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MILITARY DEPLOYED PARENT PERCEPTIONS OF INVOLVEMENT IN THE EDUCATION OF THEIR CHILDREN: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDYbyEder G. BennettLiberty UniversityA Dissertation Presented in Partial FulfillmentOf the Requirements for the DegreeDoctor of EducationLiberty University2021MILITARY DEPLOYED PARENT PERCEPTIONS OF INVOLVEMENT IN THE EDUCATION OF THEIR CHILDREN: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDYby Eder G. BennettA Dissertation Presented in Partial FulfillmentOf the Requirements for the DegreeDoctor of EducationAPPROVED BY:James Eller, Ed.D., Committee ChairMichael-Chadwell Sharon, Ed.D., Committee MemberAbstractThe purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of deployed military parents regarding active involvement in their child’s education. The research question was: What are the perceptions of deployed military parents regarding active involvement in their child’s education? The methodology included using a qualitative phenomenological research design, applying Epstein\'s theory regarding the triangle relationship between parents, teachers, and the community to help explore and make sense of the stories and experiences of parents who have or are currently experiencing challenges associated with military deployment. Data was collected using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, artifact analysis, and focus groups. Data was analyzed using open coding, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and comparison. The setting for this study was Fort Rapture. As recommended by Creswell (2003), the sample consisted of 12 personnel currently deployed or previously deployed within the past two years, who have pre-K-12 school-aged children currently in school.Keywords: parental involvement, military deployment, deployed parents, soldiers as parents, phenomenologyCopyright Page©No original material may be used without the permission of the authorAll rights reservedAcknowledgmentsI would like to acknowledge my parents and family members who supported me during this research process. Their help and encouragement was instrumental in completing this research along the way. I would also like to thank my advisors for their tireless work in guiding me at every step. Without their insight, this research project never could have come to fruition. I would like to thank James Eller, Ed.D., Committee Chair, and Michael-Chadwell Sharon, Committee Member, in particular for their oversight. I would also like to acknowledge Liberty University for the opportunity to pursue this research in the school’s doctoral program.Table of ContentsAbstract 4Copyright Page 5Acknowledgments 6Table of Contents 7List of Tables 12List of Figures 13List of Abbreviations 14Chapter One: Introduction 15Overview 15Background 15Historical 17Theoretical 18Social 18Situation to Self 19Problem Statement 21Purpose Statement 22Significance of Study 22Theoretical Significance 23Practical Significance 23Empirical Significance 24Research Questions 24Central Research Question 25Sub Research Question One 25Sub Research Question Two 25Sub Research Question Three 26Definitions 26Summary 28CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 29Overview 29Theoretical Framework 30Related Literature 31Impact of Military Deployment 31The Supportive Role of Community 37Resiliency 41How Technology Plays a Part 47The Role of the Teacher 50Summary 56CHAPTER THREE: METHODS 59Overview 59Design 59Research Questions 61Setting 62Participants 63Procedures 65The Researcher’s Role 66Data Collection 67Questionnaire 67Interviews 68Artifact Analysis 69Focus Group 70Data Analysis 71Horizonalizing 72Imagination Variation 73Essence 73Trustworthiness 74Credibility 74Dependability and Confirmability 74Transferability 75Ethical Considerations 75Summary 75CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS 77Overview 77Participants 77Mike 78Christopher 79Johnathon 80Zac 81James 82Billy 84Tim 85Brian 86Janice 87Tammy 88Thomas 89Terry 90Results 90Theme Development 91Research Question Responses 101Summary 108Chapter Five: Conclusion 109Overview 109Summary of the Findings 109Discussion 111Theoretical Literature 111Empirical Literature 115Implications 117Empirical Implications 118Theoretical Implications 119Practical Implications 119Limitations 120Recommendations for Future Research 121Summary 121References 123Appendix A: Irb Approval Letter 136Appendix B: Recruitment Flyer 137Appendix C: Informed Consent 138Appendix D: Recruitment Letter 141Appendix E: Questionnaire 142Appendix F: Interview Guide 143Appendix G: Focus Group Question Guide 145Appendix H: Participant Questionnaire 145Appendix I: Standardized Open-Ended Interview Questions 146Appendix J: Standardized Open-Ended Focus Group Questions 148List of TablesTable 1. Demographics……………………….………….….…………….……….….….……...63List of FiguresFigure 1. Theoretical Frameworks, Methods, and Procedures………………….………………70List of AbbreviationsPositive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA)REsilience and Activity for every DaY (READY)Master Resiliency Training (MRT)Stress Management…

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…MILITARYDEPLOYEDPARENTPERCEPTIONSOFINVOLVEMENTINTHEEDUCATIONOFTHEIRCHILDREN:APHENOMENOLOGICALSTUDYbyEderG.BennettLibertyUniversityADissertationPresentedinPartialFulfillmentOftheRequirementsfortheDegreeDoctorofEducationLibertyUniversity2021MILITARYDEPLOYEDPARENTPERCEPTIONSOFINVOLVEMENTINTHEEDUCATIONOFTHEIRCHILDREN:APHENOMENOLOGICALSTUDYbyEderG.BennettADissertationPresentedinPartialFulfillmentOftheRequirementsfortheDegreeDoctorofEducationAPPROVEDBY:JamesEller,Ed.D.,CommitteeChairMichael-ChadwellSharon,Ed.D.,CommitteeMemberAbstractThepurposeofthisqualitativetranscendentalphenomenologicalstudywastoexploretheperceptionsandlivedexperiencesofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild’seducation.Theresearchquestionwas:Whataretheperceptionsofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild’seducation?Themethodologyincludedusingaqualitativephenomenologicalresearchdesign,applyingEpstein\'stheoryregardingthetrianglerelationshipbetweenparents,teachers,andthecommunitytohelpexploreandmakesenseofthestoriesandexperiencesofparentswhohaveorarecurrentlyexperiencingchallengesassociatedwithmilitarydeployment.Datawascollectedusingquestionnaires,semi-structuredinterviews,artifactanalysis,andfocusgroups.Datawasanalyzedusingopencoding,phenomenologicalreduction,imaginativevariation,andcomparison.ThesettingforthisstudywasFortRapture.AsrecommendedbyCreswell(2003),thesampleconsistedof12personnelcurrentlydeployedorpreviouslydeployedwithinthepasttwoyears,whohavepre-K-12school-agedchildrencurrentlyinschool.Keywords:parentalinvolvement,militarydeployment,deployedparents,soldiersasparents,phenomenologyCopyrightPage©NooriginalmaterialmaybeusedwithoutthepermissionoftheauthorAllrightsreservedAcknowledgmentsIwouldliketoacknowledgemyparentsandfamilymemberswhosupportedmeduringthisresearchprocess.Theirhelpandencouragementwasinstrumentalincompletingthisresearchalongtheway.Iwouldalsoliketothankmyadvisorsfortheirtirelessworkinguidingmeateverystep.Withouttheirinsight,thisresearchprojectnevercouldhavecometofruition.IwouldliketothankJamesEller,Ed.D.,CommitteeChair,andMichael-ChadwellSharon,CommitteeMember,inparticularfortheiroversight.IwouldalsoliketoacknowledgeLibertyUniversityfortheopportunitytopursuethisresearchintheschool’sdoctoralprogram.TableofContentsAbstract4CopyrightPage5Acknowledgments6TableofContents7ListofTables12ListofFigures13ListofAbbreviations14ChapterOne:Introduction15Overview15Background15Historical17Theoretical18Social18SituationtoSelf19ProblemStatement21PurposeStatement22SignificanceofStudy22TheoreticalSignificance23PracticalSignificance23EmpiricalSignificance24ResearchQuestions24CentralResearchQuestion25SubResearchQuestionOne25SubResearchQuestionTwo25SubResearchQuestionThree26Definitions26Summary28CHAPTERTWO:LITERATUREREVIEW29Overview29TheoreticalFramework30RelatedLiterature31ImpactofMilitaryDeployment31TheSupportiveRoleofCommunity37Resiliency41HowTechnologyPlaysaPart47TheRoleoftheTeacher50Summary56CHAPTERTHREE:METHODS59Overview59Design59ResearchQuestions61Setting62Participants63Procedures65TheResearcher’sRole66DataCollection67Questionnaire67Interviews68ArtifactAnalysis69FocusGroup70DataAnalysis71Horizonalizing72ImaginationVariation73Essence73Trustworthiness74Credibility74DependabilityandConfirmability74Transferability75EthicalConsiderations75Summary75CHAPTERFOUR:FINDINGS77Overview77Participants77Mike78Christopher79Johnathon80Zac81James82Billy84Tim85Brian86Janice87Tammy88Thomas89Terry90Results90ThemeDevelopment91ResearchQuestionResponses101Summary108ChapterFive:Conclusion109Overview109SummaryoftheFindings109Discussion111TheoreticalLiterature111EmpiricalLiterature115Implications117EmpiricalImplications118TheoreticalImplications119PracticalImplications119Limitations120RecommendationsforFutureResearch121Summary121References123AppendixA:IrbApprovalLetter136AppendixB:RecruitmentFlyer137AppendixC:InformedConsent138AppendixD:RecruitmentLetter141AppendixE:Questionnaire142AppendixF:InterviewGuide143AppendixG:FocusGroupQuestionGuide145AppendixH:ParticipantQuestionnaire145AppendixI:StandardizedOpen-EndedInterviewQuestions146AppendixJ:StandardizedOpen-EndedFocusGroupQuestions148ListofTablesTable1.Demographics……………………….………….….…………….……….….….……...63ListofFiguresFigure1.TheoreticalFrameworks,Methods,andProcedures………………….………………70ListofAbbreviationsPositiveemotion,Engagement,Relationships,Meaning,andAccomplishment(PERMA)REsilienceandActivityforeveryDaY(READY)MasterResiliencyTraining(MRT)StressManagementandResilienceTraining(SMART)ChapterOne:IntroductionOverviewThepurposeofthisqualitativetranscendentalphenomenologicalstudywastoexploretheperceptionsandlivedexperiencesofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild’seducation.Thestudyaimedtoprovideafoundationofunderstandingforeducationalstakeholdersandthemilitarycommunityinordertofillthevoidinachild’seducativeexperiencecreatedbyadeployedparent.Thischapterprovidesaframeworkfortheresearch;discusseswhytheproblemnecessitatedresearch;providesanoverviewofpreviousresearch;identifiestheimportanceofthisresearchforstakeholdersineducation,includingmilitarypersonnel,families,teachers,andcommunitymembers;andintroducestheresearchquestions.BackgroundDeploymentinvolvestemporaryrelocationofamilitaryunitwithintheUnitedStatesorinoverseaslocations(Alfano,Lau,Balderas,Bunnell,&Beidel,2016).Deploymenthasthreephases:pre-deployment,deployment,andpost-deployment.Thoughallthreephasesarechallengingformilitarypersonnelandtheirfamilies,thedeploymentandpost-deploymentphasesappeartobethemostsevere(Alfanoetal.,2016).Asthemilitaryparentpreparestoleave,thechildrenareemotionallyaffected(Alfanoetal.,2016).Itisimportanttonotethatthespecificresponsestodeploymentdependonvariousfactorssuchasage,gender,maturity,pre-existingparent-childrelationship,andthecopingstrategiesandskillsprovidedthroughinterventions.Childrenofmilitaryparentsundergotremendouschallenges,especiallyduringtheirparent’sdeployment.Thesechallengesaremainlypsychologicalstrain,whichoftenmanifestsinpooracademicperformance(Nicosia,Wong,Shier,Massachi,&Datar,A.,2017).DuetoactionstakenbytheUnitedStatesmilitaryinIraq,Afghanistan,andelsewhere,extendeddeploymenthasbecomearealityforchildrenofmilitaryparents.ThestandarddeploymenttimefortheArmyis12months,butthiscouldextendto18months.Duringthistime,researchfindingshaveshownthattheacademicperformanceofmilitarychildrendecreasesinanoticeableway(Bello?Utu&DeSocio,2015;Nicosiaetal.,2017).Theacademicperformanceofchildrenofmilitaryparentsonlong-termdeployment,whichcanbeasmuchas18monthsorevenmore,islowerthanchildrenwithoutdeployedparents(Moeller,Culler,Hamilton,Aronson,&Perkins,2015).Deploymentandtheperiodafterdeploymentaffectsthelearningandacademicperformanceofchildrenbecauseitcreatesinstabilityinthelivesofastudentandtheirenvironment(Conforte,Bakalar,Shank,Quinlan&Stephens,2017).Childrenofdeployedmilitaryparentsbecomestressedstudentsduetotheabsenceoftheirparentsandtheshockandpressureofadjustingtothenewnormal.Thestressassociatedwithanabsentparentcauseprobleminconcentrating,learningnewacademicconcepts,andincontrollingtheiremotionsandexpressions(Conforteetal.,2017).Theexactwaysuchstressmanifestsdependsontheindividualchild.Still,somecommonresponsesincludebecomingquietandwithdrawnor,conversely,hyperactive,disruptivetoclassroometiquette,andlackofabilitytoconcentrateonasingleactivity.Thereisagrowingbodyofresearchonpossibleinterventionsthatcanbeprovidedthroughpolicy,community,andschools(Epstein,2011;Epsteinetal.,2018).However,thereisnotmuchresearchontheviewsofmilitaryparentsinthiscontext,especiallytheirrequirementtoleavetheirchildrentoservethecountry.Likeanyreasonableandnon-militaryparent,theywanttobeinvolvedintheeducationoftheirchildren.Thisstudy,therefore,seekstoresearchandhighlighttheperceptionsofmilitaryparent’sinvolvementintheirchildren’seducation.Tothisend,thehistorical,social,andtheoreticalcontextsinwhichthisproblemexistsarediscussedfurtherbelow.HistoricalTheproblemoftheeffectsofdeploymentonchildren\'seducationisonethatresearchershaveonlyrecentlybeguntoexamine.Alfano,Lau,Balderas,Bunnell,andBeidel(2016)showedthattheimpactofaparent’sdeploymentcouldharmchildren’seducation.AccordingtoDePedro,Astor,Gilreath,Benbenishty,andBerkowitz(2018),thereissufficientevidencetoindicateaneedforschoolstoacceptandaddressthechallengesfacedbychildrenofadeployedparentinordertoreducethelikelihoodofthemveeringofftheacademicpath.Overtime,theproblemofdeployedparentsandtheramificationsoftheirdeploymentontheirchildren\'seducationhasbecomemoretransparent,whichiswhythisrecentresearchhasemerged.TheUnitedStatesgovernmenthasgonesofarastoputtogetherabooklettoassistparentsfacingdeploymentandexplainsomeofthechallengesthattheirfamiliesandchildrenmightface.PertheEducator\'sGuidetotheMilitaryChildDuringDeployment(U.S.DepartmentofDefense,2008.),thestressfuleffectsofdeploymentimpactsnotonlythefamilymembersbutalsotheservicemember.Onceamilitaryparentdeploys,regardlessofthedeploymentperiod,thefamilymembersthatremainbehindmustreadjustandredistributetheirrolestocompensatefortheabsenceofthedeployedfamilymember.Theresearchtodateindicatesthatforyoungfamilies,thereisanincreasedtendencytoreturntothelocationoftheirorigintoreducecostsandasameasuretoaddtopsychologicalsupportsourcesneededforthefamilytokeepgoing(U.S.DepartmentofDefense,n.d.).Moreover,researchersattheRANDCorporationhaveshownthatchildrenofdeployedparentsfaceacademicchallengesbecauseofthedisruptionoftheirhomelifestructure(RANDCorporation,2012).SomeofthecriticalpointsidentifiedbytheRANDCorporationarethatchildrenwhoseparentsaredeployedformorethanayeartendtoachievestatisticallydifferentacademicresultswhencomparedtothescoresofstudentswhohaveneverexperiencedaparentaldeployment(RANDCorporation,2012).TheoreticalThetheoreticalunderpinningsofthisresearchprobleminvolvetherelationshipbetweenparentalinvolvementandacademicachievement,whichhasbeenwelldocumented(Trautman&Ho,2018).Epstein’sparent-teacher-communitytheoryemphasizestheparent-childrole.Hirschi’ssocialbondtheory,aswellasSampsonandLaub’slifecoursetheory,bothsupporttheideathatstrongfamiliesandsupportsystemsleadtooutcomesthataremorepositiveaschildrenprogressintoadulthood.Therefore,itisreasonabletopositthattheextendedabsenceofaparentcombinedwiththestressassociatedwithmilitarydeploymentsonchildrenhasaprofoundlyadverseeffectonyounglearners’academicachievement.Moreover,concernoverthisadverseeffectcannegativelyimpactdeployedparents’moraleandwell-being,perhapseventotheextentthattheirjobperformanceisaffected.Althoughmilitaryserviceisinherentlyadangerousenterprise,causingservicememberstobeconcernedfortheirsafety,parentsservingincombatmayalsoexperiencestressoverconcernsfortheirfamiliesbackathome.Theextenttowhichservicemembersarenegativelyaffectedbytheseconcernsmayimpacttheirabilitytoachievetheirmission.SocialOneofthemoresignificantfindingsoftheRANDCorporation\'s(2012)studyintothenegativeramificationsofdeploymentonchildren\'sacademicprogressisthatparentstendtosuffermostfromthedeployment,whichaddsaburdentothechild\'smindandcandistractfromschooloraddtothechild\'sworriesandanxieties.Thus,aholisticapproachtothisproblemneedstobedevelopedtoprovidedeployedparents,theirspousesorintimatepartners,theirchildren,andothermembersandfriendstheknowledgeandresourcesrequiredtoaddresseveryfacetoftheissue.Onewaytodevelopthisholisticapproachistoobtainabetterunderstandingfromparentsaboutwhattheygothroughandwhattheirexperiencesare.Becausesomuchoftheirexperiencetranslatestothechild\'sexperience,itismosthelpfultogainthisunderstandingfirst.AsCastroetal.(2015)pointedout,aparentplaysapivotalroleinthechild’sacademicdevelopment.Iftheparentisnotactivelyinvolvedduetobeingdeployedorbecausetheirspouseisdeployed,thechildmayreceivelesssupportandengagementfromtheparentthanundernormalcircumstances.Thesocialaspectofthisproblemextendsbeyondthefamily.Teachersmustfindwaystocopewiththechild\'shomechallengesandthecommunity,asthechild\'spotentialtodevelopcouldimpairthecommunity\'sfuture(Benner,Boyle,&Sadler,2016).AsnotedbyO\'Neal,Mallette,andMancini(2018),communityconnectionsareessentialformilitaryparentswhoarelookingoutforthewell-beingoftheirchildren.Childrenarepartoffamilies,whoare,inturn,partofwidercommunities,andthosecommunitiesprovidesupportforfamilies,andinturn,thatsupportextendstothechild.Aclearanddefinitesocialrelationshipmustbeexploredinthisissuetoseewhetherdeployedparentsareutilizingthesupportoftheircommunitiestohelptheirchildrendevelopadequately.SituationtoSelfIamaUnitedStatesArmyofficerandanInstructorwiththeUnitedStatesArmyRecruitingandRetentionCollege.Ihavemorethanthirteenyearsofmilitaryservice,whichspansvariouspositionsandassignments.IconsidermyselfamemberofthepopulationIamstudyingbecauseIamfamiliarwiththeirissuesandexperiences.ThatistheprecisereasonIhavechosentoconductthisresearch.Ibelievethatbybetterallowingthedeployedparent\'sperspectivetobeunderstood,bettersolutionscanbedevised.Myassumptionisthatthenatureofthelivedexperiencesofdeployedparentsischaracterizedbyanoverarchingperceptionthattheirdeployment,militaryoccupation,andgeographicdistancefromtheirfamilymembersrepresentthemainobstaclesinassistingintheirchild\'seducativeprocess.Thisassumptionisbasedonanontologicalview.AccordingtoCreswell(2013),researchersembracingontologicalviewsbelievethatphenomenaholdmultiplerealities.Theserealitiesrequiremultipleformsofevidenceandcanbediscoveredthroughinvestigation.Ialsobelievethattheknowledgeonelearnscanbecommunicatedeffectivelytoothersandthatthisreality,asunderstoodbytheindividual,canbereportedtoothersregardlessofthesubjectivevaluesandbiasesthattheresearchermightpossess.TheresearchparadigmbywhichIviewthisstudyisconstructivism;thisparadigmsuggeststhatlearningisanactive,constructiveprocesswhereinthelearnerconstructstheinformationorcreatessubjectiverepresentationsofobjectivereality(Amineh&Asl,2015).Iexpectthatparticipantsinthisstudyhavebeenashonestaspossible.Themeaningtheyconstructedforthemselvescanbeusefulincreatingbetterapproachestohelpingtheirchildrenacademically.Thisresearchparadigmcomeswithlimits.Thememoryofindividualsmaydifferfromthefacts,whichcouldleadtoaparticipant\'srecollectionsandmeaningconstructionseemingtobeunreliable(Gardner,2001).However,evenifthememoriesshift,thecreationofmeaningthattheparticipantsprovideisessentialbecausethisfeelingandsenseofthingsarewhathasstayedwiththem.ProblemStatementItisimportanttonotethatthedeploymentofmilitaryparentscandisrupttheeducationalandacademicprogressoftheirchildren.AspointedoutbyDePedroetal.(2018),childrenwhogoaconsiderableperiod(ayearormore)withoutaparentintheirlivesbecauseofdeploymentareathigherriskofsufferingacademically.Currently,therearenoclearguidelinesavailableforparentsorteacherstohelpdevelopchildrenofdeployedmilitaryparents.TheUnitedStatesgovernmenthasprovidedtheEducator’sGuidetotheMilitaryChildDuringDeployment(U.S.DepartmentofDefense,n.d.).Still,itisbriefandmainlydesignedtoalertparentsaboutwhattoexpectanddoesnotgiveagreatdealofin-depthinformationaboutpossibleinterventions.Theproblemistherearenoclearlydefinedprotocolsorpersuasivestrategiesthatdeployedparentscouldemploytoassistintheireffortstobeinvolvedintheirchildren\'seducation(DePedroetal.,2018).Thisgap,however,representsanopportunityfornewresearch.Todate,therehasbeensomeresearchconcerningtheeffectsofdeploymentandthepossiblecorrectivemeasures.Still,thisresearchhasfocusedonlyonchildren,school,andsocietywithoutparentalperspectives(BelloUtu&DeSocio,2015;DePedroetal.,2018).Withtheunderstandingthatdeploymentaffectsmilitaryservicemembersandtheirchildrenandfamilymembers,itisthereforeessentialtofocusonparentalperspectives.ThatiswhythetheoreticalapproachprovidedbyEpsteinetal.(2018)canhelptouseprimarystakeholders—parents,teachers,andcommunity—tocometotheaidofchildrenwhohaveadeployedparent.Whatisnecessaryisthedevelopmentofefficaciousinterventionsthatdirectlyaddressthisproblem(DePedroetal.,2018).Todevelopsuchinterventions,onemustfirstunderstandtheparents\'perspectivebecausetheyaretheoneswhoexperienceanimmediateimpact(RANDCorporation,2012).IbelievethatthisphenomenologicalresearchdesignhashelpeduncoverthisperspectiveandpresentedtheinformationinameaningfulwaythatassistsindevelopingappropriateinterventionsusingEpstein’sparent-teacher-communitytheory.PurposeStatementThepurposeofthisqualitativetranscendentalphenomenologicalstudywastoexploretheperceptionsandlivedexperiencesofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchildren’seducation.Thisstudyprovidesafoundationofunderstandingthatcanassisteducationalstakeholdersandthemilitarycommunityinfillingthevoidcreatedbyadeployedparentwiththegoalofhelpingthestudentofthedeployedparent.Attheoutsetoftheresearch,theperceptionsofmilitaryparentsweredefinedastheexperiences,attitudes,feelings,andbeliefsaboutbeingabsentfromhome.Atthesametime,theirchildattemptstogothroughtheeducativeprocessandwhattheycoulddotohelp.ThetheorythatguidedthisresearchwasEpstein’s(2018)parent-teacher-communitytheory,whichhighlightstheimportanceoftherelationshipbetweenthesethreestakeholdersinshapingthechild\'sacademicprogress.SignificanceofStudyThoughmanyAmericansprofesstosupportthetroops,itisclearthattheneedsofmanydeployedmilitaryparentsarebeingoverlooked.Therefore,thesignificanceofthisstudyrelatestofillingthisgapbyidentifyingoptimalstrategiesthatwouldhelpdeployedparentsactivelyparticipateintheirchildren’seducationwithoutcreatingdetractionsfromtheiroccupationalperformance.AsnotedbyCozzaetal.(2018),moreresearchintotherelationshipbetweenmilitaryparentsandtheirchildrenisneeded.Likewise,Alfano,Lau,Balderas,Bunnell,andBeidel(2016)havefoundthatmilitarydeploymentputstheacademicprogressofchildrenofdeployedparentsatrisk.Thisstudyprovidedafoundationofunderstandingthatcanassisteducationalstakeholdersandthemilitarycommunityinfillingthevoidcreatedbyadeployedparentwiththegoalofhelpingthestudentofthedeployedparent.Alfanoetal.(2016)notedthatthereisstillaneedforresearcherstoexamine,indetail,therelationshipbetweenandamongtheacademicdevelopmentofthechild,theroleofthedeployedparent,andothercontextualfactorssuchascommunity,teacherrole,andsoforth.However,sincetheRANDCorporation’s(2012)examinationoftheeffectofdeploymentonmilitarychildren,therehasnotbeenasignificantreviewofthedataregardingparents\'perceptionofthischallengingissueorcontextualfactors.TheoreticalSignificanceThisstudyhelpedtoexploreEpstein’sparent-teacher-communitytheoryonacademicsuccessfromthestandpointofmilitarydeploymentandparent-absence.Byshowinghowparentabsencemightimpactthestudent’sacademicachievement,thisstudycouldprovideadditionalinsightintotheapplicationsorlimitationsofEpstein’stheory.ItmayalsohelptoreinforceHirschi’ssocialbondtheoryandSampsonandLaub’slifecoursetheory.Althoughtheselattertwodealprimarilywithdeviance,thefindingsofthisstudycouldfacilitatetheirapplicationtoacademicchallengesforstudentsaswell.PracticalSignificanceThisstudyaimedtobuildonthestudybytheRANDCorporation(2012)andincorporatetheinsightsormorerecentstudiessuchasthatconductedbyDePedroetal.(2018)tofocusthephenomenologicalstudyandguidetheinterviewsandfocusgroupsthatwereusedforobtainingthedataonparents’perceptions.Thisstudycanhelptoimprovetheacademicprogressofchildrenofdeployedparentsbygivingstakeholdersabettersenseofchallenges,optionsforovercomingthesechallenges,andreal-lifestoriesaboutwhatworks,whatdoesnotwork,andwhatmightwork.Hearingtheexperiencesfromthepeopleinvolvedcanhelpgiveabettersenseoftherealityofthesituation.Therefore,thisstudyexploredandexaminedtheseparents\'perceptionsandthecontextualfactorsthatimpactedtheirlivesandcontributedtodevelopingafullerunderstandingofhowthemilitarycommunitycanbetterassistparents,teachers,andtheoverallcommunity.EmpiricalSignificanceThisstudyaimstoprovideafoundationofunderstandingforeducationalstakeholdersandthemilitarycommunityinordertofillthevoidinachild’seducativeexperiencecreatedbyadeployedparent.Bylisteningtomilitaryparents\'livedexperiences,challenges,andsuccessstoriesincopingwithlengthydeployments,freshandvitalinsightswereobtainedthatwouldhaveotherwisegoneunidentified.TheseempiricalobservationsandexperiencescanhelpinformeffortstodeveloptheindividualizedinterventionsthatarenecessarytosupportdeployedparentsandtheirfamiliesinwaysthatdrawondemonstratedsuccessesandopportunitiesResearchQuestionsThisstudyusedatranscendentalphenomenologicalresearchdesigntoexploretheperceptionsthatmilitarydeployedparentshaveregardingtheirinvolvementintheirchildren’seducation.ThetheoreticalframeworkthatguidedthisstudywasthetheoryofparentalinvolvementsuppliedbyEpstein(2011)regardingtherelationshipbetweenparents,school,andcommunity.Toaddressthecentralresearchquestionandsub-questions,thisresearchercollectedandanalyzeddatafrommilitaryparentswhowere(atthetime)currentlydeployedorweredeployedinthepasttwoyears(Creswell,2013).CentralResearchQuestionWhataretheperceptionsandlivedexperiencesofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild’seducation?Thisquestionprovidedinsightintoparents\'experiencesastheyattemptedtonegotiatetheirdeploymentwiththeirdutiesandresponsibilitiestotheirchildren.AsAlfanoetal.(2018)previouslydemonstrated,itwascrucialtounderstandthebroadercontextualfactorsofthisissueinordertoarriveataneffectivesolutiontotheproblem.Therefore,thisquestionservedastheprimaryfocus.SubResearchQuestionOneHowdomilitaryparentsdescribetheirinvolvementintheirchildren’seducationwhiledeployed?Thisquestionwasusedtogaininsightintotheparents\'senseofwhethertheyplayafactorintheirchild\'sacademicperformance.Ifparentsdidnotseethemselvesasacontributingfactorinthechild\'sacademicprogress,thiscouldimpacthowaninterventionorsolutionwouldbeaffected(Cozzaetal.,2018).Parentsplayavitalroleandareoneoftheleadingplayersasidefromteachersandthecommunityinestablishingthechild\'swell-beingandlevelofacademicoutcomes(Alfanoetal.,2016).Thus,itwasessentialtoknowwhatperceptionoftheirroleaparenthas.SubResearchQuestionTwoHowdomilitaryparentsperceivetheimpactoftheirdeploymentonthefamilyandtheirchild’sacademicperformance?Thisquestionwasimportantbecauseitaddressedwhetherparentabsenceisindeedafactorinachild’sacademicperformance.Italsoaddressedwhetherdeployment(absencebyorderratherthanbypersonalchoice)wasviewedasproblematicbythedeployedparent.Someresearchhasshownthatabsenceengagementinthechild’sacademicperformancedependsupontheparent’ssenseofwhatthechildisgoingthrough(Castroetal.,2015).Thus,thisresearchquestionhelpedshedlightonwhetherdeployedparentsseetheirabsenceingood,neutral,ornegativeterms.Iftheparentwasnotintouchwithwhatwasgoingoninthechild’slife,therewaslikelytobesomegreaterneedtoeducatetheparentabouttheneedtobemoreengaged.SubResearchQuestionThreeWhatchallengesdomilitaryparentswhoaredeployedfacefromtheircommunitieswhiletryingtostayinvolvedintheirchildren’seducation?Thisquestionwascrucialbecauseevenifdeployedparentsandtheirspousespossessedadesiretobeinvolvedintheirchild’sacademicdevelopment,theymighthaveencounteredchallengeswithinthecommunityorschoolenvironment(Benneretal.,2016).Understandingwhatthesechallengesandconditionswerecanhelpformulaterecommendedapproachesthatparentsandstakeholderscanutilizeinthefuture.Iftheobstaclesarenotrecognized,noadequateinterventioncanbeimplemented.DefinitionsForthisstudy,theperceptionsofmilitaryparentsweredefinedastheexperiences,attitudes,feelings,andbeliefsaboutbeingabsentfromhome.Atthesametime,theirchildattemptstogothroughtheeducativeprocessandwhattheycoulddotohelp.1.Attitude:AccordingtoProjectImplicit(2018),anattitudeis“yourevaluationofsomeconcept(e.g.,person,place,thing,oridea).Anexplicitattitudeisthekindofattitudethatyoudeliberatelythinkaboutandreport.”Attitudeforthisstudyreferstotheevaluationsmadebymilitaryparentsandtheirfeelingsandbeliefs.2.Deployment:Themostpreciseuseofthistermisthemovementofmilitarypersonnelfromhomestationtoanotherlocation(usuallyoutsidethecontinentalU.S.anditsterritories)tosupportaspecifictrainingexerciseorcombatoperation.