What Effect Does the Use of Familiar Technology Have on Increasing Family Involvement in Schools with Students From Low SES Families?
Abstract: One of the leading innovations in the 21st century is technology and most families today are involved to some degree in technology regardless of SES, and research shows family involvement increases with the use of computer technology across SES levels (Hohlfelda, Ritzhauptb, & Barrona, 2010). However, high SES families are more likely than low SES families to have computers in the home and spend time online using social networks and other forms of online communication (McNeill, Puleo, Bennett, & Emmons, 2007), while low SES families usually have access to cell phones and tend to use them more. "African-Americans and Latinos, who tend to be of lower SES background, also use SMS at higher rates (79% and 83%, respectively) than whites (72%)" (Aguilera & Munoz, 2011). Therefore, I designed a small research study to determine if family involvement increases with use of cell phones to answer questions on weekly surveys.