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Exploring parents' engagement with a digital personalized learning system: a case study in an urban elementary school
Dissertation   Open access

Exploring parents' engagement with a digital personalized learning system: a case study in an urban elementary school

Sabina F. Grant-Spencer
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Sep 2018
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/D8XW95
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Abstract

Education, Elementary African Americans--Education Education--Parent participation Web-based instruction Education Machine Learning
National data cited by Barton & Coley (2010) indicate that African American males are achieving less than Caucasian males in elementary school-level reading. Taking education beyond the classroom and into the home may be a critically important mechanism for addressing this problem and reducing the negative impact of academic contexts where African American males are experiencing deficiencies in reading. Research by Renth, Buckley, & Puchner (2015) shows parent engagement plays a crucial role in students' academic success in school. However, not all parents are equipped with appropriate instructional tools to promote academic engagement within the home. Beecher & Sweeny (2008) noted that various instructional practices such as enrichment, differentiated instruction, and culturally relevant instruction can positively affect educational disparities in African American males. Their research employed a case study design to better understand parents' engagement with a digital personalized learning system and its influence on their African American boys' reading scores in an urban elementary school. The three literature review streams of the present study included educational disparities, parent engagement, and technology-based learning. Findings suggest that parents perceive Lexia as easily accessible and tailored to the individual learning needs of their child. Parents also reported noticeable improvements in the areas of comprehension and spelling. Furthermore, parents expressed a desire for additional digital learning resources to support academic engagement with their child.

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