+(VA,2020).3.Educativeprocess:Thisreferstoanylearningenvironmentinwhichonecanengageinalearningprocess(Glassman&Kang,2016).4.Environment:Thisreferstothethreeagenciesbywhichaperson’sbehaviorisshaped:one’speers(family,friends,andcommunity),organizations,andmedia(Bandura,2018).ThisdefinitionhelpsunderstandhowthethreestakeholdersofEpstein\'stheorycontributetomakingupthelearner\'senvironment.5.Life-coursetheory:Thistheorypositsthateventsinone’searlylifedetermineone’slifecourse,andifoneisderailedthroughsometraumaticeventfromanormal,supportiveupbringing,itcansetoneonacourseforcrime(Siegel,2018).6.Parentalinvolvement:Whenparentsparticipateandsharecommunicationwiththeschool,parentsgainactiveinvolvementintheeducationalprocess.Parentalinvolvementmayincludeparentsvolunteeringinclassroomactivitiesandschoolevents(Epstein,2018).7.Parent-teacher-communitytheory:Thistheorypositsthatatriumvirateofassistanceamongparents,teachers,andcommunitymemberstoassistinachild\'seducation(Epstein,2018).8.Perception:Thisisthecombinationofexperiences,attitudes,feelings,andparents\'beliefsaboutbeingabsentfromhomewhiletheirchildattemptstogothroughtheeducativeprocessandwhattheycoulddotohelp(Amineh&Asl,2015;Benneretal.,2016).9.Socialbondtheory:Thistheorypositspeoplerefrainfromcommittingderelictactsordeviantbehaviorbecausetheyhavestrongsocialtiesorbondswithothers.Whenthosebondsdonotexist,peoplehavenoreasontorefrainfromnegative,deviant,orself-destructivebehavior(Siegel,2018).SummaryThistranscendentalphenomenologicalstudyfocusedonexploringtheperceptionsofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild’seducation.Currently,thereareminimalguidelinesavailableforparentsorteacherstohelpdevelopchildrenofmilitarydeployedparents.Thiscreatedaneedtounderstandwhatparentsgothroughduringdeploymentinordertoarriveatabetterunderstandingofhowstakeholderscanmorecomprehensivelyaddresstheissueofhelpingthechildrenofdeployedparentstoachieveacademicsuccessduringthestressfulperiodofdeployment.Thus,thepurposeofthisqualitativetranscendentalphenomenologicalstudywastoexploretheperceptionsandlivedexperiencesofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheeducationoftheirchildren.ThisstudyusedthetheoryofEpstein(2018)regardingthetrianglerelationshipbetweenparents,teachers,andthecommunitytohelpexploreandmakesenseofthestoriesandexperiencesofparentswhohavedealtwiththischallengeinthepast.Byusinginterviewsandfocusgroupdiscussions,thisstudyaimedtoprovidemoreinsightintotheissueofhowtohelpthechildrenofdeployedparents.CHAPTERTWO:LITERATUREREVIEWOverviewThisliteraturereviewexaminesthetheoreticalframeworkusedinthisresearchstudyandareviewoftheliteraturerelevanttotheoveralltopic.ThetheoryofparentalinvolvementdevelopedbyEpstein(2011)isusedastheframeworktocontextualizethisliteraturereview.Thetheoryfocusesonthesupport-relationshipthatisordinarilyandinherentbetweenparentsandtheirchildrenandthesupportsystemavailablefromschoolsandtheentirecommunityasitrelatestostudents\'academicprogression.Itisespeciallyimportanttoconsiderthisframeworkinthelightofparentswhoaredeployedtoforeignwarsorservicesandwhoarelargelyabsentintheirchild\'seducation.TheparentmakesupasignificantpartoftheEpsteinframework,soconsideringwhathappenswhentheparentisabsentisnecessary.Parents\'perceptionsofmissingtheirchildren\'slivesandnotbeingthereastheirchildrenmakeeducationaldecisionsarealsohardonparents,astheliteraturehasshown.Thefocusoftheliteraturereviewisontheexperienceofparentsinsupportingschoolchildren,thedifficultiestheyfacewhendeployed,andthewaysthatsupportcanbeprovidedfromcommunitiesandschoolswhileparentsareabsent.Veryfewresearchersconsidertheperspectiveofparents,whichcreatestheneedtotakeacloserlookatthephenomenon.Thischapterdiscussestheimpactofdeploymentonchildren,typesofcommunitysupportavailable,theimportanceofresiliencytraining,theroleoftechnology,andtherolethatteachersplay,bothinandoutsideoftheclassroom.Theparentperceptionofthesetopicsisprovidedwhenavailable.Theliteraturethatisusedprovidesinsightintohowtheseissuesplayaroleinchildren\'sacademiclivesofdeployedparents.Inthefinalanalysis,themilitaryfamilysuffersfromthedeploymentofparents.Thisismoresothecaseasfarastheacademiclifeofchildrenisconcerned.TheoreticalFrameworkThetheoreticalframeworkforthisstudyisthetheoryofparentalinvolvementsuppliedbyEpstein(2011)regardingtherelationshipbetweenparents,school,andcommunity.Inaccordancewiththetheory,parentsplayapivotalroleinprovidingtheguidanceandsupportchildrenneedtoachievetheiracademicgoals.ThesixtypesofinvolvementidentifiedbyEpstein(2011)areparenting,communicating,volunteering,learningathome,decision-making,andcollaboratingwiththecommunity.Inallsixtypesofinvolvement,theparentplaysapivotalrole.Thestrongertheparent’sinvolvement—includingsettinghighexpectationsforschoolachievement—themorelikelythechildistopursueidentifiedgoals(Castroetal.,2015).Thisrelationshipbetweenparentalsupportandstudentacademicachievementhasbeenvalidatedbynumerousresearchstudiesandisrecognizedasauniversalphenomenoninvariouscultures(Benner,Boyle&Sadler,2016;Mahuro&Hungi,2016;Nunezetal.,2015).Theapplicationofthetheoreticalframeworktothisstudyprovidedthecontoursforanalysis.Todeterminethechallenges,obstacles,benefits,andsolutionstohowamilitaryparentcansupporttheirchild\'seducationwhiledeployed,thistheoreticalframeworkshowswheretolookandwhatsupportsshouldbeinplace.Epsteinetal.(2018)compiledthisinformationintoahelpfultheorythatdelineatesthepartnershipsthatschools,families,andcommunitiescanhavetoimproveacademicoutcomesforyounglearners.Epsteinetal.(2018)providedsubstantiveevidenceofthepositiveimpactofparentalandcommunityinvolvementonacademicachievementandperformanceinschools(Slavin,2019).Theyconcludedthatthiscollaborativeapproachcouldalsocontributetoimprovededucatormoraleandenhancedreputationsofschoolsinthecommunity.Byexploringhowdeployedparentsperceivetheeffectsoftheirabsenceontheirchild’sacademicperformanceandwhetherthoseparentsseeanyassistancecomingfromthecommunityorschool,asenseofwhatchallengesremainforthispopulationmaybeobtained.RelatedLiteratureVariousstudies(e.g.,Alfanoetal.,2016;MacDermidWadsworthetal.,2017;Pexton,Farrants&Yule,2018;Trautmann,Alhusen&Gross,2015)havedemonstratedthattheeducationofchildrenisaffectedbythemilitarydeploymentoftheirparents.Furtherreviewoftheliteratureindicatestherelevanceofconsistencycannotbeoverstatedwhenproperlymanagingthevariousadversitiestheyencounter,particularlyduringtheearlystagesoftheirdevelopment(DeVoe,2017).Towardsthisend,itwouldbeprudenttohighlightnotonlythecommunity\'ssupportiveroleinthisendeavorbutalsotherolethatotherfactorsplay,suchastechnologyandparentalresiliency,inaddressingthediverseneedsoflearnersfromhouseholdswhereparentshavebeendeployed.ImpactofMilitaryDeploymentAstudybyAlfano,Lau,Balderas,Bunnell,andBeidel(2016)showedthenegativeimpactofmilitarydeploymentonchildren,particularlytheireducation.Thiscouldcreateaneedforthesechildrentorequirementalhealthtreatmentbecausetheylacktheconsistencyandstabilitymostchildrenhaveinatypicalnuclearfamily.Furthermore,DePedro,Astor,Gilreath,Benbenishty,andBerkowitz(2018)pointout;schoolscanplayasignificantroleinalleviatingsomeofthenegativesymptom’schildrenexperiencewhenparentsaredeployedinthemilitary.Schoolclimateisanessentialfactorinlesseningtheseverityofstudents\'mentalhealthissueswhileoneormoreparentsaredeployed(DePedroetal.,2018).AsPexton,Farrants,andYule(2018)observed,withoutsupportfromschools,thefamilyunitcannotcometogethercohesively,asoneparentisawayforawhile,andthechildmaynotreceiveenoughsupportorconsistencyfromtheotherparent.Inthisregard,Nicosia,Wong,Shier,Massachi,andDatar(2017)indicatedthatchildrenneedconsistencyintheirlivestomanagetheproblemsandadversitythatcometheirwayduringthegrowthanddevelopmentphasesoftheiradolescence.Withoutthisconsistency,theyareatriskoflackingadequateacademicskillsandfollow-through(Nicosia,Wong,Shier,Massachi&Datar,2017).Aseriesofdeploymentsandtheprocessofreintegrationthatfollowsdeploymentmayinterruptthisdevelopmentalprocess(Knobloch-Fedders,Yorgason,Ebata&McGlaughlin,2017).Consistencyisofgreatrelevanceinensuringthatachild’slearningprocessisnothamperedinanyshapeorform.Insomeinstances,transfersfromoneschooltoanothercouldbeacomplexundertaking.Thisexampleisparticularlythecasewherecreditsarenottransferrablebetweeninstitutions–effectivelymeaningthelearnerrisksstartingalloveragain.Thiscanhaveanunfortunateeffectonthestudent,andbothparentsandteachersshouldbeawareofthetrial’sstudentsexperienceduetomilitarydeployment(DePedroetal.,2018).Lesteretal.(2016)discoveredthattheimpactonchildrenresultingfromwar-relateddeploymentofparentswassignificantlynegative.TheyshowedthatparentswhoexperiencedepressionorPTSDduringorafterdeploymentalsonegativelyimpacttheirchildren\'slivesandaffecttheirabilitytosociallyandemotionallyadjusttotheirenvironments.Thus,deploymenthasimpactsbeyondamereabsence;whenparentsreturn,theydonotalwaysreturninthesamementalandemotionalstatetheywereinwhentheyleft.Theymaybebringingbackpsychologicalbaggageortraumathat,inturn,impactsthechildevenafterthedeploymenthasended.Thereareresidualeffectsofdeploymentthatmustbeconsideredwhenassessinghowchildrenofmilitaryparentsareaffectedbywar.Theyindicatethatthemilitarycommunitymustbemoremindfulandsupportiveofmilitaryfamilieswherechildrenareinvolved,astheyarevulnerableandatrisk.Turner,Finkelhor,Hamby,andHenly(2017)supportedthefindingsofLesteretal.(2016)withtheirstudy,whichcomparedtwogroups—childrenofdeployedparentsandchildrenofnon-deployedparents—toseewhetheronegroupshowedsignsofadversity,trauma,delinquency,orvictimization.Theircross-sectionalsurveysconductedoversixyearsfromatotalsampleofmorethan13,000participantsshowedthechildrenofdeployedparentsdemonstratedmorevulnerabilitytoadversity,delinquency,trauma,andvictimizationcomparedtochildrenofnon-deployedparents.Turneretal.(2017)revealedthatadeployedparentwhoisinvolvedinamissionabroadwouldlikelybeabsentinthehome.Uponreturning,theparentmaybebackandabletoprovideaphysicalpresence,butthemissionoverseascantakeitstollontheparent\'smentalhealth.Thus,makingthesituationathomeallthemoretenseandstressfulforthechild,whoseestheparentasthesamebutdoesnotunderstandthepsychologicalchangethathastakenplaceontheparent.Inmanycases,theparentisunawareofthetrauma,eventhoughsignsmaybetherethatsomethinghaschanged(Turneretal.,2017).Earlierstudies,liketheonebyBrownfieldandThompson(1991),providedevidencethatsuggestednorelationshipamongyouths,families,anddelinquency,positingthatsociallearningandsocialcontroltheorieswereinadequatetheoreticalframeworksforexplainingadversityamongchildrenandadolescents.However,otherresearchers,suchasKoon-Magnin,Bowers,Langhinrichsen-Rohling,andArata(2016),whousedself-controltheoryandsociallearningtheorytoexplainwhyadolescentgirlsandboysdeviateintodelinquency,latercounteredtheirstudy.Bothstudiesindicate,nonetheless,thatthereisarelationshipbetweenfamilyandchildbehavior,withparentsactingasamoderatingforce.Trier,Pappas,Bovitz,andAugustyn(2018)conductedanimportantcasestudyofasix-year-oldchilddiagnosedwithglobaldevelopmentaldelayandattentiondeficithyperactivitydisorderfollowingthedeploymentofhisfatherandthedeathofhismother.Thefatherreportedfeelingunpreparedandoverwhelmedbythetaskofraisingthechildalonewhencalledbackhomebythemilitary(Trieretal.,2018).Hefeltcognitivelyandemotionallyunreadyfortheresponsibility;moreover,hewassufferingfromemotionalissuesstemmingfromboththeeffectsofwar-relateddeploymentandthelossofhiswife.Thecombinedeffectofthesestressorsalsospilledovertoimpacthissix-year-oldchild.Thefatherreportedfeelingisolatedfromhiscommunityandcutofffromothers,asthoughthereweresomethingwrongwithhim.Trieretal.’s(2018)casestudyshowedthattheimpactsofdeploymentonthechildcanbedeeplyfeltandcanbeoneofseveralfactorsthatpreventdevelopmentfromprogressingappropriately.Thestudyalsoillustratesthechallengesdeployedparentsfaceafterreturninghome,whichareentirelydifferentfromthechallengesoneencountersonthebattlefieldandrequireacompletelydifferentsetofskills,especiallywhenthechildisyoung.ThecasestudybyTrieretal.(2018)supportedthemodelofdevelopmentputforwardbyErikson.Erikson’seightstagesofdevelopmenttheoryhelpedtoexplainevenwhatchildrengothroughastheyage.Althoughtheeightstagescoveralllifeuptodeath,thefirstfivestagescoverchildhood,frominfancytoyoungadulthood(Shriner&Shriner,2014).Eachstageisdefinedbythepsychosocialconflictthatcharacterizesthatspecificdevelopmentstage.Inotherwords,ateachstageofdevelopment,thechild(andlatertheadult)experiencesconflict,andinordertomovesuccessfullyontothenextstageofdevelopment,theconflictneedstoberesolved.ThefirststageofErikson’smodeliscalledtheTrustvs.Mistruststage,anditistypicallyexperiencedbetweentheagesofzeroandtwo(Trieretal.,2018).ThesecondstageofErikson’smodelistheAutonomyvs.Shamestage,whichisusuallyexperiencedfromagestwotothree.ThethirdstageistheInitiativevs.Guiltstage,andthechildpassesthroughitbetweenagesthreetofive.ThefourthstageistheIndustryvs.Inferioritystage,whichoccursfromagesfivetotwelve.ThefifthstageistheIdentityvs.RoleConfusion,whichlastsfromagestwelvetoeighteen(Shriner&Shriner,2014).Ascanbeseen,theveryfirststageofdevelopmentistheTrustvs.Mistruststage,andthechildneedsanurturingcaregivertodevelopatrustingrelationship.EachstageofErikson’smodelisaspanoflearning,interactingwithsurroundings,andgainingexperienceandknowledgetoshapethechild’soutlookforyearstocome(Trieretal.,2018).Thatiswhyitissoimportanttomakesurethechild’senvironmentishappyandhealthy.Ifaparentisdeployedduringthistime,thelong-termadverseeffectscanbesignificant,asshowninthecasestudybyTrieretal.