MyStudentScope: A Web Portal for Parental Management of Their Children’s Educational Information

Research shows that parents and caregivers have challenges optimizing their use of information they receive regarding their children’s education. The challenge hinders their ability to effectively participate in their children’s educational development. Existing electronic student information systems used by schools are designed from the perspective of the educator or student, not the parent. A prior study aimed at determining areas where challenges were perceived supported the need for a tool tailored to meet the parents’ needs. In order to understand current methods of information management using technology, we review literature on Personal Information Management (PIM) and Knowledge Management. Experts in education were interviewed for their opinions regarding the types of information parents should have accessible. The literature review, study results, and recommendations from experts in education were used to inform the design of MyStudentScope (MSS), a web portal for parental management of information regarding their children’s education. The portal has four primary functions: monitoring, retrieving, communication and decision making. Parents’ use of MSS to archive and retrieve information regarding their children’s education is expected to improve parental monitoring of the progress of their children’s education over paper-based methods. Studies are underway to evaluate the effectiveness of MSS in improving parental management of information regarding their children’s education.