Research has shown that parental involvement is an important component of students' academic achievement, yet in rural areas, such involvement may be difficult to attain. The purpose of this collective case study was to investigate the perceptions of parents of young elementary students in a rural school district regarding their role in supporting learning at home and obstacles preventing them from providing learning support. Epstein's overlapping spheres of influence theory provided the theoretical framework for this study. Two questions investigated the subjects' perceptions concerning roles in their children's academic development at home and which issues they considered to be barriers to parental involvement. Information was gathered from questionnaires, individual interviews, and a focus group interview of 4, purposefully sampled parents. Data collected were transcribed, hand coded, and categorized through typological analysis. The findings indicated that positive strategies for school-home communication were in use, while barriers to parental involvement included families' busy lives, inconsistent school communication, lack of specific knowledge on how to support learning at home, and isolation from other families. Recommendations included increasing the number of parent-teacher conferences held yearly, creating weekly grade-level newsletters, developing hands-on activities for use at home, and increasing opportunities for family events. Rural educators may draw from the findings of the study in developing parental involvement programs, with positive social change implications that include stronger home-school relationships, increased student support at home, and improved student achievement. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]