(2018).Insuchcases,thechildmustbetakenbacktotheearlierstages,psychologicallyspeaking,sothattheconflictofthatstagecanbefacedandovercome(Perry,2006).Bytakingsuchactions,itshowstheseriousnessofmakingsureallthechild\'sneedsaremetatthesecrucialdevelopmentallevels.Intermsofresearchthatsuggeststhatchildrenwhofaceadversityarenotnecessarilyputatadisadvantage,Tough(2013)showsthatchildrenneedtobechallengedinordertodeveloptheirresiliencyandgrit.Tough(2013)arguesthatgritandresiliencearewhatwillinevitablyassistthechildinovercomingthechallengestheywillfaceastheygrow—allofwhichwillbecomeharderandharderiftheyarenotpushedtobecomeresilientaschildren.Tough(2013)explicitlystatesthat“whenkindergartenteachersaresurveyedabouttheirstudents,thebiggestproblemencountered,isnotchildrenwhoareunawareoftheirlettersandnumbers;itischildrenwhodonotknowhowtomanagetheirtempersorcalmthemselvesdownafteraprovocation”(p.17).Heclaimsthatchildrenhavetobetrainedtocontrolthemselves,whichiswhereself-controltheoryoftencomesintoplayfortheproponentsofallowingchildrentodevelopgrit.Bychallengingchildrenorallowingthemtobechallenged,theycanlearnwhatitmeanstopickoneselfupandputintheefforttoovercometheobstacle.ThestudybyVonCulin,Tsukayama,andDuckworth(2014)alsosuggestsadversityishelpfulforchildren,asitteachesthemthevalueofcultivatinggritandresiliencyandteachesthemtolearnself-determination,self-efficacy,confidence,andperseverance.Academicsuccess,thebuildingupofsocialcapital,andthesuccessfulattainmentofgoalshavealsobeenattributedtothecultivationofgritandresilience.Robertson-KraftandDuckworth(2014)andPerkins-Gough(2013)state,“gritpredictssuccessoverandbeyondtalent.Whenyouconsiderindividualsofequaltalent,thegrittieronesdobetter”(p.16).Accordingtotheseauthors,successismediatedbyone’slevelofdeterminationandabilitytoovercomeadversity.Additionally,accordingtoEskreis-Winkler,Duckworth,Shulman,andBeal(2014),“thetendencytosustainpassionandperseveranceforlong-termgoals,isadomain-generaltraitthatpromotes‘showingup’acrossdiverselifecontexts”(p.37)andisdeterminedbythedevelopmentofone’sgritandcapacityforresilience.Inshort,“grittierstudents[are]morelikelytograduatefromhighschool”andsucceedinreachingtheirgoalsinlife(Eskreis-Winkleretal.,2014,p.36).Eachofthesestudiessuggeststhattoworrytoomuchaboutchildrenfacingdiversityasaresultofadeployedparentmaybetodenythemthebitofadversity,theyneedtogothroughinordertodevelopresiliencyinlife.Theseargumentscouldpotentiallyreducesomeofthestressandguiltthatdeployedparentsmayfaceastheystrugglewithknowingthattheyarenotthereathomefortheirchildren.Acceptingtheseargumentswouldallowthedeployedparenttoacceptdeploymentmorereadilyandexpectthefamilyathometoacceptitaswell.Alittleadversity,afterall,couldbeconsideredsuitableforoneinthelongterm.Thus,theresearchsuggestsaneedtofindabalancebetweenover-analyzingtheharmfuleffectsofdeploymentonachildandemphasizingthepositiveimpactofachildwhoreceivestheopportunitytoexperienceadversityandgainresiliencethroughit.Thechildwhonevergetspushed,challenged,ortaskedwithfacingthedifficultiesofademandingsituationcouldenduplackingresilienceandgritandthusfaceincreasedadversitylaterinlife.Thechildwhofacesadversityandischallengedtodigdeepwithinhimselftoovercomeobstaclesismorelikelytoachievesuccess.TheSupportiveRoleofCommunityResearchperformedbyO\'Neal,Mallette,andMancini(2018)emphasizedtheneedforcommunitysupportformilitaryfamilies.Itisalsoessentialforfamiliestobeopentocommunitysupport,astheirunfavorableopinionofthecommunitytheyliveincanharmthechildorstudent’sdevelopment(O’Nealetal.,2018).Communitiesplayanextra-familialroleinassistingchildren\'sdevelopmentandinhelpingstudentstocopewithmoving,transferringfromoneschooltoanother,andfindingaplaceoutsidethehomewheretheycanmakefriendsanddevelophisorhersupportnetwork.Parentssometimesstruggletorecognizethevalueoftheircommunities.Whenparentsaredisengagedfromthecommunityorhaveanunfavorableopinionofacommunity,itcanharmtheirchild’sprogress(Castroetal.,2015;Epsteinetal.,2018).Parentperspectivesrevealthattheycanfeelhelplessinprovidingsupportfortheirchildrenacademicallyandsocially.Theydonotalwaystrustexternalenvironmentstobegoodforthemeitherbecauseofthepossibilityofbadinfluences,suchasdrugsorpre-maritalsex(Kelleyetal.,2016).Inordertounderstandhowcommunitiesandenvironmentscanbeimpactfulinpeople\'slives,itishelpfultoconsiderBandura\'s(2018)assessmentofhowtheenvironmentimpactspeople\'sbehavior.Bandura(2018)explainedthatthecognitivedevelopmentandbehaviorofpeopleareaffectedbythreemainfactorsoragencies—media,peers(family,parents,andfriends),andgroups(suchasschoolsandchurches).Parentsthusplayasignificantroleinadvocatingforandsupportingtheirchildren,butpeers,groups,andmediaallplayapartinthataswell(Cheng&Huang,2018).Whendealingwithdeployment,parentsmaystruggleastheymakeadjustmentsinnewcommunitiesorseektofindwaystofillgapsintheirlivesthatwerefilledbyaparentwhoisnowgone.Toaddressthisissue,communicationbecomesavitaltool,andthewayithelpsinthedigitalagecanbedonethroughsocialmedia.Sincepeoplearehighlyinfluencedbymedia(Bandura,2018),usingthistoolcanhelptoaddresssomeofthestressinfamilieswheredeploymenthasoccurred.Schoolscanuseit,andteacherscaneffectivelycommunicatewithparentsusingsocialmediaplatformslikeFacebook(Ellison&Evans,2016).Communicatingwithparentsandfamiliesisessentialinmaintainingastableandcorerelationshipwithstudentsandfamilies.Theresearchshowsthatparentsprefersocialmediaasacommunicationmethodandthattheywouldliketoseemoreteachersuseit,asitisthemostconvenientandmostoftencheckedmessagesystemutilizethroughouttheday(Thompson,Mazer&FloodGrady,2015).Thus,teachersshouldgooutoftheirwaytoprovideparentswithemailupdatesandtextmessagingtokeepthemabreastofdevelopmentsintheschool.However,noteveryfamilywillhaveaccesstocellphonesorcomputers,sotheremustbeanalternatemeansofcommunicatingavailable(Graham-Clay,2009).Socialmediahasbecomethedominantmodeofcommunicationinthe21stcentury.Parentsandteacherscanuseittocoordinate,collaborate,communicateandassistoneanotherintheeducativeprocess(Thompsonetal.,2015).Acrucialpointforparent-teacherrelationshipsthatfacilitatethestudent\'ssuccessistoimplementaplanthatconnectsparentsandfamiliesbycommunicatingthroughsocialmediaandwrittenletterswhensocialmediaisnotusefulforfamilies.Anotherkeyistoobtainfeedbackfromparentsonculture;thismeansteachersshoulddevelopculturalcompetencyinlinewithLeininger\'s(2008)theoryoftransculturalcare.Anotherwayinwhichcommunitiescanbecomemoreassertiveisthroughcommunityworks,whethertheyaretheaterprojectssuchasplaysandmusicalsorpublictaskslikecleaningupparks.Thepointistheyshouldbesocialinnatureandorientation.AsBandura(2018)pointsout,childrenlearnfrompeersandgroups—thosearethetwoprimarylearningsourcesforchildrenasidefrommedia.So,whenchildrenseepeersandgroupsdevotingthemselvestosomethingpositiveinthecommunity,theynaturallyrespondbyjoiningin.Theeffortbythecommunityshowsthechildthatthecommunitymembersarecommitted,whichhelpstoreinforcebehavioralexpectationsforthechild,asexplainedbyBandura(2018).Effortsbythecommunityalsoshowthechildthattheirparentsandotheradultsinthecommunitycareabouthisorherdevelopment,andeventhoughaparentmaybedeployed,thechildisnotalone.Additionally,thefamilyisencouragedwheneverthereisoutreachmadebycommunitymembers,whetheritbeateacheroraprincipal,oracoach.Wheneverindividualsofthisrolevisitthehome,ithelpstobridgeagapbetweenthatsocialworldandthehomeworldandthusstrengthentheoverallsupportsystemofthechild(Stetsonetal.,2012).Anotheroptionisforthecommunitytoofferinterventionprogramslikethoseusedforearlystarters,i.e.,childrenatriskoffuturedelinquency.Theseinterventionprogramswouldbeapreventivemeasuretoreducetheriskoffutureproblemsstemmingfromparentdeployment.Onespecifictreatmentoptionistrauma-informedcare,asrecommendedbyEspinosa,Sorensen,andLopez(2013).Espinosaetal.(2013)showthatmanyyoungpeoplewhoventureintodelinquencydosobecausetheysufferfromsomeformoftraumathatpreventsthemfromadjustingsociallytotheirenvironment.Thewaytheyarguetoaddressthesituationisthroughtrauma-informedsystems,inwhichallprogramsandagencies‘‘infuseandsustaintraumaawareness,knowledge,andskillsintotheirorganizationalcultures,practices,andpolicies”(p.1833).Themilitarycommunitythatadoptsatrauma-informedsystemwithchildrenofdeployedparentswouldmakesensefromtheperspectiveofEspinosaetal.(2013).Oneofthebenefitsofacommunity-basedtrauma-informedapproachtohelpingchildrenisthatattentionisfocusedonthechild’smentalhealthissuesratherthanonwhateverproblemsthechildmaybehavingathome,inschool,orthecommunity(Lesteretal.,2016).Theaimistoprovidesupportforthechildtocopewiththetraumalikelylyingattheheartofhisactionsandlikelystemming,inthecaseofchildrenofdeployedparents,fromthedeploymentanditseffectsontheparents(Lesteretal.,2016).Thepurposeistoprovideunderstanding,nurturing,andhelpingaidstochildrentodevelopandreachtheirpotential,whichotherwisemightbestymiedbytheeffectsofparentaldeployment(Espinosaetal.,2013;Lesteretal.,2016).Sincetheapproachpromotesandfostersthechild’smentalhealth,andmanychildrenusuallydonothavethiskindofsupportwhenleftindependently,therearefewpotentialdrawbacks(Espinosaetal.,2016).Therearealsoafter-schoolprograms,whichareaprimarylevelpreventionprogramasthey“focusontheconditionsthatcouldleadtodelinquentbehaviorsuchastruancy,poorparenting,andprenatalexposuretotoxins”(Listwan,2013,p.5).Secondary-levelprogramsmightbemoreproductive,suchasBigBrotherandBigSisterprograms.Theseprogramsaregearedtowardsyouthswholackadultrolemodelsandwouldfitwellsuitedforchildrenwhoseparentsaredeployed.Suchchildrenneedguidancemorethanothersdo,andthesesecondaryprogramscouldaidindevelopingthechild.Youthdotendtoreceivepositivesupportandcanbuildtheirconfidencefromtheseprograms,though,asHerrera,Grossman,Kauh,andMcMaken(2011)pointout,thesuccessrateisnotalwayssustainable.ResiliencyResiliencyisfurtherconsideredasahelpfulstrategyandtoolofmilitaryparentswhoaredeployedandwhomustcarefortheirchildrendespitetheirdeployment(O’Nealetal.,2018).ThemilitaryalreadyprovidesfocusonresiliencythroughtheArmy’sMasterResiliencyTrainingprogram,whichfocusesonhelpingmilitarypersonneltomaintainpositiveattitudesinthefaceofobstacles.Resiliencyissomethingthatmilitaryparentscanutilizetohelpbringpositivitytotheirownchildren’slives,especiallyduringthechaotictimesofstresswhendeploymentandrelocationoccur.SpitzerandAronson(2015)notedthreeareasofpositivepsychology.Thefirstkeyareaisawarenessofself.Awarenessisnecessaryforthesecondstrategicsource,whichisself-regulation;thisinvolvesbothmonitoringandregulatingemotionsandthoughtsbutalsobeingwillingtoexpressoneselfinahealthyway.Third,onemustbeabletoseethegoodinthingswhilebeingrealisticaboutwhatonecancontrol,andthisiswhatismeantbyoptimism.Mentalagilityisalsorequired,anditreferstotheabilitytobeflexibleandfollowsfromone\'sabilitytobeoptimistic.Oneneedsstrengthtoovercomeobstaclesandbuildrelationshipsandmakeconnectionswithpeoplebyputtinghimselfinanother\'sshoes.Militaryparentscanfindpositivepsychologytobeusefulinstrengtheningtheirrelationshipswiththeirchildren.Helpingmilitaryparentsdevelopthepositivepsychologythatisneededtocopewiththewiderangeofchallengesandobstaclesthatareleftbehindbydeployedparents.Suchchallengesandobstaclesincludehelpingyoungpeoplewiththeiracademicpursuitsaswellasassistingadolescentsduringthistransitionalanduncertainperiodintheirlives(Sandoz&Moyer,2015).Besideshelpingmilitaryparents,SpitzerandAronson(2015)alsonotedthatteachersmightusethesesamestrategiestohelppromotepositivityamongstudentswhoarestrugglingduetomilitarydeploymentorsomeotherdestabilizinginfluenceinthehomeorcommunity.Oncetheaforementionedareasofpositivepsychologyareunderstood,parentscanalsofocusonidentifyingtriggers—eventsorthoughtsthattriggeraparticularlyadversereaction.Whenpatternsappear,individualscanbegintoseethetrendintheirthoughtsorfeelingsthatpushthemintonegativemoodsorthedesiretoseekescapeinanunhealthymanner(Spitzer&Aronson,2015).Otherareasmilitaryparentscouldfocusonaresimplebreathingexercises,whichcanhelponetoregaincomposureinastressfulperiod,problem-solving,anddevelopingtheabilitytoshowgratitude(Bennett,2018).Themilitaryteachesinitspositivepsychologytrainingonresiliencythatmembersshouldlearnhowtorecognizecounterproductivethoughtsbyowningthemandtakingresponsibilityforthem.Theerrorsthatpeoplemakeintryingtostopnegativethoughtsisthattheytrytoreducethenoisetheymakebyignoringthem—ortheymighttrytojustifywhytheyhavethem—ortheymaysimplytrytodenythethoughtsexistatall(Spitzer&Aronson,2015).Amilitaryparentknowsthatrealitymustbedealtwithhead-on,so,intheeventofnegativethoughts,thekeytoovercomingthemistoacknowledgethem,ownthem,andassumeresponsibilityforthembyaddressingthemdirectly.Thisisanimportantconsiderationtokeepinmindasparentstrytocopewithwhattheirchildrenareexperiencingathome.AsAlfanoetal.(2016)pointout,militaryparentsareinachallengingsituationregardingtheirchildren.Whilemanyofthemareawareofthedifficulties,theydonotoftenconsiderhowtheirmilitarytrainingcanbeusedtohelptheirfamilymemberscopewiththedeploymentbackhome.Resiliencydoesnotonlyplayapartinthelivesofthedeployedparents,butitalsoplaysaroleinthelivesoftheirchildren.Therefore,LiebenbergandUngar(2015)showthatsocialsupportsaresignificantfactorsindevelopingresilience,self-esteem,confidence,andasenseofself-worthamongyoungchildren.Ifchildrenhavenostrongsocialsupports,theyarelesslikelytodevelopthesecharacteristics.Ensuringthechildofadeployedparenthasothersupportoptionsoutsidethehomecanbeanexcellentwaytohelpdeveloptheirresiliency.Itisnotalwaysgoingtobeamatterofobligingthechildtomakeitaloneortoovercomeobstacleswithoutassistance.Tough(2013)arguesthatobstaclesandchallengesarenecessaryforchildrentolearngritandresiliency.Still,Theronetal.(2015)showthatarobustsocialsupportsystemcanfacilitatethedevelopmentofgritandresiliency.ThisisalsotheperspectiveofWebsterandRivers(2018).Theyfindthattheconventionalnotionofachildovercomingadversitybyhimself,whichiswhatisoftenassociatedwiththedevelopmentofgritandresiliency,issimplyunrealistic.Theypositedthatchildrenneedasupportiveenvironment,whichcorrelateswithErikson’stheoryofdevelopment,particularlyintheearlierstagesofdevelopmentwhereinmostchildrenneedatleastloveandsomeformofnurturingfromaparentinordertofacetheconflictsofeachoftheearlydevelopmentstages.Tempskietal.(2015)pointoutthat“resiliencehasbeenconsideredasaprocess,whereanindividual,tobeconsideredresilient,musthavethosepersonalcharacteristicstestedinanobjectiveorsubjectiveadversity”(p.1).ResiliencyisdefinedbyTempskietal.