Beyond Classroom Participation: Cultural and Social Factors Associated with Parent Engagement in School Food and Physical Activity Environmental Change

Background:

The establishment of policies to improve the school food and physical activity environment is an important strategy to reduce childhood obesity. Implementation of these policies requires collaboration among many stakeholders within the school community. Parents are an important untapped resource that have the capacity and power to advocate for healthy change in their children's schools. Our investigation explores the cultural and social factors associated with parent engagement including barriers and factors that facilitate parent involvement beyond classroom participation.

Methods:

Focus group methodology is applied to gather in-depth qualitative data from parents from the six low-income communities participating in the California Endowment's Healthy Eating, Active Communities program. Six – 10 one-hour focus groups, conducted this summer 2008, are led by a trained moderator. Content analysis, based on field notes and transcriptions, is conducted to identify themes that are shared across groups.

Findings:

Anticipated findings will reveal the influence of culture/ethnicity, language, and demographic factors such as age, gender, and family economics on parental engagement in school-related issues around food and physical activity. The study also helps to understand other barriers and factors that facilitate parental involvement. Attaining greater insight of these issues will inform the methods and strategies for engaging parents in school reform.

Research Significance:

This session will highlight the influence of cultural, social, and demographic factors on parental engagement and provides recommendations on methods to reach and involve parents as leaders and change agents in the effort to eradicate childhood obesity.