| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this research is to explore why parents do not volunteer to support the Athletic Booster Club (ABC) at John Quincy Adams (JQA - pseudonym) high school and seek possible solutions to encourage greater involvement. The literature provides reasons parents do not volunteer in schools, with work conflicts and communication being the most common reasons; however, there is less research addressing the reasons parents do not support extracurricular activities.
A mixed-methods approach was used to execute this research. Quantitative data on student athlete demographics at JQA was compared to the overall school population and the county to determine if the school and its student athletes are a fair representation of the overall student body in demographics, socioeconomic status, and race. All parents of student athletes were asked to complete a questionnaire concerning their involvement in the ABC with various opportunities and tasks. The qualitative data was collected through interviews with eight parents of student athletes, each parent representing different levels of effort of involvement. Additionally, one parent each who served as board members of the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), Drama Boosters, and Band Boosters was interviewed to explore potential commonalities and differences in parent involvement and motivation.
All parents responding placed some value on what the Boosters provide to the student athlete. However, consistent with expectancy theory, their level of understanding of the role of Boosters varied greatly based on the information received and how that value translated to them personally. Obstacles, time, and commitment were most often cited factors limiting involvement. Work demands were the most common limiting factor for parents regarding these three factors
Communication flow and access to information were issues Feelings of intimidation by board members and other volunteers were expressed by several respondents, especially regarding the white female board members. Parents representing other extracurricular activities at the school identified the same issues with volunteering as Athletic Booster parents. This would seem to indicate that it is not athletics as an activity that affects the choice to volunteer, but other factors. | en_US |