(2015)“astheresultoftheinteractionamongtheindividual,his/hersocialsupportenvironment,andtheadversity,includinghis/hersubjectvalues,cultural,social,andethicalinfluences”(p.1).LikeTheronetal.(2015),Tempskietal.(2015)notethatresilienceisnotsomethingonedevelopsonone’sownbutinsteadthroughthenegotiationofmovingparts.Thechildisatthecenterwhiletheadversityseeminglysurroundshim—butpiercingthroughadversityaretheencouragementandpositivemotivationofthechild’ssupportenvironment.Positivepsychologyplaysasignificantroleindevelopingresiliencyaswell,forbothparentsandchildrenandevenfordevelopingrelationships.BuildingonAdler’sprinciplesofpsychology,themselvesrootedinthehumanistictradition;positivepsychologyemphasizestheabilityofthepersontobecomehealthierbyfocusingonwhatittakestobehappy.Ithasbeenusedtohelppromotetheideaofresilienceandgrit(Bondy,Ross,Gallingane,&Hambacher,2007),andoneparticularmodelisSeligman’s(2018)ideaofPERMA,ahappinessmodeldevelopedbyoneoftheleadingadvocatesofpositivepsychologyinthefield.PERMA(PositiveEmotion,Engagement,Relationships,Meaning,andAccomplishment)isSeligman’s(2018)theoreticalmodelofhappiness,whichisnamedafterthequalitiesthatdefineorpromotehappiness.Positiveemotionisusedtoconnectapersontohappiness.Engagementisusedtofocusthepersononsomethingenjoyable,ahobby,aworkactivity,oranactivitytostayactiveandinagoodplace.Relationshipsarerecommendedbecausetheyhelptomaintainsocialinteractionsandhealthysupportsystems.Meaningisoneofthemostimportantaspectsofpositivepsychologyasitservesasthefoundation,thepurposeoflife.Withoutmeaning,manyarelostanddirectionless.Accomplishmenthelpstodevelopasenseofachievementthroughenhancingoverallwell-beingandmotivationinapositivedirection.(Seligman,2018).OnepopularmethodofachievingPERMAisusingprospection(Roepke&Seligman,2016;Vaillant,2000).Prospectionisatoolofpositivepsychologythatcanhelpsummonpositiveenergytoconfrontchallenges.Itreferstotheartofseeingoneselfinthefutureandimagininghowone’sfutureself-attainedtheplacewhereitisinone’smind.Bymerelyhavingapositivementalpicture,onecanimaginewaystoachievesuccessbydisablingnegativethoughts.ProspectionisatechniquethatisrecommendedbypositivepsychologistslikeRoepkeandSeligman(2016)tocounterstressandanxiety.Itcouldbeespeciallyusefulinhelpingdeployedparentstocopewithstressorsandissuesastheystruggletofindabalancebetweendeploymentsandbeingaparentfromadistance.Deployedparentsshouldnotwaitforproblemstofindthem;instead,theycanengageinpreventivemaintenanceinordertomaintainapositivemindsetfromapositionofresiliencethroughprogramslikeREADY.READY(REsilienceandActivityforeveryDaY)isaresilienceprogramusedinmanydifferentorganizationsandsettingstopromoteeverydaypsychosocialwell-beingforindividuals(Burton,Pakenham&Brown,2010)byfocusingonnurturingapositiveviewofoneself.Thisconceptcanhelpindividualscreatebetterenvironmentsforthefuture.Ratherthanwaitingforproblemstohappenandthenaddressingthemthroughpsychiatry,positivepsychologythroughREADYfocusesinsteadonpreventingproblemsinthefuturebycreatinggreat,positiveworkingenvironmentsinplaceswherestressandanxietytypicallytakeover.READYalsousesprospectiontohelpindividualsseetheirpositivefutureselvesandtakestepstoachievethoseselves.Itisthusanotheroptionthatdeployedparentsandteenscouldbothusestoengagewiththeadversityofdeploymentinapositivemannerandtostayfocusedonachievingsuccess.ThemilitarypromotespositivepsychologythroughitsMasterResiliencyTraining(MRT).TheArmythususesapositivepsychologyprogramtohelpleaderssupportsoldiersdealingwithanxietyanddepression(Reivich,Seligman&McBride,2011).TheMRTprogramaimstocreateamoreresilientsoldier.Itindicatesthatfuturemilitaryleaderswillfocusonpositivityandmindfulnesstoassistinpersonalchallengesandpromotingtheattainmentofgoals.ThereisalsotheSMART(StressManagementandResilienceTraining)program,whichfocusesonreducingaperson’sanxietylevelsandbeingmorefocusedonstayingpositive(Loprinzi,Prasad,Schroeder&Sood,2011).Itenablespeopletoidentifytheiranxietytriggersanddevelopavarietyofdifferentmethodsthatcanhelpthemtoavoidtheiranxietytriggersoreventocounterthetriggerswithpositivethoughts.ThewaystoachieveapositivestateintheSMARTprogramaretofocusonSelf-awareness,Self-regulation,Optimism,Mentalagility,Characterstrengths,andformingconnections.Byfocusingontheseareas,onecanthenpursuethe6-stepplantohelpimplementpositivepsychologyatthesocietallevel.EachofthesestepsreflectsprospectionandPERMA:seeingone’sfutureself,keepingapositiveattitude,pursuinghappiness,buildingrelationships,havingmeaning,achievinggoals,andsharingwithothers(Seligman,2018).Thegoaloftheseprogramsisalwaystonurtureapositiveviewofone’sselfandtonurturepositivethoughts.Nurturingpositivethoughtshasbeenshowntoplayavitalroleinnegotiatingadversity.Thisisusefulinunderstandinghowdeployedparentsdealwithparentingchallenges,particularlyrelatedtotheireffortsinassistingtheirchildrentomaintainadegreeofacademicsuccess.Thesix-stepplanrecommendedbySeligman(2018)isto,first,adoptapositiveperspectivebyseeingyourbestfutureself;second,findthethingsthatmakeonehappy;third,focusonbuildingpositiverelationships;fourth,searchformeaning;fifth,savoraccomplishments;andsixth,sharewithothers.AccordingtoSeligman’s(2018),positiveemotionismaintainedthroughasenseofappreciation,peace,andhopewhileengagementismaintainedbyfullyimmersingoneselfinone’swork.Additionally,relationshipsaremaintainedbydevelopingauthenticrelationshipsinbothworkandplay.Meaningismaintainedbybeingmindfulofhelpingothersbyvolunteeringatleastonehoureachweek,andasenseofaccomplishmentismaintainedbyachievingdailypersonalgoals.Thismodelcouldbeappliedbetweenparentsandtheirchildren,withbothcoordinatingonimplementingthemodeldespitethedistancetheyexperienceduringdeployment.Thismodelwouldbehardertoimplementwithadeployedparentofayoungerchild.Still,theparentathomecouldlikelyfacilitatetheimplementationbymaintainingtherightlevelofmindfulnessthroughoutthedeploymentandprovidingassistanceandguidance.HowTechnologyPlaysaPartTechnologyisanotheroptionthatcanbeconsideredhelpfulinaddressingtheneedsoflearnerswhoareinamilitaryfamilywithoneormoredeployedparents.Technologycanhelpinseveralways.Today,technologyexiststoputstudentsincontactwithpeopleontheothersideoftheworldinstantly.Parentswhoaredeployedcanmaintainacloserconnectionwithchildrenwhiledeployed,thankstostreamingservicesthatallowforfacetimethroughtheInternet.However,technologycanalsoconnectolderstudentswithadditionalschoolingopportunities—suchasonlineschooling(Thompsonetal.,2015).Technologyhaslongbeenviewedasanefficienttoolintheuniversityclassroombecauseitprovidesgreatereaseofaccesstolearningforstudentswhoaredigitalnatives(Henderson,Selwyn&Aston,2017).Thishelpsinnotworryingabouttransfersorrelocatingtoanewcampus,asalleducationistakenonline.StudentscantapintotheenormouslibraryofinformationthatistheInternet.Theycanpullupmanuscriptsandprimarysourcesthathavebeenuploadedtoserverssomewhereontheplanet,whichallowseveryonetosee.Whatwasoncecontainedinalibraryisnowreadilyavailablewiththeclickofafewbuttons.Becausetechnologyissoattractivetodigitalnativesandinteractive,itisinherentlyanactivelearningtoolthateducatorscanusetoengagestudentsmorefullyandcreateopportunitiesfortheminclass.ThetechnologyexistsforstreamingfilmssharedonYouTube,uploadingfeedbackforstudentsandtheirparentsviawebportalslikeBlackboard,distancelearning,andmore.Thefactthatstudentscannowtakeclassesonlinewithouteverhavingtosetfootoncampusisasignificantinnovationthatisastartlingreminderofjusthowfartechnologyhascome—andtheextenttowhichithasadvancedtheeducationalsystem.Parentsarenotoftencognizantoftheopportunitiesthatexisttohelpthemwiththeirchildren,butawarenessofdigitaltechnologymustbedevelopedmorethoroughly(Epsteinetal.,2018).Byopeningtheireyestowhatnewtechnologycando,parents,communities,andstudentscanachieveahighersupportsynthesis.Technologycanevenbeusedtohelpstudentsindestabilizedfamilieslikethosewheremilitaryparentsaredeployed,asChang(2017)hasshown.Chang(2017)identifiedthesecrettohersuccessatrejuvenatingherschooldistrictviatheincorporationofmoretechnologyintotheclassroom:Studentswhostruggleareoftenmoredependentontechnologytolearn.Moreaffluentkidsareusedtolotsoftechnologybecausetheycouldaffordit.Wecouldaffordthesametechnology.Fordisadvantagedstudents,theiraccesstotechnologyneedstoincreaseinordertoclosetheopportunitygap.(Chang,2017,p.12)Inshort,bybringingdigitaltechnologyintotheclassroom,educatorscanhelpstrugglingstudentsachievetheirpotential.Parentstoooftenareunawareofthepositiverolethattechnologycanplayintheirchildren’slives,andoneofthewaysthattheycanhelptheirchildrenistogivethempositiveself-imagesandtoprovidethemwithwaystoenhancetheirself-image(Spitzer&Aronson,2015).Teachersespeciallycanplayaroleinenhancingstudents’self-imagetoempowerthemtotakeownershipoftheiracademiccareers(Yeager&Walton,2011).Theseexercisesarenotoftenonesthatparentsareawareof,andtheyareassimpleasaskingchildrentoimaginewhattheywouldliketobeorwhattheywouldliketodoforacareer.Thepointoftheseexercisesistogetstudentstothinkmoreimaginativelyabouttheirlives,sotheyarenotoverburdenedbythepresent,whichmaybedifficultconsideringthedisadvantageousnatureoftheirhomelife(Spitzer&Aronson,2015).However,ifstudents,parents,andteacherscollaborateinbringingpositivepsychologyintostudents\'lives,militaryparentscouldseebenefitsinthelivesoftheirchildren\'sacademiccareers.Technologyshouldnotbeignored(Prensky,2001),asitcanbeausefultoolforbringingparentsandchildrentogetheroverlongdistancessothattheycanstayincontactanddeployedparentscanbepartofchildren’slives.Alternatively,thismaybedifficultforsomemilitaryparents,giventheircircumstances(Chang,2017).Someevaluationofthecircumstancesisneededinordertogainperspectivesonwhethertheuseoftechnologyisaconvenientsolutiontokeepparentsandchildrenconnected.Inadditiontobeingusefulinaschoolenvironment,technologycanhelpopenupnewworldsforthestudent(Prensky,2001).Therearedangerstoexposingchildrentotoomuchtechnology,particularlywiththeriseofsocialmediaanditsinfluenceonandpopularityamongadolescentstoday.Teenscanbeexposedtopersonalizedadvertisementsthatcanplayontheirimpulses(Chester&Montgomery,2008).Theycanalsobeexposedtonegativeimpressionsthatarisefromjealousyorenvyatanother’ssocialmediaaccount(Appel,Gerlach&Crusius,2016;Freberg,Graham,McGaughey&Freberg,2011).Themoreexposedtosocialcomparisonviasocialmedia,themorelikelythechildoradolescentistoexperienceenvy,anxiety,anddepression.Thus,toomuchmediacancausetheindividualchildorteentoregressandlosewhateverpositivemomentumwasgainedfromearlierpositiveusageoftechnologyinacontrolledormonitoredenvironment—i.e.,withaparentorteacher.TheRoleoftheTeacherCommunicationthroughtechnologysuchasemail,textmessaging,andsocialmediausagearemethodsthatteacherscanusetocoordinateandcollaboratewithparentsmoreeffectively.Infact,parentspreferthesemethods:“anincreaseinparents’preferenceforfrequente-mailcommunicationaswellasforemergingmodesofparent-teachercommunicationsuchastextmessagingandsocialmedia”aretheprimarymodesofcommunicationthatparentswishteacherswouldusemoreof(Thompson,Mazer,&Flood-Grady,2015,p.187).Facebookcanbeusedtoscheduleface-to-facemeetingsortoshareinformation.Itisoftenunderutilizedasatoolinparent-teachercommunication(Thompsonetal.,2015).Anothersolutionistoenhancetheroleoftheteacher.Parentsareoftenunawarethatteacherscanmakehomevisitstoprovideadditionalsupporttolearners(Stetson,Stetson,Sinclair&Nix,2012).Onewaytogetteachersandparentsworkingtogethertoprovidecommunitysupportforchildrenofdeployedparentsisforteacherstomakehomevisitstothehousesofthesestudentsthroughouttheyear.Nothingshowsfamiliesgoingthroughadifficulttime,suchasdeployment,thatteacherscaremorethanwhentheteachermakesahomevisit(Wright&Shields,2018).Ateacherisgenerallythoughtofasthepersonwhoprovideslessonsonwhateversubjectthestudentisexpectedtolearn—butiftheteacherappearstothestudentasareallivehumanbeingwhoexistsoutsideoftheclassroom,itgivesthestudentmorecontextandagreaterappreciationforwhotheteacheris(Stetsonetal.,2012).Itshowsthestudentthattheteachercaresforhimandwantshimtosucceed.Seligman(2018)identifiesthistypeofsupportaspartofthePERMAmodelforhappiness,asitincludesahealthyamountofengagement,andtheteachercanassistthestudentinprospection,helpingthestudenttoformavisionofafutureself.Thus,whilethedeployedparentisaway,theteacherhelpsfillagap,whichalignswiththeEpstein(2018)theoreticalframework.Additionally,whenfamiliesseeteachersshowingavestedinterestinthelivesoftheirstudentsbeyondtheclassroom,itcanmotivatebothparentsandstudentstobecomemoreinvestedintheireducation(Whyte&Karabon,2016).Forthatreason,WhyteandKarabon(2016)recommendhomevisitsforteacherslookingtopromotethevalueofeducation,especiallyincommunitiessufferingfromdestabilizedfamiliesandlackofleadership.Theteacherisabletofillagapintheleadershipinthecommunity,andthehomevisitisanexcellentwayforthattohappen.However,theparentsmustbeonboardwithteachersmakinghomevisits(Stetsonetal.,2012).Theroleofparentsintheeducationofchildrencannotbeunderestimated.Ifteachersaretheeducatorssettingtheexampleintheschool,parentsaretheeducatorssettingtheexampleinthehome.Teachersandparentsmustworktogetherandbeonthesamepageinordertoprovidestudentswiththeconsistencyofexampleandcontinuityintheireducativeexperience(Wright&Shields,2018).Theschoolalwaysstrivestoreflectthevaluesofthecommunityandworkwithparentstodefinethosevalues.AsBollesandPatrizio(2016)show,militaryparentsalreadyhavethemilitarysenseofdisciplineandhierarchyingrainedintotheirmindsets,soitmakessensethattheyshouldseektodevelopaninterdisciplinaryapproachtoprovidingsupportfortheirchildrenbyworkinglong-distancewithteacherstomakehomevisitsortoprovidesomeformofextra-curricularsupportfortheirchildren.Theteacheralsomustbemindfulofculture.Cultureholdsaparticularsignificanceineducationbecauseitprovidesthefoundationandbackgroundofastudent\'sexperience;itgivesthefoundationofthestudent\'sideasandbeliefs,anditshapesthelensthatoffersaviewonthestudent\'soutlook(Doge&Keller,2014).Byconsideringculture,ateachercanbetterconnectwithstudentsandprovideanatmosphereintheclassroomthatisconducivetosharing,responding,andlearning(Saifer,2011).Educationalattainmentrequiresthatstudentsengagewiththeinformationthatispresentedtothemintheirlessons,andoneofthebestwaystogetstudentstowanttoengageistoconnectthelessontotheirbackgroundsandculturalexperience(Kea,Campbell-Whatley,&Richards,2006).Theroleofculturallyresponsiveteachingineducationalattainmentistobethepathwaytowardsculturaldiversity.Theteacherhelpsstudentsdefinethelearninggoals,questiontraditionalconcepts,understandstudentdiversity,engagewiththematerial,andeffectivelyworktowardsknowledgeacquisitionthroughparticipation(Keaetal.,2006).Numerousfactorscanaffecttheeducationalattainmentofstudents.Theculturallyresponsiveteachermustaddressthesefactorssothatalltheissuesthatmightaffectastudent’slearningcapacityareremoved.Itisimportanttonotethatdevelopingcross-culturalcompetencyandsensitivityisacontinuousratherthanastaticenterprisethatdemandsongoingcommitmentonthepartofteachers(Dahlman,2014).Threefactorsthatcanaffectthechildofthedeployedparent’seducationalattainmentare(1)socio-economicbackground,(2)parentalinvolvement,and(3)schoolstructure(Thompson,Corsello,McReynolds,&Conklin-Powers,2013).Thesefactorscaninfluencestudentsinvariousways.Aseachstudentisdifferent,teacherswillneedtogettoknowtheirstudentsandunderstandtheirownunique,personalneeds.Onewaytodothisistomake“homevisits,”whichcanfacilitateandfosterstrongrelationshipsbetweenandamongstudents,theirfamilies,andtheteacher(Stetsonetal.,2012).Bymakingsuchvisits,theteachercanalsodevelopabettersenseofthestudent’ssocio-economicbackgroundandthelevelofparentalinvolvement.Thethirdfactor(schoolstructure)isonethatmaybeoutsidethecontroloftheteacherbutwillhaveanimpact,nonetheless.Socio-economicstatuscanaffecteducationalattainmentbycausingstressforstudentsifthesocio-economiclifeofthestudentissubpar(Thompsonetal.,2013).Thisfactorcanbedeterminedbytheneighborhoodinwhichthestudentlives,thefamilystatusofthestudent,thefamily\'sincome,thefamily\'splaceinthecommunity,andsoon.Iftheseelementscontributepositivelytothestudent\'slifebyprovidingstabilityandsupport,theycanbenefiteducationalattainment.Conversely,iftheyarelacking,thesesamefactorsmayserveasobstacles.Parentalinvolvementisanotherfactorthatcanaffecteducationalattainment.Thelevelatwhichparentsinvolvethemselvesintheirchild\'slifewillaffecttheirsuccessinschool(Perna&Finney,2014).Involvementcanrangefromlisteningtothechild,offeringadviceorguidance,helpingwithdevelopmentissues,teachingthechildtohaveanethicalbaseormoralsense,andbeingemotionallysupportive.ParentalinvolvementcouldalsobeassessedviaparentalattendanceofPTAmeetings,classorschoolevents,responsestoteacheremailsornotes,andsoforth.Further,asVijaya,Vijaya,andRajeshkumar(2016)observe,parentalinvolvementineducationcouldtaketheformof\"providingencouragement,arrangingforappropriatestudytimeandspace,modelingdesiredbehavior(suchasreadingforpleasure),monitoringhomework,andactivelytutoringtheirchildrenathome”(p.11).Itisimportanttonotethatwhenaparentisactivelyinvolvedintheschoolandclass-workundertakingsoftheirchildren,studentachievementisfurtherpromotedduetotheimpactthatthesaidinvolvementhasnotonlyontheclassroombehaviorofastudentbutalsoontheirself-conceptandattitude.Educationalattainmentaffectsstudentsinthelongtermbecauseeducationsetsthestageforthestudent\'sfuturelife.Astudentwhofailstoachieveacademicsuccesswillfindithardertoobtainagood-payingcareerinthefuturebecausenothavinganeducationlimitsone’sopportunitiesandchoiceswhenitcomestofindingajob(Perna&Finney,2014).Astudent’shumanandsocialcapitalmightsufferasaresult.Thestudentcouldbecaughtinapoorsocio-economicstatewithnowayoutbecauseeducationwasneverachieved.Thissuboptimaloutcomecanhavecorrespondingsocial,economic,andpsychologicaleffectsonthestudentoverthelongterm.Theteachershouldbeviewedasapillar,notjustintheclassroombutalsointhecommunity.Forthatreason,theteachershouldbewillingtomakehomevisitstoestablishbatteriesthatareneededtofostergoodandhealthyrelationships.Theserelationshipsarerequiredinordertoensurethateducationalattainmentispossible(Perna&Finney,2014).Itisaboutinvestinginoneanother,givingtimetooneanothersothatstudentscanrealizetheirpotentialandseethattheyhaveastrongsupportsysteminplacethatwillhelpthemtoovercomewhateverobstaclestheymaybefacing(Perna&Finney,2014).Theteachercanmakethishappenbybeingvisiblesupportforstudentsandbyconnectingtotheirfamiliessothatabondisestablished.Therelationshipoftrustisveryimportantineducationbecauseitsetsthetoneforstudentsandgivesthemawaytoopenandengagewiththematerialthattheymightotherwiseneverfullyengagewithinthefirstplace.Inotherwords,establishingameaningfulrapportwithparentscanhelpteachersprovidethemwiththeguidanceandfeedbacktheyneedtoparticipateintheirchildren’seducationactively.Today\'steachershouldusescaffoldingtobuildonwhatthelearnershavelearnedinthepast,asthisisthemostnaturalandeffectivewaytocontinueandpromotethelearningprocess.Yet,studentsneedtoknowthatwhattheyhavealreadyinsidethemintermsofknowledgeisasupportformovingforwardandobtainingnewknowledge.Thechallengethatonemightencounterwithimplementingthisapproachisthatnotallstudentsinaclassroomwillbeatthesamelevelinternally.Somewillrequiremoreimaginativeplaythanothers,andsomewillbereadytoprocessmoreinformationmorequicklythanothers.Eachstudentmayrequireadegreeofindividualattentionorspecialinstruction—buthavingastudio-styleclassroom,forinstance,canhelptoovercomethischallenge.For,asRosaandMonteroshow,itwasVygotsky’sclaimthat“developmentoccursthroughequilibriumwiththeenvironment”(Moll,1990,p.71).ItwasalsothisclaimthatgothimintotroublewiththeSoviets,whobelievedthat“theindividualcapacityforautonomousaction[was]independentofenvironmentalinfluence”(Moll,1990,p.71).Vygotskycertainlymadethecasethat“psychologicalprocesseshaveaculturalorigin”(Moll,1990,p.79).Inotherwords,thereisnowaytodivorceorseparatethecognitivedevelopmentoftheindividualfromtheenvironment.Toarguethatsuchwaspossiblewastoignorethesocialcharacterofhumannatureandtoimaginethathumanbeingscouldsimplybeprogrammedlikecomputersandnotrelyuponinteractionwiththeenvironmentinanyway.Teachersshouldpermitstudentstointeractwithoneanotherinordertohelpeachothertolearnandprocessinformation.Inthismanner,theyshareideasandgetonthesamepagemorequickly,naturally,andeffectively.Again,itispartofthenormalprocessofsocialization,which,asVygotskypointsoutinthezoneofproximaldevelopment,iswhatallowschildrentolearnanddevelop.ThissupportsEpsteinetal.’s(2018)theoryoftheparent-teacher-communityrelationshipinhelpingstudentstoreachtheiracademicgoals:studentsneedcommunitylifeinordertogrowanddevelop.Learnerscandoagreatdealofdevelopingindependentlyandratherrapidly,aslongastheyareprovidedthetimeandspacetoengagewithoneanotherandwiththematerialsontheirown.Theteachershouldalwaysbetheretoguideandsupportwhennecessary.Culturalmediationcancomeintoplayhere,asColepointsout;culturalmediationaltersthestructureofhumanpsychologicalfunctions(Moll,1990).Thus,informalschooling,thechallengeisthatittakesindividualsoutoftheirnaturalhabitatandplacestheminanartificialsetting,whichessentiallyrequiresthemtonavigatetwoworldssimultaneously.SummaryInsummation,themilitaryfamilyislikelytosufferfromaparent’sdeployment,especiallyaschildrenareconcerned.Children’sacademiclifewillfacedisturbances,andasEpstein(2011)indicates,thebestwaytoexaminethistypeofsituationisthroughthethree-foldrelationshipofparents,school,andcommunity.Thisliteraturereviewhasexaminedthosethreefieldsindetailtoshowhoweachoneplaysaroleinadvancingthestudent\'sconcernswhenadeploymentdisruptshomelife.Theresearchoffersavarietyofoptionsandopinionsonthematter.Someresearchersbelievethatalittleadversityisgoodforthechildandcanteachthechildtodevelopgritandresilience(Tough,2013).Othersbelieveadversityitselfisnoteducativebyitselfandthatforresiliencytobedeveloped,thechildneedsastrongsupportsystem,whetherthatbefrompeers,groups,orothersinhislife(Webster&Rivers,2018).Theimplicationisthatthereshouldbeabalancebetweenallowingthechildtofacethechallengeofparentaldeploymentandleavingthechildtofaceitindependently(Theronetal.,2015).Shieldingthechildshouldnotbetheaim,butratherinvitingthecommunitytoprovidesupportforthechildwillhaveapositiveimpactintermsofhelpingthechildtorealizehehasasupportsystem.Someofthepossiblescenario’sresearchershaveidentifiedincludetheteacher\'sroleinenhancingthestudent\'slifethroughconnectivityoutsidetheclassroom(Epsteinetal.,2018).Anotheristheroleofthecommunitybeingenhancedbyfillinggapsinthelearner\'slifethatwouldbeotherwisefilledbyaparentwhoisdeployed(Alfano,Lau,Balderas,&Beidel,2016).Additionally,thereistheroleoftheparentusingsomeofthetraininginpositivepsychologypickedupinthemilitaryandapplyingitinthechild\'slifetokeepthechildfocusedandupbeataboutoptionsforthechild\'sfuture(Alfanoetal.,2016).Mostoftheresearchtodatehasfocusedprimarilyonthechild,thenon-deployedparent,andthecommunitytoidentifysupportstrategiesforthechildrenwithadeployedmilitaryparent(Alfanoetal.,2016).Researchonmilitarydeploymenthasnoteffectivelyoradequatelyaddressedtheaspectoftheparent,eventhoughtheeffectsofdeploymentinthemilitaryaffectnotjustthechildrenandthefamilymembersleftbehindbutalsotheservicememberonduty.Itisthedesireofeachparent,includingthemilitaryparentindeployment,toundertaketheirparentalroles,includingbeinginvolvedintheirchildren\'seducation(Turneretal.,2017).Therearevariousways,especiallyintheageoftechnology,forparentsfromregardlessoftheirlocationintheworld,togetintouchwiththeirchildren.Enhancingthechild\'spositiveself-imageissomethingthatteacherscanalsodoastheyworkwithparentstocoordinateapossiblestrategytohelpthemthinkaboutlong-termideasforthefuture.Usingtechnologytohelpstudentsaccessmorelearningoptions,suchasonlineschoolingorconnectivitywithdeployedparents,isanotherpossibility.Thedeployedparentsarenotalwaysawareoftheseoptionsandneedtobebettereducatedaboutthem.Inthefinalanalysis,therefore,parents\'deploymenteffectivelycreatesavoidinthefamilialsetting.Thisstudyexploredtheperceptionsofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild’seducation.Educationhappenstowithstandtheworstoftheresultingdisruptions.Inadditiontosheddingmorelightontheperceptionsofdeployedparentsconcerningtheirinfluenceontheirchildren\'sacademicachievement,thepresentstudyprovidesausefulassessmentoftheeffectsofmilitarydeploymentonparentalinvolvement.Thisisimportantbecausetheabsenceofaparentalsenseofachild\'sacademicperformanceislikelytoharmparentalparticipationinthelearningprocess.Indeed,asithasbeenpointedoutelsewhereinthistext,therelevanceofparentalinvolvementinachild\'sacademiclifecannotbeoverstated.Theoverallapproachofpositivepsychologyrunsthroughmuchoftheliteratureonthissubject,forkeepingapositiveattitudetowardsthechallengeofdiversityandusingamodellikePERMAcanhelptokeepallstakeholdersfocusedonwheretheyneedtobementallyandemotionallytoprovidethebestlevelofsupportforthechild.Themorepositiveparents,whetherdeployedornot,teachers,coaches,ministers,communitymembers,peers,andgroupscanbe,themorelikelythechildistodevelopasenseofgritanddeterminationandfaceacademicchallengesandovercomethem(Seligman,2018).Thenextchapterdiscussesthemethodologyusedforthisstudybydescribingthedesign,researchquestions,thesetting,andtheparticipants;theproceduresforcollectingdata;theroleoftheresearcher;whatdatacollectioninstrumentsweredevelopedorutilized;howthedatawasanalyzedandhowtrustworthythestudywas.ThefollowingchapteralsoprovidesethicalconsiderationsCHAPTERTHREE:METHODSOverviewThepurposeofthisqualitativetranscendentalphenomenologicalstudywastoexploretheperceptionsandlivedexperiencesofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild’seducation.Thischapterpresentstheprocedures,researchdesign,anddataanalysisoftheresearchstudy.Thischapteralsodiscussestheresearchdesign,researchquestions,setting,participants,procedures,theroleoftheresearcher,datacollectionmethodsandinstruments,dataanalysis,thetrustworthinessofthestudy,andethicalconsiderations.DesignThisstudyutilizedaqualitativeresearchmethodology.Qualitativeresearchdesignisidealwhentheresearchseekstoanswer“how”and“why”researchquestions(McMillan,2012).Qualitativeresearchfacilitatestheexplorationofaproblemandallowstheresearchertoworktowardsahypothesis.Asthisstudywasconcernedwithexploringperceptions,thequalitativemethodwasmostappropriate.Additionally,atranscendentalphenomenologicaldesign/approachisidealwhentheresearcherseekstoobtainanin-depthunderstandingofasubjectwhohasexperiencedaphenomenon,whichallowstheresearchertoarriveatasociallyconstructedmeaning(McMillan,2012;Yazan,2015).Thejustificationforthisdesigncanbefoundinthepositivistdoctrine,whichpositsthatresearchcannotbeobjectivelyconductedfromtheoutsidebutratheronlyfromtheinside(Husserl,1999).Theobjectiveistosee,understand,explain,andmakecleartherealityfacedbymilitaryparentswhoaredeployedandtheirexperiencesastheyattempttostayinvolvedintheirchild’seducation.Inordertoseewhattheparticipantseesandtounderstandwhatthesubjectunderstands,onehastostandwherethesubjectstandsandexperiencewhattheparticipantexperiences;theresearcher,inasense,mustbecomethesubject—notliterally—butratherfiguratively(Husserl,1999).Astheresearcherplacesthemselvesintheshoesofthesubject,theresearcherisabletoseetheparticipant’sownexperiencemoreclearlyandobjectively(Husserl,1999).Thus,thetranscendentalapproachisthemostvalidwayofconductingqualitativeresearch,accordingtothephenomenologicaldiscourse.Phenomenologyisanaturalfitwithqualitativeresearchwhenthefocusisonindividualperceptionsthattheresearchercanexperiencedirectly.Creswell(2007)statedthatthe“basicpurposeofphenomenologyistoreduceindividualexperienceswithaphenomenontoadescriptionoftheuniversalessence”(p.58).Fromthisperspective,themainfocusofthephenomenologicalapproachistohaveanappropriatemethodforseeingmoreclearlyhowtheparticularrelatestothegeneral;itisaboutcomingtoanunderstandingoftheuniversalsbywayofthepersonalandtheparticular.Theuniversalessencethatdescribesthegeneralcommonexperienceofhumanbeingscanbedistilledthroughanin-depthexaminationofthelivedexperienceofone’ssubject,whichinturncanbestbedonebywayofthephenomenologicalresearchdesign(Creswell,2007).Forthisstudy,themoretheresearcherimmersedhimselfintotheworldofthemilitarydeployedparent,themoreabilityhehadtogatheralltherelevantdatathatdeterminestheparametersoftheparticipant’sexperience.Todiscerntheseparametersfromabroad,theresearchermustseecloselyandbeclose-by,aswellasbeexposedtothesameexperiencesthatarebeingresearched.Thus,theresearchercanunderstandwhattheparticipantsfeelbecausetheresearcherhasfeltthesamethings.Moustakas(1990)notedthatinordertoresearchtheessenceofthingsfairly,theresearchdesignmustcenteronasimpleinquiryorquestion.Thephenomenologicaldesignfacilitatesthisinquirybyplantingasenseofinquiryintheexperienceoftheparticipants.Atthesametime,anunderstandingoftheinquirymustbemaintainedbyadheringtotheresearchquestion.Throughphenomenology,thequestionservesastheguidinghandwhiletheresearcherimmerseshimselfintheparticipants\'world(Moustakas,1990).Tokeepfrombecominglostincountlesssensationsandintheworldofthesubject,theresearchermaintainstetheredtotheactofresearchbywayoftheresearchquestion;everythingbecomesorientedtowardsansweringthatquestionintheend.Silverman(2016)hasshownthepurposeofsuchresearchistoprovidepreciseinformationonaspecificsituationtohelpothersunderstandwhatistakingplacewithoutrelyingonstatisticaldata.Thephenomenologicalapproachallowstheresearchertouncoveruniversalthemesthatcanfacilitatefutureresearchandunderstandtheparticipants\'experiencebetterasseen,felt,andexpressedthroughtheirowneyesandwords(Silverman,2016).Thesethemescanalsobeusedtohelppromotegreaterunderstandingamongstakeholders.Asthesituationunderquestionisspecificandfocused,thetranscendentalphenomenologicalapproachfitsbestasitprovidesafocusedexampleofthephenomenon.Thus,thisstudyprovidedmilitaryparentswhoareorhavebeendeployedtheopportunitytoexpressanddescribetheirexperiencesintheirchildren’seducation(Lesteretal.,2012).Thisqualitativedesignwasintendedtoprovidetheframeworkinwhichseveraldatacollectionmethodscouldbeapplied,includingtheuseofsemi-structuredinterviews.Inaddition,questionnaires,focusgroups,andartifactanalysiswereusedtodevelopinformedanswerstothestudy’scentralandsub-researchquestions.ResearchQuestionsThefocusofthisstudycenteredaroundoneresearchquestion.Thecentralresearchquestionwas:Whataretheperceptionsandlivedexperiencesofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild’seducation?Tointerpretfuturetheperceptionofthemilitarydeployedparents,theresearcherusedthefollowingthreesub-questions:1.Howdomilitaryparentsdescribetheirinvolvementintheirchildren’seducationwhiledeployed?1.Howdomilitaryparentsperceivetheimpactoftheirdeploymentonthefamilyandtheirchild’sacademicperformance?1.Whatchallengesdomilitaryparentswhoaredeployedfacefromtheircommunitieswhiletryingtostayinvolvedintheirchildren’seducation?SettingThesettingforthisstudywasU.S.Armyinstallation,FortRapture(pseudonym),whichislocatedinthenortheasternpartoftheUnitedStates.Theinstallationatthetimeofthestudyhadanestimatedpopulationof71,000,ofwhichalmost42,000wereactive-dutysoldiers.Therestwerefamilymembers,employeesoftheArmy,andAirForceExchangeService,volunteers,andotheremployees(Powers,2018).Thepercentageofthe42,000active-dutyservicemembersatFortRapturethatweredeployableatanygivenpointintimewasclassified,buttheyallhadaccesstothefamilysupportservicesthatwereprovidedbytheU.S.militaryfordeployedparents.Therewere27elementaryschools,eightmiddleschools,fourhighschools,andfourspecialcampusesonFortRapture.Thisselectionsitewassuitablebecauseitwastheparticipants’permanentdutystationwhennotdeployed.Theorganizationherewasofhierarchicalstructureandprovidedsafetyandorderfortheparticipants.Aselectlocationandtimewerechosenforconductinginterviewsandfocusgroupsaftersecuringpermissionfromparticipants.ParticipantsThepopulationofthisresearchstudywasU.S.militaryparentsofschooled-aged(Pre-K-12)childrenwhoresidedintheUnitedStatesandwereinschool.AccordingtoCreswell(2003),“longinterviewswithupto10people”(p.65)isappropriateforaphenomenologicalstudy.Assuch,asamplesizebetween12to15respondentswasutilizedforthisresearch.ThedemographicsoftheparticipantsareprovidedinTable1.Table1:DemographicsDeployed6Non-Deployed6Gender9Male,3FemaleMedianAge37.5AverageNumberofChildrenPerAdultParticipant2.5Race4Caucasian,6AfricanAmerican,2HispanicEducation4HighSchoolDiploma,5Bachelor’s,3Master’sMilitaryBranch8Army,1Navy,1Marines,2AirForceRankRangedfromCorporaltoMajorAcombinationofcriterion-based,snowballsamplingmethodsandpurposefulsamplingwasusedtorecruitstudyparticipants.Criterion-basedsamplingwasusedtoidentifyprospectiveparticipantsbasedonspecificcriteria.Snowballsamplingwasusedtorecruitadditionalparticipantsbasedonreferralsbyindividualswhoenrolledinthestudy.Inordertobecomeastudyparticipant,theprospecthadtobedeployedorpreviouslydeployedwithinthepasttwoyears;anytimelonger,andtheirmemoriesmayhavebeguntofade(Gardner,2001).Additionally,theywererequiredtohavepre-K-12school-agedchildreninaschooloutsideofthehome.Othercriteriaincludedawillingnesstoparticipateinaninterviewandonlinefocusgroup,consenttotheuseofanaudiorecordingoftheinterviewandfocusgroup,andwillingnesstosharejournals,letters,andemailcorrespondencewithteacherspertainingtotheirchildrenwhiledeployed.AccordingtoKuper,Lingard,andLevinson(2008),purposefulsamplingmethodsareusefulinresearch,asonlyspecificindividualswiththephenomenonunderstudyareappropriateparticipantsforthisresearch.RecruitmentbeganbycontactingtheFortRapturepublicaffairsofficesregardingthepoliciesandproceduresforplacingrecruitmentflyersonbulletinboardsacrosstheinstallation(AppendixB).ThesameflyerwaspostedonFacebookandotheronlinenetworkssuchasLinkedInandInstagram.ProspectiveparticipantswereprovidedanInformedConsentletterthatexplainedthepurposeofthestudyandparticipationrequirements(AppendixC).Additionally,participantswereaskedtoreferotherpotentialparticipantsjustincasethedesiredsamplesizewasnotreached.Arecruitmentletterwasemailedormaileddirectlytoeachreferral(AppendixD).ProceduresThefirststepintheprocedureforconductingthisresearchwastoobtainIRBapprovalfromLibertyUniversity(seeAppendixA).OnceIRBapprovalwasgranted,thenextstepwastorecruitparticipants,usingthemethodspreviouslydiscussedactively.Priortoparticipatingininterviews,participantswererequiredtoreviewandsignaninformedconsentform(AppendixC)thatdetailsthenatureofthestudy,purpose,risks,andwithdrawalrights.Thenextstepwastocollectdata.Fourmethodswereusedtocollectdata:Questionnaires,interviews,focusgroups,andartifactanalysis.OnceIreceivedtheparticipant’sconsenttoparticipateinthestudy,aquestionnairewassenttogatherpreliminarydemographicdata,suchasage,race,militaryaffiliation,andyearsofservice(seeAppendixE).Additionally,thequestionnaireconsistedofthreeopen-endedquestionsthatallowedparticipantstoprepareandreflectontheirthoughtsandfeelingsabouttheresearchquestion.Oncequestionnaireswerereturned,Ithencontactedeachparticipanttoscheduleaninterview(seeAppendixF),whichwasconductedinapredesignatedlocationchosenbytheinterviewee.Eachinterviewlastedforapproximately45-60minutes.Eachinterviewwasconductedusingsemi-structuredinterviewquestions.Incaseofanyarisingissues,follow-upquestionswereusedforclarification.Duringtheinterview,Itooknotesinordertodocumentappearance,gestures,andunspokencommunicationthatcouldhelpinunderstandingthemeaningoftheparticipants’responses(Creswell&Poth,2018).Eachinterviewsessionwasaudio-recorded,professionallytranscribed,andsenttoparticipantsformember-checkingpurposestovalidateorclarifyresponsesifneeded(Creswell&Poth,2018).Additionally,priortoattendingtheinterviewsession,intervieweeswereaskedtocarryanyartifactsrepresentingorsignifyingtheirexperiencesasadeployedmilitaryparent.Requestedartifactsincludedparticipants’journals,letters,andemailcorrespondencewithteacherspertainingtotheirchildrenwhiledeployed.Duringtheinterview,participantshadanopportunitytoexplaintheirartifact.Thisprocesshelpedtoprovideinsightintotheinteractionsbetweenparents,teachersandwasusedtosupportorchallengewhattheparticipantrememberedorrecalledduringthefocusgroup.Thelastdatacollectionmethodusedfocusgroups(seeAppendixG).Selectedparticipantsweregatheredinanonlineforumfor45-60minutesusingvideoconferencingsoftware(Zoom).Theresearcherrecorded,downloaded,andprofessionallytranscribedtheonlinesession.Aftertranscription,participantswereallowedtoparticipateinmembercheckingtoverifytheaccuracyoftheirresponses(Marshall&Rossman,2014).Inallfourmethodsusedfordatacollection,noidentifyingelementswerecollected,andonlypseudonymswereusedtoprotecttheidentityofparticipants.Beforeconductingeachinterviewandthefocusgroup,Iintroducedmyself,welcomedtheinterviewee(s),andstatedthepurposeofthestudy.TheResearcher’sRoleAsthehumaninstrumentinthisstudy,theresearcher’srolewasvitaltowardsensuringthatthequalityofdatacollectedandthecollectionprocedureisethical(Creswell&Poth,2018).Myrelationshipwiththeparticipants,therefore,wasexplainedtothemsoastobecompletelytransparentandtobracketoutbias(Allen,2015).Onewaytoreducetheriskofbiasistousethebracketingtechniquebystatingupfronttheresearcher\'sexpectationsandthenacceptingthedatathatisproducedbytheresearch(Smith&McSweeney,2017,p.292).Therefore,itwasstatedtoparticipantsthatIamaUnitedStatesArmyofficerandaninstructorwiththeUnitedStatesArmyRecruitingandRetentionCollege.ItoldthemthatIhadover13yearsofmilitaryserviceinvariouspositionsandassignments.AlthoughIdidnothavedirectauthorityovertheparticipants,IdidpointoutthatIcouldbeconsideredamemberofthepopulationthatIwasstudyingbasedonmyexperiencesandknowledgeoftheissues.Inotedthatbybetterallowingthedeployedparent\'sperspectivetobeunderstood,improvedsolutionscouldbedevised.Myassumptionwasthatdeployedparentsperceivethemselvesashavingaminimalimpactontheirchild\'slifeandthattheyviewtheirdeployment,job,anddistanceasthemainobstaclesinassistingintheirchild\'seducativeprocess.Itwasexpectedthatparticipantswouldbeashonestaspossibleintheirresponsestothequestionnaire,interview,andfocusgroupquestions;however,thisassumptiondidcomewithlimits.Thememoryoftheeventsmayhavedifferedfromtheactualevent,makingaparticipant\'sresponsesunreliable.Thestudyreviewedonesideofthestoryandoneperspective.However,eachindividual\'sencounterwasunique.DataCollectionThedatacollectionmethodsusedforthisstudywerequestionnaires,semi-structuredinterviews,focusgroups,andartifactanalysis.Thissectiondescribestheproceduresforthesefourmethodsindetail.QuestionnaireThequestionnairewasthefirstdatacollectionmethodandwasdesignedtoobtaindemographicinformationandcapturetheperceptionsandexperiencesofparticipantsusingopen-endedquestions(Dalati&Gomez,2018).Questionnairesarehelpfulasadatacollectioninstrument,especiallywhenusedalongsideotherinstruments,suchasartifactanalysis,whichwasthecasewiththisstudy(Giordano,Piras,Boschini&Falasconi,2018).Thisquestionnairefocusedonwhatitislikefortheparticipanttobeaparentwhilebeingdeployedoverseasinthemilitary(AppendixH).ThisquestionnairewasemployedthroughSurveyMonkeyafterparticipantssignedaconsentform.Questions1-12wereusedtogathernecessarydemographicinformationandmilitaryaffiliation.Question13consistedofthreesub-questions.Participantswereaskedtoprovidewrittenreflectionsontheirexperiences,thoughts,andfamilysituationswithregardtobeingadeployedparentinthemilitary.InterviewsTheinterviewmethodisparticularlywellsuitedforqualitativeresearchbecauseitallowsthesubjecttoprovideanswersorganically(Turner,2010).Theinterviewprotocoliscomprisedofasetofquestionsthattheresearchercouldaskparticipantsinastructuredorsemi-structuredmanner;ithelpstoprobetheexperiencesoftheparticipantstofindanswerstotheresearchquestions,whichhavetobedevelopedaheadoftime.Onewaytodevelopaneffectiveinterviewprotocolistopilottheinterviewquestionsfirst(Neuman,2008).Thisway,onecanensurethequestionsaskedhelptoobtaintherequireddata.Pilotingaprotocolinvolvestestingtheinterviewquestionsonanindividualbeforeemployingtheminthestudy.Theinterviewprotocolwaspilotedwithtwoindividualswhohadexperiencewiththephenomenonbutwerenotincludedinthestudy.Basedoninformationgatheredfromthepilot,theresearcherrevisedinterviewquestionstodevelopmorein-depth,richresponsesbytheparticipants(AppendixI).Theinterviewprotocolwasconstructedasfollows:Questionsonethroughfivewereknowledgequestionsusedtoobtaininformationabouttheparticipant.Questionssixthrough13weredesignedtoelicittheinterviewee\'sperspectiveonthetopicoftheresearchquestions.Questions14through18wereusedtogaininsightintotheparticipants’perceptionsoftheproblem,i.e.,thechallengesfacedbydeployedparentsastheyattemptedtoassistintheirchildren\'seducation.AsRosenthal(2016)noted,gettingtheinterviewee’sperspectiveisessentialinqualitativeresearch.Thewaytodothatistoaskdirect,open-endedquestionsthatrelatetotheresearchquestion.ArtifactAnalysisArtifactanalysiswaslimitedtodocumentsusedandinpossessionoftheparticipants(Petersetal.,2015).Thespecificartifactsthatwerecollectedwereparticipants’journals,letters,andemailcorrespondencewithspousesorteacherspertainingtotheirchildren.Inplaceofsuchartifacts,participantswerealsogiventheoptiontochooseanartifactrepresentingtheirexperienceasamilitarydeployedparent.Suchoptionsincludedphotographs,writtenrecollectionsofconversationswithspousesduringdeployment,videosthattheparticipantwatched,orbooksthattheparticipantreadthatwererelevanttotheresearchtopic.Artifactswereobtainedwithpermissionfromtheparticipantsandwereobservedasawholeorasalargerpartofatotalexperienceorsituation.Thepurposewastomakesenseofwhattheartifactrepresentedfortheindividual,bothhistoricallyandsocially.Itwasassumedthattheseartifactswouldprovidefurtherinsightintotheexperiencesofdeployedmilitarymemberswithregardtotheirchild’seducationor,attheveryleast,whattheirthoughtswereatthetimeandwhattheywerefocusingonasadeployedparent.Thisinformationwasusedtohelpguidethefocusgroupdiscussion.Participantswhocouldnotproduceartifactsthatfitpreviouslystatedcategorieshadtheoptiontoprovideartifacts,solongasitrelatedtotheirtimespentasadeployedparent.Artifacts,nomatterwhattheirkind,arehelpfulinrevealinginformationaboutpeople,places,andtimesandallowforadeeperunderstandingofaphenomenonthatcannotbeobtainedsolelythroughinterviewanalysis(Merriam&Grenier,2019;Shankar,Hakken&Osterlund,2017).Theseartifactsalsohelpedtoshowtherecurringthemesinthemessagessentbytheparentsandthefrequencyofthesethemesinthevariouscorrespondences.Inaddition,incasethecorrespondenceoriginatedfromtheteachers,itwasimportantfortheseartifacts,astheyshowedtheconcernsandtheneedsforparentparticipationfromtheteacher\'sperspective.Byinteractingwiththeseartifacts,itwasfoundhelpfulforenhancingtheresearcher’sperspectivebecauseithelpsbringtheresearcherintothecontextandreal-lifestatusofamilitaryparent.Theessenceoftheseartifactswastoassistincontextualizingtheparent’sfrustrations,ifanyemotions