Barry A. Friedman

Parents' school satisfaction: ethnic similarities and differences

Purpose – Parent satisfaction with their children’s school is an important issue in today’s competitive educational environment characterized by school choice and government standards; however, few empirical studies address school satisfaction similarities and differences among parents from different ethnic groups. The purpose of this paper is to determine empirically similarities as well as differences in the factors important to parents from different ethnic backgrounds.Design/methodology/approach – This article presents a conceptual model of parent satisfaction with schools that was derived from the literature as well as researchers at the Harris Interactive Poll Organization. The article reports the findings from a survey of 27,605 African-American, Asian, Caucasian, and Hispanic parents from 121 schools in 27 school districts across the US. Regression analyses identified factors that contribute to overall school satisfaction among the ethnic groups.Findings – Ethnic parental groups share attributes with respect to school satisfaction; however, the importance groups place on such school characteristics as parental involvement, school administration, and technology varies. Across ethnic groups, parents’ school satisfaction was influenced most by their rating of school safety, followed by the school budget and teacher effectiveness. Factors more proximal to children’s school experience (e.g. safety, teachers, and facilities) had greater influence on parents’ school satisfaction than factors of lesser proximity (e.g. district administration).Originality/value – The study furthers our understanding of parent’s school satisfaction with their children’s schools, especially with respect to ethnicity. The study findings have practical implications for school administrators who must first understand parents’ school satisfaction across and among ethnic groups, set priorities, and take action to increase parent school satisfaction.

Predictors of Parents’ Satisfaction with Their Children's School.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify factors of parent satisfaction, then identify predictors of overall school satisfaction among three groups of variables: district characteristics, parent demographics, and school satisfaction factors. Despite the importance of parents in the success of schoolchildren, few empirical studies address the complexities and factor structure of parent satisfaction with their children’s school.Design/methodology/approach – This paper reports findings from a survey of 30,279 parents from 121 schools in 27 school districts across the USA conducted by Harris Interactive, Inc. The researchers employed factor analysis to identify factors of parent satisfaction, and then regressed overall satisfaction on district characteristics, demographic variables, and satisfaction factors.Findings – In this paper three parent satisfaction factors were found: the extent to which parents received adequate information from the school about their children, and the degree of involvement the school and teachers afforded them, the adequacy of school resources, and the extent to which school leadership (Board of Education and School Superintendent) was effective and managed the school budget well. These factors significantly predicted overall parent/school satisfaction even after district and demographics were controlled.Originality/value – The study increases one’s understanding of the underlying factors that explain parent satisfaction, and demographic, and district characteristics that predict parents’ satisfaction.The findings suggest factors that school administrators manage these factors in order to improve parent satisfaction.

The Team Boat Exercise: Enhancing Team Communication Midsemester

In his classic piece “Hello, Bird, I’m Learning Ornithology,” Rotfeld (1998) characterizes the use of classroom teams as follows: In reality, the way most faculty run (group) projects teaches ... the ability to work in groups the way talking with an exotic bird teaches ornithology. ... Group projects are many but few faculty assigning them give attention to improving student speaking, writing, or group interactions. The classes do not teach these things except by contagion and therein lies the real problem.

Using Current Events Articles to Facilitate Learning Human Resource Management

Establishing subject matter relevance, increasing student motivation, and achieving learning objectives are among the rich array of challenges that teachers face. Using Blooms taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001; Bloom, 1994) this paper explores the use of current event news articles that encourage students to engage in active learning and use critical thinking skills, and clear oral communication skills. Practical guidelines and examples for using newspaper articles in human resource management classes are offered.