This applied dissertation was designed to provide better understanding of issues related to parental involvement to school officials and scholars. The parental involvement at the school was very low and academic achievement was also low. The school leaders were requested to increase parental involvement and the School Improvement Plan specified that such increase would occur. The parents of the students were interviewed and surveyed in order to access current information as to why the participation was low. In addition, parents of high-achieving students and parents of low-achieving students were interviewed and surveyed separately in order to establish the possibility of a disparity between the 2 groups. The researcher utilized a questionnaire and a survey to understand the parents' motivations, or lack of motivation, in becoming involved in their children's' scholar progress. The items listed in the survey focused on directing the parents in rating their importance of the following items to student achievement: (a) making sure the child is at school every day, (b) attending parent-teacher conferences, (c) regularly talking to the child about school, (d) checking that the child has done the homework, (e) balancing schoolwork and school activities, (f) having a variety of reading materials in the house, (g) balancing schoolwork and time with friends, (h) having a set time for homework, (i) attending activities at school, (j) limiting the amount of time the child watches TV, (k) reviewing the child's weekly planner, (l) regularly talking to the child's teachers, (m) talking to other parents about school, (n) observing the child's classes, and (o) volunteering at school. An analysis of the data revealed the effects of parental involvement in the academic achievement of the students and the reasoning as to why parents participated more or less. The results of this study established a greater comprehension to school officials as to why parental involvement was low and possible ideas about how to approach this issue. [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.]