timetable (25%) are the main obstacles for participation in the meetings at their children’s school, and point out in third place that “they do not know how to participate” (14%), compared to 9

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Fig. 8. Parents and children on parental support. Spanish sample ST123Q01NA to ST123Q04NA. Source: authors’ own from SPSS PISA 2015 data.

Fig. 9. What parents think about their children’s school (PA007Q01NA to Q07NA and PA007Q09NA). Source: authors’ own from SPSS PISA 2015 data.

the German sample who did not consider it relevant (Fig. 10). 4.3.5. Parents’ relationships with their children’s classmates and teachers Finally, in the framework of PISA 2015, the parents are also asked about their relationships with their children’s classmates and teachers. Specifically, they are asked how many parents of their children’s classmates they know; how many of their children’s classmates they know by name and with how many members of the school community they feel comfortable enough to talk about their child (OECD, 2016a: 175). As can be seen in Figs. 11 and 12, the Spanish parent sample seems more sociable than the German group (Fig. 13). In the three variables the Spanish sample is found to be more favorable to relationships with parents of classmates and with the teachers themselves than the German group (χ2(2, N = 7911) = 366.422, p = .000; χ2(2, N = 7521) = 203.574, p = .000; χ2(2,

Fig. 10. Barriers in involvement in school activities (PA009Q01NA, PA009Q02NA, PA009Q09NA and PA009Q10NA). Source: authors’ own from SPSS PISA 2015 data. 10

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Fig. 11. How many parents of your child’s friends at this school do you know? (PA011Q01NA). Source: authors’ own from SPSS PISA 2015 data.

Fig. 12. How many friends of your child at school do you know by name? (PA011Q2NA). Source: authors’ own from SPSS PISA 2015 data.

Fig. 13. How many of the school staff would you feel comfortable talking to if you had a question about your child? (PA011Q03NA). Source: authors’ own from SPSS PISA 2015 data.

N = 7648) = 334.588, p = .000). As a final point, an analysis of the parental involvement index related to the family socioeconomic level has shown us the absence of significant differences in both samples (German sample F(2,6463) = 1.799, p = .166; Spanish sample F(2,6503)=2.330, p = .110)5. Therefore, the family socioeconomic level variable was not taken into account in this work.

5

The index calculated in PISA 2015 (ESCS or Index of economic, social and cultural status) has been taken as the level for the socioeconomiccultural variable. This is a synthetic index defined on the basis of three variables related with the family background, as are: highest parental education; highest parental occupation and home possessions. In each country the analysis of the factorial variance of the index of family involvement was carried out in accordance with three ESCS levels; high, medium and low calculated on the basis of percentiles 27 and 73 which define the most differentiating groups (Aiken, 2003). No significant correlations were found between the ESCS and the index of parental involvement in either of the two samples analysed (German sample r=-.028, p > .05 and Spanish sample r=.031, p > .05). 11

