Promoting Parental Involvement in Schools : Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments

Parental involvement programs aim to strengthen school-home relations with the goal of improving children’s educational outcomes. Using data from two experiments, we examine the effects of a parental involvement program in Mexico, which provides parent associations with grants and information. Grants to parent associations did not improve educational outcomes. Information to parent associations reduced disciplinary actions in schools, mainly by changing parents’ behaviors. Our results suggest that parental involvement interventions may not achieve their intended goal if institutional rules are unclear about the expectations of parents and teachers as parents increase their involvement in schools