Chapter One: Introduction

1.0 Background of Study
Most of us grew up believing in dream big about the future ahead. We believed we could do anything or become anything we wanted with dedication and hard work, but for many in this country the big dream about the future is fading as the gap between rich and poor continues to grow. Children were told that if they studied hard they could “make something of themselves.” While this is still true, the rules have changed and the stakes are higher. Governments have decreased aid for public education and set spending caps. Students today are being faced with “high stakes” testing. We used to worry about scoring high enough on examinations to get into college, but now students take examinations to get out of high school. Some policy makers, during sometime, have suggested a school’s funding will be determined by how well their students perform on the tests. In theory it is wonderful, the schools that do well will be rewarded for their excellence. In practice it will most likely become another opportunity for the rich school districts to succeed and the poor school districts to fail. Revenue caps and high stakes testing appear to be an inevitable part of our future so we must find affordable, effective means for inspiring students and their families to improve student outcome. One way may be parental involvement. Another way might be to teach effective parenting skills which could in turn increase parental involvement in education particularly home economics.
Numerous studies have been done to confirm the assumption that students do better when their parents are involved in their education especially in their course of study (Bronfenbrenner, Karnes & Lee, Florin & Doke are cited by the State of Iowa Department of Education, 1998 p. 1). “Henderson and Berla’s study (as cited in Bowen,1999 p. 1), stated, “According