Date of Award
8-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Education and Human Development
Committee Chair/Advisor
C.C. Bates
Committee Member
Cynthia Deaton
Committee Member
Lisa Aker
Committee Member
Lindsey Rowe
Abstract
While systems of support are used in schools to assist students’ academic growth, parents are not always informed of the support process or the academic goals set for their child (RTI Action Network, n.d.; Troisi, 2014; Weingarten et al., 2020). In the aftermath of the pandemic, students present a wide variety of academic needs (Lewis et al., 2021; Maldonado & De Witte, 2020), underscoring the importance of parent advocacy. In situations where a student needs additional supports, such as literacy intervention, the parent may become the child’s best advocate (Besnoy et al., 2015).
Using a multiple case study design, the purpose of this study was to explore the motivations and experiences of four parents who advocated for their children’s literacy needs by finding resources outside of school. Children of these parents were all male students with speech-language and literacy difficulties who received individualized literacy tutoring at a university reading clinic. Parents in this study told their personal and unique stories through interview responses, non-verbal behavior during interviews, and submission of documents selected to represent advocacy efforts.
Findings illustrate limitations to the general communication process offered by the school, privileges that influenced parents’ abilities to advocate, and reflections of various roles. Based on these findings, this research presents an innovative model of the factors that influence parent advocacy, which builds from relevant literature and existing theoretical frameworks (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 1995, 1997; Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2005; Ryan & Deci, 2020). This study presents implications for parents navigating through the advocacy process and for schools to use effective ways of communicating and providing resources to families.
Recommended Citation
Malloy, Meghan, "Parent Advocacy for Literacy Intervention: A Case Study of Motivations and Experiences" (2024). All Dissertations. 3689.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/3689