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4.4. Study of the relationship between parental attitudes, habits and opinions and the children’s performance in the science area In this part of the work we shall analyses whether there is any type of relationship between the parent’s opinions and the achievement of the children in the scientific test. We refer only to those questions in which we have found some relevant trend without assuming causal relationships between the two types of variable. All items analyzed come from the questionnaire for families, and in some cases, when the same questions have been given to the students, they have been taken into account for comparison6. 4.4.1. Spending time just talking to children Both in Germany and in Spain, children whose parents spend little time talking to them obtain very low average results. On the contrary when the conversation is frequent, the achievements are much higher than the mean for PISA (500 points). In the German sample, in these cases, performance is very high (Fig. 14). These data attest to the importance of good communication between parents and children. 4.4.2. Helping my child with his/her science homework As can be verified, there is an inverse ratio between parents’ assistance with homework and performance. When the parents state that they almost always help their children with homework, the children obtain results below the PISA mean; in contrast, in those cases in which parents do not help the results are above the mean. Again, in the case of the German sample this value is very high (Fig. 15). Perhaps what these data mean is that the students with the greatest difficulty at school need and require more help than those who do not have difficulty. We must not forget that these are 15-year-old students who, in principle, should have a high level of autonomy in their studies. 4.4.3. I am interested in my child’s school activities In the case of those parents who state that they are not interested in their children’s school activities, a minority percentage, the mean performance of the children is below the average (500 points). On the contrary, children whose parents state that they are interested obtain results above the average, particularly in Germany (Fig. 16). For this item there is information in PISA from the students themselves. Thus, when asked about the interest their parents show in school activities the same trend can be observed, although the values are more moderate (Fig. 17). Taking into account this double viewpoint, it can be concluded that both the interest shown by the parents in their children’s school activities and the children’s perception of same are clear proof of a positive attitude of involvement with children in their school trajectory. 4.4.4. The school has an active and pleasant school climate In both samples, we find that the children whose parents consider that a pleasant and active school atmosphere is not important obtain lower results than the children whose parents believe it to be important (Fig. 18). The school atmosphere is one of the variables involved in the quality of teaching of the school and its classrooms. The parents’ viewpoint empirically supports the importance of this aspect. 4.4.5. I am satisfied with the disciplinary atmosphere in my child’s school The children whose parents consider that they are satisfied or very satisfied with the discipline and work atmosphere of the school tend to obtain better results, both in Spain and in Germany (Fig. 19). A good atmosphere of positive discipline contributes to creating an environment which favors school work and learning. 4.4.6. Discussed my child’s behavior with a teacher on my own initiative Both samples show that in the case of parents who ask to speak with the teacher about their children’s behavior at school, the latter have a lower mean performance in comparison with their classmates whose parents do not request this type of interview. It seems logical to think that, in the former case, these are students who present disruptive or poorly-adjusted behavior in school life (Fig. 20). 4.4.7. Discussed my child’s behavior on the initiative of one of his/her teachers A similar situation can be seen when it is the teacher who calls the parents to talk about their child’s behavior (Fig. 21). Once again, an empirical relationship is to be found between the behavior of the students at school and school performance. 4.4.8. Participated in local school government, e.g. Parent council or school management committee It would appear that there is no relationship between parental participation in local school government and children’s performance in either country (Fig. 22). In both samples, the mean performances of the students are very alike. 6

The results presented here belong to the Excel databases and there are no individual data available for the statistical calculation of contrast. 12

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Fig. 14. Spending time talking to children and performance (PA003Q03TA). Source: authors’ own from Excel PISA 2015 data.

Fig. 15. Helping children with homework and performance (PA003Q04NA). Source: authors’ own from Excel PISA 2015 data.

Fig. 16. Interest in children’s school activities and performance (PA004Q01NA). Source: authors’ own from Excel PISA 2015 data.

4.4.9. Attended a scheduled meeting or talks for parents Children whose parents attend meetings and talks on educational aspects organized by their school obtain better results than children whose parents do not attend. This variable, then, becomes an indicator of the involvement of parents in the education of their children, and is also a sign of co-responsibility with the school for this task (Fig. 23).

4.4.10. Talking about how to support learning at home and homework with my child’s teachers The children of parents who talk with teachers about how they can assist their children with homework obtain lower results than those whose parents do not need to speak with the teachers on this topic (Fig. 24). This result again points to the independence of good students at this age.

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Fig. 17. Children’s opinion: parental interest in school activities and performance. ST123Q01NA. Source: authors’ own from Excel PISA 2015 data.

Fig. 18. School atmosphere and performance (PA006Q09TA). Source: authors’ own from Excel PISA 2015 data.

Fig. 19. Satisfaction with atmosphere of discipline and performance (PA007Q04TA). Source: authors’ own from Excel PISA 2015 data.

