Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify parental involvement strategies used by parents of expelled high school students in the home and at school that contributed to students' high school graduation after expulsion. Methodology: This was a collective case study. Parents, guardians, or caregivers who were responsible for students expelled from school districts were the targeted population. The study examined only those cases where students graduated high school after expulsion. The process was a face-to-face interview using tested semi-structured questions to answer the research questions. Findings: The data identified two common home-based involvement strategies and one common school-based involvement strategy. While the study uncovered a variety of parental involvement strategies in the home and at school, it was the unique family situation that dictated the strategy to implement. Three common themes emerged as having an impact on the child graduating from high school after expulsion were: 1) Focusing, Planning, and Encouraging Education; 2) Monitoring or providing transportation for the child to and from school; and 3) Attending school meetings and conferences. Conclusions: A child overcoming educational barriers, such as expulsion, and personal challenges in order to graduate from high school are greatly improved when a parent takes an active role in their education. Family structures are different and parents implement what they believe to be the best involvement strategy in the home and at school to build a child's social capital for academic success. Furthermore, during and after expulsion, social capital rebuilding was replaced by self-academic motivation. Recommendations: Further research would be to replicate the study in a larger geographical area to determine if the findings in this study are consistent. A second recommendation would be to conduct a quantitative study across a larger population. A third recommendation would be to interview parents, guardians, or caregivers of expelled students who, after expulsion, returned to high school but did not graduate. A fourth recommendation would be to conduct this study using expelled elementary and junior high school students. Lastly, a fifth recommendation would be to involve former expelled students as part of the interview process.