Undergraduate research project (6 points)

In December 2025, I presented a draft of my undergraduate thesis in Spelman College’s psychology department. The title is The Impact of Parental Involvement and School Closures on Student Academic Achievement. The current study will examine the effects of parental involvement and virtual schooling on Black American students. Many studies show that high parental involvement leads to successful child outcomes. Studies have suggested that drastic learning loss was experienced among students during the Global Health Crisis (GHC) of 2020 and 2021, especially among children who were in elementary school. Additional studies have shown that parental involvement during the GHC was difficult for parents due to jobs, parent self-efficacy, language barriers, and caretaker roles. This study uses Joyce Epstein's Parental Involvement Framework and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory to explain the importance of parental involvement in students’ education and why basic needs must be met before learning can occur. Maslow’s theory explains that basic human needs, such as food, water, shelter, and love/belonging, must be met before learning can occur. During the GHC, the basic needs of most people, especially children, might not have been met for some children. According to various research studies, many students were not able to learn properly because they did not have adequate food, safety, or socialization with friends. For many students, the GHC reduced their access to basic and psychological needs, which in turn restricted their capacity to learn in school. The six factors of Epstein’s framework are parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision-making, and collaboration with the community. The present study will focus on the factors of communication between teachers and parents, parents volunteering at the child’s school, and learning at home.

 The present study examines the research question of whether there is an interaction between parental involvement and virtual schooling in predicting math and reading achievement in the upper elementary school years for children who experienced pre-k during the GHC. It is hypothesized that parental involvement will be more strongly related to later elementary school achievement among children who were in in-person school versus virtual school. 

The results of this study will help increase understanding of how virtual learning during the Global Health Crisis of 2020 and 2021 impacted Black children in the United States. In addition, it will advance an understanding of how parental involvement influences children's academic achievement. It will give us knowledge of the aftereffects of the GHC and how parents, guardians, and educators of children can guide children in their educational journeys after the GHC. 

Presenting in the Spelman College psychology department was the perfect opportunity to gain feedback and incorporate it into my thesis. By practicing here, I am able to develop my project further, prepare for SEPA/CEPO (which is part of this project), and defend my undergraduate thesis. 

-Anaya Stenson