4.4.11. How many of the school staff would you feel comfortable talking to if you had a question about your child Finally, those parents who feel comfortable speaking about their child with different members of the school staff, that is, who feel comfortable with different workers in the school, have children with better results than those who do not feel this confidence (Fig. 25). 5. Discussion and conclusions In this section we shall discuss the main results following the same order in which they were presented. 5.1. School effort to involve parents Many researchers point out how important it is for the school management to assume an effective strategy for the involvement of parents and the school (Glasgow & Jameson Whitney, 2009; Grant & Ray, 2013; Swap, 1993; Epstein et al., 2009; Sanders & Sheldon, 14

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Fig. 20. Discussing a child’s behavior with the teacher on the parents’ initiative and performance (PA008Q01TA). Source: authors’ own from Excel PISA 2015 data.

Fig. 21. Discussing a child’s behavior on the teacher’s initiative and performance (PA008Q02TA). Source: authors’ own from Excel PISA 2015 data.

Fig. 22. Participation in local school government and performance (PA008Q05TA). Source: authors’ own from Excel PISA 2015 data.

2009; Sheldon & Epstein, 2005; McDowall & Schaughency, 2017). As early as 1995 Epstein pointed out that among the six types of participation needed and the challenges they present, communication was the key for the school board to ensure effective bidirectional communication. Jeynes (2011) indicates that the policy of the principals is tremendously important when it comes to involving parents and that it is necessary to watch over the relationship of the school management with each family. Regarding our results, firstly, we must stress that in both samples the index of the school efforts to involve parents is very high, according to the school principals, particularly in reference to the creation of a welcoming environment for parents and the establishment of effective communication between the school and the family. However, the principals in the German sample consider that they include parents more in school decision-making than do the heads in the Spanish sample. This fact is concomitant with a state, national or regional legislation on including parents in the school activities. In contrast, the parents, both in the German and the Spanish samples, have more moderate opinions than the head teachers

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Fig. 23. Attending meetings or conferences and performance (PA008Q08NA). Source: authors’ own from Excel PISA 2015 data.

Fig. 24. Speaking with teachers about how to assist children at home (PA008Q09NA). Source: authors’ own from Excel PISA 2015 data.

Fig. 25. Number of staff members they can feel comfortable and performance (PA011Q03NA). Source: authors’ own from Excel PISA 2015 data.

regarding the above topics. Nevertheless, the Spanish parents are more pleased than the Germans regarding the creation of a welcoming, accepting environment, and believe that there is effective communication between family and school and that the parents are included in decision-making. Their assessments are closer to those of the Spanish school principals, while in Germany there is greater disagreement between the opinions of the principals and those with the parents. Thus, in as far as the previous questions are concerned, there is greater consensus between the Spanish principals and parents than between the German ones. According to a study by Parreira do Amaral, Walther & Litau on parental involvement in school (2013: 15), German parents feel less encouraged to participate in decision-making in the school than the parents in other countries such as Finland, the Netherlands and Slovenia. In addition, the German parents consider that their decisions and concerns are less taken into account than in those countries. Nevertheless, these authors have found that such differences are not significant in the school organization of the country studied, where, in general, the principals do not pay much attention to parental involvement when making decisions (Parreira do Amaral, Walther, & Litau, 2015: 99-100).

