Contexts of Parental Involvement: An Interpretive Synthesis of Qualitative Literature Using the Meta-Interpretation Method
Open AccessUtilizing the meta-interpretation approach (Weed, 2005, 2008) to obtain a holistic interpretive synthesis of extant qualitative literature on the topic of parental involvement, this study is an effort to provide insight into the following initial inquiries: (1) Do extant interpretations offer the potential for any conceptual or theoretical extensions or differences as presented in qualitative research related to parental involvement? (2) Will a holistic interpretive synthesis provide a greater understanding of or insight into the overlap or interplay between and within these extant theories? The two goals of this study included: (1) conduct a meta-interpretive synthesis of qualitative parental involvement literature underpinned by divergent parental involvement theories to: holistically offer insight into how researchers conceptualize parental involvement, understand the convergent and divergent relationships among selected theories of parental involvement, and advance the theory related to parental involvement in schools; and (2) present a change in the paradigm of qualitative literature synthesis by establishing meta-interpretation (Weed, 2005b, 2008) as a viable approach for the interpretive synthesis of educational literature.The varied and transparent methods of data collection and analysis occurred through an iterative process, beginning with theoretical sensitivity (Glaser, 1978) to the research area of parental involvement, maximum variation sampling (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Denzin & Lincoln, 1994) to establish the initial dataset for analysis, and continued until theoretical saturation (Glaser & Strauss, 1967 as referenced in Glesne, 1999). To ensure trustworthiness (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994 as referenced in Glesne, 1999) the technique of memoing (Glesne, 1999; Maxwell, 2005) was employed to ensure a clear audit trail (Glesne) through the synthesis process.While the findings of this study suggest multiple points of conceptual convergence among the various theoretically selected synthesized research studies, in contrast there are five identified points of conceptual divergence namely: protector and nurturer; building positive social relationships; awareness and knowledge; discrete involvement; and parent as learner. The insight gleaned from this study suggested that broader theoretical notions of the parental involvement construct are based upon various conceptualizations and contextual implications of divergence regarding what it means to be a parent and what it means to be involved.
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CorbinStaton_gwu_0075A_10141.pdf | 2018-01-16 | Open Access |
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