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5.2. Parental involvement in the school related activities Regarding the index of parental involvement, calculated as such by PISA, what stands out is that the mean for the Spanish sample is higher than the mean for the German sample. On considering the different dimensions of this index, we must stress the following: Spanish parents speak with the teacher about their child’s performance and behaviour on their own initiative or that of the teacher much more than German parents and also higher than the average for the OECD. Likewise, Spanish parents talk with the teachers about how to help their children with their homework and exchange ideas on their involvement in the educational project far more than do German parents and the OECD mean. These results obtained in the PISA 2015 questionnaires are concordant with the results of the assessment of PISA 2012. Thus Castro, Expósito, Lizasoáin, López, and Navarro, (2014), in a study on the same indicators corresponding to PISA 2012 note very similar values for PISA 2015 in Germany. On the subject of parental participation in school-related activities, the principals in the Spanish sample state that the parents speak frequently about their children’s behaviour on the teacher’s initiative, and somewhat less on their own initiative; they also participate far less in local school government (e.g. parent council or school management committee) or volunteer actions. In the German sample the principals are of the same opinion, but the value they give to parental involvement is inferior in the four aspects. In that regard, the parents in both countries are of the opinion that they talk to the teaching staff about their children’s progress much more on their own initiative than on the teacher’s initiative, in contrast with the opinion of the principals in both countries. This difference in opinion between principals and parents continues throughout most of the results. Sebastian et al. (2017) stress the importance of taking the source of information into account regarding the parental involvement data resulting from the PISA questionnaires: “The measures of parental involvement from parents and from principals describe different levels of involvement –one affects student variation in academic performance, whereas the other is a school-wide organisational factor–” (pp. 139–140). Conversely, on the subject of involvement in local school government and in volunteer actions, the parents’ opinions coincide with those of the principals. On this point, the parents admit that their involvement is poor. 5.3. Other variables Regarding parental involvement in decision-making in the school, as mentioned above, the proportion of German principals who confirm the existence of state, national or regional legislation on including parents in the school activities is greater than in Spain. Further research would be necessary into the reasons for this difference in answers. Spanish legislation on education has specific regulations on the different types of parental involvement in schools. In this sense, although authors such as Silveira (2016) believe that for fuller compliance in Spain of the right to parental involvement, the regulations need further and more specific development, others such as Vega Gutiérrez (2012): 174) propose simplification of the rules. Egido (2014) also notes that the regulatory frameworks are not enough for in-depth comprehension of this involvement, and that further research with representative samples is needed. On this point the PISA questionnaire does not explain to which type of school activities it refers when it asks the principals if there is “national, state or district legislation on including parents in the school activities” (SC063Q09NA). As regards parental support, the parents in both samples state that they are quite a lot more optimistic than their children regarding the assistance they offer them for their school life: they are interested in their school activities, they support them when faced with the problems and work involved in learning and encourage them to be confident. Regarding these variables Jude et al. (2016) warn about the ceiling effect and socially desirable answers. Whatever the case, Castro et al. (2014a) in their meta-analytical synthesis on family involvement and academic performance, point out the following: “It seems clear that the type of family involvement that «works» is the one that, on the whole, is intended to accompany and supervise the appropriate tasks of the children which, in their facet of students, means studying and learning” (p. 95). Concerning opinions on the children’s school: both the German and the Spanish parents think that most teachers are competent and make an effort with their children; they are, in addition, satisfied with the discipline environment in the school, with the contents and the teaching methodology used in the school. They are of the opinion that the performance levels are high and that their children’s progress is strictly controlled. The only difference between the two samples has to do with what training courses for parents are offered in the school; for the Spanish sample this is much higher than for the German one, although in both cases this aspect is the least highly regarded in the appraisal of the school. These results agree with those found by Reparaz and Jiménez (2015), when they state that the principals have an even more negative view than the parents of their participation in training activities organized by the school, whether preschool, primary or secondary. Among the problems pointed out by the parents regarding participation in the school, in both Spain and Germany, what still stands out is the classical complications like taking time off work and juggling timetables (Grant & Ray, 2013; Murray et al., 2014). 5.4. Parental behaviour and attitudes and children’s performance in science Apropos the academic performance of students in the science area, we can state that in both samples there is a positive trend with some parental behaviors. Thus, spending time talking on a regular basis with children, showing interest in the activities that children do at school, appreciating a well-disciplined environment for study and work, attending meetings and training conferences for parents or feeling comfortable enough with the school staff to talk about any issue related with their children, are variables that seem to favor the academic performance of the students. On this point Castro, Expósito, Lizasoáin, López, and Navarro, (2014), in a study on family 17

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involvement and academic performance based on a sample of 14,876 families, found that one of the practices associated with family involvement in the school which seems to have a positive effect on academic performance at the three stages of education is being able to rely on a good study environment at home and educational supervision by parents. Conversely, in both samples there is a negative relationship between the students’ performance and certain parental behaviors. Helping 15-year-old children to do their homework or speaking frequently with teachers about their behaviour or about how to assist them at home do not seem to be advisable at this age, as this may reflect problems related with lack of independence and learning difficulties. Castro et al. (2014a) and Jude et al. (2016) indicate that the supervision and homework-control activity of the parents does not seem to be particularly connected with performance, and leads us to think that some students’ need of assistance with homework occurs precisely when the student has problems, either learning, behavioral or socialization. On this point, other studies establish that there is a negative correlation when this relationship arises on the teacher’s initiative, as in this case it shows that the student is having difficulties (Sebastian et al., 2017). In the same direction, a study on parental involvement in secondary education from the perspective of ethnically diverse parents, teachers and students conclude, amongst other points, that: “The fact that parents did not mention homework help among their planful strategies suggest that homework help is not a central way in which parents conceptualize involvement. This means that parent-initiated homework help may occur as a reaction to students’ progress and potentially undermine students’ autonomy” (Hill, Witherspoon, & Bartz, 2018: 24). And they continue to emphasize that what parents, teachers and students agree on is a need for parental involvement at that age to address the establishment of strategies for scaffolding independence around schoolwork and linking education to future success. These two strategies are identified as ways in which the families of the schools may work together to involve young people in their education. Moroni, Dumont, Trautwein, Niggli, and Baeriswy, (2015), in a sample of 1685 students, studied parental assistance with homework as, according to the authors, this is the most common and most controversial type of parental involvement. By differentiating between the quantity and quality of parental involvement, the research shows that the conclusions on the effectiveness of this involvement are very different if what is assessed is the quantity rather than the quality. Thus, the frequency with which the parents help with homework is negatively associated with performance, while assistance with homework which is felt to be support has positive predictive effects. From the perspective of the theory of the self-regulation learning vs. external regulation learning (de la Fuente-Arias, 2017), what is important is a regulatory context in which the parents have a proactive attitude and contribute to raising the probability that the student will reach his/her educational objectives. It would be interesting to carry out further field research based on this theory, on the issue of the type of involvement of parents in schools and the performance of secondary school students, the objective of the PISA studies. Finally, in both samples we find the fact of participating or not participating in the school board of government or school council does not affect children’s performance. This ascertainment does not play down the importance of parental participation in the governing of the school when it comes to improving a school for everyone, where parental voices should be heard at an institutional level. 6. Constraints We are aware of the limitations of this study, firstly because it has not been possible to obtain the data from all the variables proposed by PISA 2015 regarding parental involvement in schools, as the OECD has not yet published the calculation processes of same. Regarding the PISA questionnaires, we must highlight how interesting the indexes presented by the OCDE are. However, it would be desirable for a potential comparison of results if, for example, the index of the effort made by the school principals were also calculated by the parents and the index of parental involvement were also calculated by the principals. In addition, in some items the two groups -parents and principals- are addressed, but each instrument presents a different measurement scale. For example, item SC063Q02NA “Our school provides a welcoming and accepting atmosphere for parents to get involved” on the principals’ questionnaire demands a dichotomic response (Yes/No), whereas the equivalent item on the parents’ questionnaire, PA007Q09NA, is presented with a 4-point scale from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”. 7. Future prospects We believe it has been very valuable to have carried out in-depth studies of very specific aspects of parental involvement in school which allow for the definition of action proposals and specific improvements. It is important to realize that parental involvement is one of the main variables for quality in the system of education in which both the school and the family can intervene directly. The results of the principals’ questionnaires should make them reflect on how to improve aspects of the general organization of the schools, and the results of the parents’ questionnaires should make the parents reflect on their children’s potential for success in education. The more generalized application of the questionnaires on parental involvement would be of interest and should be extended to all participating countries in future editions of PISA. This systemization would offer further knowledge for improvement of the educational policies of these countries, and thereby make it more feasible to carry out longitudinal studies to verify their development. 18

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