,ifany,andtheirdesiresandgoalswithinthevariousartifacts.FocusGroupAfocusgroupisavitalqualitativedatacollectionmethodasitprovidestheresearchertheopportunitytoposeaseriesofquestionsthathelpgaininsight.AFocusgroupwasusedheretogaininformationaboutmilitaryparents\'perceptionsrelatedtotheirinvolvementintheirchildren\'seducationwhiledeployed.Becauseafocusgrouprepresentsthetargetpopulation,itprovidesconsistentinsightswiththoseofthebroaderpopulation(ONiembaetal.,2018).Thefocusgroupaddstothequalityofthedatacollected,astheresearcherisabletoobtainclearideasandfeelingsthatmightnotbetypicalinaninterviewsetting(Carey&Asbury,2016).Moreover,afocusgroupallowsthemoderator(who,inthiscase,wasalsotheprincipalresearcher)toobservetherawdynamicamongthegroupmembersastheyexpresstheiropinions.Thefocusgroupquestions(AppendixJ)wereorientedtowardsopeninganewperspectiveonthematter,whichisessentialtogaininsight,asHoffdingandMartiny(2016)show.Thequestionsweregearedtowardsgettingthefocusgrouptodiscusstheseissuestogetherandtopullinformationfromoneanotherasagroup.Theyengagedingroupthinkingtoarriveatnewideasthathelpedanswertheresearchquestions.DataAnalysisDataanalysiswasconductedusingMoustakas’(1994)seven-stepprocessforphenomenologicalreduction.Theinterviewsandfocusgroupswererecordedandtranscribed.Bydisassemblingthedatathroughphenomenologicalreductionandthenusingimaginativevariationandintuitiontoconstructthemeaning,thedatawereinterpretedwithlessnoiseinterferenceandmoreobjectivescrutiny(Neuendorf,2016).Interpretingthedataincludedconductingimaginativevariation,whichwasusedtoidentifykeythemes,correlatethekeythemestotheliterature,andconstructthemwithintheconceptualframework(Gandy,2015).ThemeswereenteredintoExcelforeasiercompartmentalizing.Moustakas’(1994)seven-stepprocessforphenomenologicalreductionwasalsoused.Priortoinitiatingthisprocess,theresearcherhadto“bracket”ideas.Thepurposeherewastoremoveasmuchindividualbiasfromtheresearchaspossible;thus,theresearcherstatedanypreconceivednotionsinthisstep(Creswell,2018).ThebasicframeworkfortheMoustakas(1994)modelistofollowastrategythatstartswithimmersionandendswithcreativesynthesis.Immersionisthestagewhereintheresearcherimmerseshimselfintheworldofthesubjectandintheexperiencesoftheparticipants.Incubationisthestagewhereintheresearchertakestimetoallowhimselfspaceforunderstandingwhathehascollectedfromtheimmersionstage.Illuminationoccurswhentheresearcheractivelyengagesthematerialinordertodeepenandexpandhisknowledgeandunderstandingofthesubject.Explicationisthestagewhereintheresearcherreflectsontheexperienceandallowspatternstoemerge.Creativesynthesisisthestagewhereintheresearcheridentifiesthepatternsthatemergefromthereflectionprocessanddescribesthepatternstoshowhowrelationshipsbetweenvariablesareformedwithintheoverallphenomenonofexperience.ThisentireprocessiswhatMoustakas(1994)referstoasEpoche:phenomenologicalreductionplusimaginativevariationresultsinthederivationoftheessence.Thestepsofthisprocessaredescribedinthefigurebelow.Figure1.TheoreticalFrameworks,Methods,andProcedures(adaptedfromY?ld?r?m&Yüksel,2015).HorizonalizingHorizonalizingwastheprocessoflistingallrelevantstatementsandgroupingthemaccordingtoqualitiestheypossess(Moustakas,1994).ReductionandElimination—i.e.,theprocessoferadicatingthenoise(alsoknownaseideticreduction)—iswheretheexperiencesarereducedtotheirinvariantconstituents.Clusteringoflikeinvariantconstituentsintothemes,i.e.,creatingclustersofmeanings,iswherethebasiccoredatapointsarecategorizedthematically.Duringthisprocess,Iusedthequalitativedataanalysissoftware,NVivo,tohelpdevelopacodingsystemtomakethetranscribeddatamoremanageable.Statementswereclusteredintocategoriesbasedontheirrelevancetotheresearchquestions.Thisproducedaframeworkfororganizinganddescribingwhatwascollected(Patton,2002).Creatingindividualtexturaldescriptionsforeachparticipantwasthefinalstepinthisprocess.ImaginationVariationConstructingindividualstructuraldescriptionswastheprocesswhereimaginativevariationisoperationalized,andeideticreductionisusedagaintodistilltheessenceofmeaningfortheindividualparticipantsandtohelpdistillthemeaningsthatarecommunicated(Katsirikou&Lin,2017).Creatingthecompositeiswherereassemblingthedatacanbeconducted.Duringthisstepoftheanalysis,Iidentifiedstructuralqualitieswithinthetexturalthemesofthephenomenon.Byusingimagination,ratherthanusingsoftware,Iwasthenabletodevelopadescriptionofhowtheexperienceofthephenomenoncametobe(Moustakas,1994).Assynthesisoccurred,meaningandtheorybegantotakeshapeinaholisticmanner(RuleandJohn,2015).EssenceTheessencewasdistilledwhenthetextureandstructureweredescribedandsynthesizedintoonewholeorganicproduct.Patton(2015)statedtexturaldescriptionsdescribewhattheparticipantsexperienced,andstructuraldescriptionsdescribehowtheyexperiencedthephenomenon.Theessenceclarifiedandmadeplaintheholisticmeaning,whichwasproducedbyconsideringthevariouspartsofthedataandtheassociatedcontext.Thisconsiderationprovidedanunderstandingofthephenomenon,supportedbycriticalthought,toidentifythefundamentalmeaningoftheanalysis(Katsirikou&Lin,2017).Oncebothdescriptionswerecomplete,Iwasabletosynthesizethemeaningsandessencesofthephenomenon(Moustakas,1994).TrustworthinessVariabilityandreliabilityaretwoimportantconceptswhenitcomestoestablishingseveralcriticalfactorsinqualitativestudies.Analyzingthethemesthatemergeisessentialtoattainingtrustworthiness(Nowell,Norris,White,&Moules,2017).Therelevantfactors,whichwereaddressedindividuallybelow,includedcredibility,dependability,confirmability,andtransferability.CredibilityMembercheckingisthebestwaytoensurethecredibilityofqualitativeresearch(Marshall&Rossman,2014).Thistechniqueallowedinterpretiveanddescriptivevaliditytobeapartofthestudy;itcalledfortheparticipantstochecktheresearcher\'sreportinordertocheckfortheauthenticityofthework(Creswell&Poth,2018).Themembers’feedbackservedasacheckoftheviabilityoftheinterpretation(Creswell&Poth,2018).Followingtheconstantcomparisonanalysis,participantswereaskedtoreviewthestudy\'sfindingsbeforecompletingthemtoenhancecredibility.DependabilityandConfirmabilityDatatriangulationhelpedtoensuredependability(Yin,2014).Atriangulationofdatasourceswasusedtoensurethedataisrich.Datasourcesincludedquestionnaires,interviews,artifactanalysis,andfocusgroupdata.Theresearcherhadanotherresearcherwithnoconnectiontotheprojectexaminetheprocessandproductinordertogaintheirviewofthecredibilityofthefindingsandinterpretations(Creswell&Poth,2018).Thisprocessincreasedthereliabilityofthestudybecauseanexternalauditorlookedatthestudywithfresheyes,notslantedbyinvolvementintheresearchorrelationshipsformedwiththeparticipants.TransferabilityAsitrelatestothisstudy,transferabilityreferstowhetherornotthefindingsofthisstudywereusedtoassistotherstudiesthataresimilarinnature(Marshall&Rossman,2014).Theresearcherdescribedindetailtheperceptionsofthemilitarydeployedparentswithregardtotheirinvolvementintheeducativeprocessoftheirchildren.Athickdescriptiontechniquewasusedtogiverich,concretedetailsabouthowdatawascollected,describingthesetting,thesocialcontexts,andanythingelsethatcouldhelpareaderunderstandtheexperience,whichAnney(2014)showsismosthelpfulinensuringtransferability.EthicalConsiderationsIRBapprovalwasobtainedpriortodatacollection.Participants\'anonymitywasmaintainedatalltimes.Inthiscase,pseudonymswereutilizedondataartifactstoprotecttheparticipant’sidentity.Informationobtainedbytheresearcherwasobtainedonlyforthepurposeofresearch,andparticipationwasvoluntary.Bysigningtheconsentform,participantsprovedtheirvoluntaryparticipationintheresearch,andparticipantswereinformedthattheycouldrefusetoparticipateorwithdrawatanytimewithoutconsequence.Consentformswerestoredinalockedofficeonlyaccessibletotheresearcher.Uponcompletingtheresearchproject,alldatawillbetransferredtoanexternalharddriveandwillbestoredinalockedfilecabinetforfiveyears.Afterfiveyears,alldataandassociateddocumentswillbepermanentlydestroyedordeleted.SummaryThisqualitativeresearchdesignusedquestionnaires,interviews,artifactanalysis,andfocusgroupsastheprimarymeansofcollectingdata.Thetranscendentalphenomenologicalapproachwasutilized,astheresearchersoughttoobtainanin-depthunderstandingoftheperceptionofdeployedmilitaryparentsandtheirinvolvementintheirchild’seducationwhiledeployed.Datawereanalyzedusingthephenomenologicalreductionapproach.Theinterviewandfocusgroupquestionswereusedtogainperspectivetoanswertheresearchquestions.Thetrustworthinessofdatawasensuredbyusingmemberchecking,externalauditing,andadetaileddescriptiontechnique.Inaddition,theresearchsoughttoadheretoallethicalissuesbyobtaininginformedconsentandensuringparticipants’anonymity.CHAPTERFOUR:FINDINGSOverviewThepurposeofthisqualitativetranscendentalphenomenologicalstudywastoexploretheperceptionsandlivedexperiencesofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild’seducation.Itbeginswithanexaminationoftheexperiencesofthe12participantsasrevealedthroughquestionnaires,interviews,artifacts,andfocusgroups.Itthenidentifiesthethreethemesthatemergedthroughanalysisofthedatacollected.Thesethemesaredevelopedwithreferencestotheparticipatingsources,withtheaimbeingtoanswerthecentralquestionandthethreesub-questionsofthisstudy.Themainquestionwas:Whataretheperceptionsandlivedexperiencesofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild\'seducation?Thethreesub-questionswere:1.Howdomilitaryparentsdescribetheirinvolvementintheirchildren\'seducationwhiledeployed?2.Howdomilitaryparentsperceivetheimpactoftheirdeploymentonthefamilyandtheirchild\'sacademicperformance?3.Whatchallengesdomilitaryparentswhoaredeployedfacewhiletryingtostayinvolvedintheirchildren\'seducation?Thischapterprovidesabriefdescriptionoftheparticipantsanddescribesthefindings.ParticipantsTheparticipants\'demographicswereasfollows:ofthe12participants,halfweredeployed,andtheotherhalfwerenot.Nineoftheparticipantsweremale,andthreewerefemales.Themedianageoftheparticipantswas35.75.Theaveragenumberofchildrenperadultparticipantwas2.5.FourparticipantswereCaucasian,sixwereAfricanAmerican,andtwowereHispanic.Intermsofeducation,fourhadattainedonlyahighschooldiploma,fivehadattainedabachelor’sandthreehadattainedaMaster’s.EightparticipantswereintheArmy,onewasintheNavy,onewasintheMarines,andtwowereintheAirForce.Participant\'srankrangedfromCorporaltoMajor.Thesampleofparticipantsthusdemonstratedsuitablediversityreflectiveoftheoverallcharacterofthemilitaryintermsofrace,gender,rank,andbranch.However,withthemedianageofparticipantsbeing35.75,thesampledidskewtowardsolderservicemembers.Forconfidentialityreasons,thenamesoftheparticipantshavebeenchangedtoprotecttheiridentity.Inthefollowingsection,abriefdescriptionofeachparticipant,identifiedbyapseudonym,isgivenbasedonthedatacollected.MikeAtthetimeofthisstudy,Mikewasa40-year-old,Caucasian,maleArmyofficer.HeholdsanM.A.degreeandhadobtainedtherankofLieutenantColonel(LTC).Mikewasmarriedwithtwochildren,oneinhighschoolandoneinmiddleschool.Hisperspectiveonbeinginvolvedinhischildren’seducationwhiledeployedwasthatitisachallengeforlogisticalreasons:Mike:ThebiggestchallengeIwouldsayisnotbeingabletocommunicatewithmykidsataconvenienttime.Unfortunately,duetotimezonedifference,they\'renormallyasleepwhenIamup,soinordertocommunicate,Iwouldhavetostayuplateoraskthemtostayuplate,neitherwasideal,butIthinkwedidourbesttomakeitwork.Toovercomethechallengeofdistance,Mikefeltitwasimportanttohaveastrongsupportsysteminplace.Heviewedfinancialandsocialsupportsystemsashelpfulforreducingtensionandanxietythatmightotherwiseariseforhisfamilyduringhisdeployment.Onthebehaviorofchildren,Mikeexplainedthat“theyseemedtobemoreindependent,andyoufeellikeyou’renotreallyapartofthatmovementorprocess.”Byviewinghischildrenasincreasinglyautonomous,Mikewasabletoreducehisownsenseofanxietywithrespecttobeingtherefortheireducationalneedsduringdeployment.Heidentifieddifferentmeansofcommunicationascrucialforstayingintouchandkeepingchannelsofdialogueopen:“Internet,email,Instagram,socialmedia.FaceTime.Phonecalls.Allthatstuff.Sometimestheyliketosendletterstokeepitfun.”Mikeexplainedthatduringdeployment,hereliedonthesupportofhiswifetohelpthechildrenwithschool.Atthesametime,headmittedthiswasnoreplacementforhimbeingawaybecausethekids\"don\'tlikethatIamaway,andIdon’tlikethatIcan\'tbethereforthem,Ithinkitmakesithardforallofus.\"ChristopherChristopherwasa42-year-old,AfricanAmerican,male,Armyenlistedservicemember.HeholdsaB.A.degreeandhadobtainedtherankofSergeantMajor(SGM).Christopherwasrecentlydivorced,andhesharescustodyofhisonlychildwithhisex-wife.Whilebeinginterviewed,Christophernotedheisavery“hands-on”person.Oneofthechallengesheencounteredwhiledeployedwasnotbeingabletointeractwithhissonphysically.Beingdivorcealsoaddscertainlimitationstowhenandhowoftenhewasabletointeractthroughothermeans.Asitrelatestotheeducativeprocesswhiledeployed,Christopherexplainedthathereliesagreatdealonhischild’steachersforguidanceandsupport,stating,“Ithinkteachersinmilitaryschoolstendtobealittlemoreempathictowardsstudentswithdeployedparents.”Ontheperceptionsthatparentshaveregardingdeployment,Christopherstated:Christopher:Justtryingtohavethetimetositdownandbethereformyson.Itmakesithardwhenonepersondoesn\'twanttohelp,andthenifyou\'redeployed,it\'slikeyoudon\'tevenhavethatopportunity,so…Iwouldsayparentalinvolvementisexactlywhatitsounds—beinginvolved.Christopheralsonotedthatbecauseoftheunstablenatureofhomelife,whenoneparentisdeployed,thechildinadvertentlyendsuprelyingonthenon-deployedparent,whichsometimesunderminesortakesawayopportunitiesforthedeployedparenttobeinvolved.“beingdivorceonlycompoundstheseissues.Sincemydivorce,everythingseemskindofupsidedownintermsofbeinginvolvedinmyson’slife…thingsarealwaystenseanduncertain,whetherI\'mdeployedornot.Insomeways,italmostfeelslikebeingdeployediseasier.”Overall,Christopherfeltthatdeploymentdeniedhimachancetoparticipateinhischild’seducationinaclosemanner.Hedescribedhiseffortatcommunicatingwithhischild’steachersasminimal:“Myinteractionwentfromonetotwotimesamonthtozero…becauseofthetimezonedifference;itjustwasn\'tpossible.”AccordingtoChristopher,thebestsolutionfordeployedparentswhoareconcernedabouttheirchild’seducationistoensurethattheyhavethesupportoffamiliesandeducators.JohnathonJonathonwasanArmyNoncommisonedOfficer,male,Hispanic,38,holdingtherankofFirstSergeant(1SG)withahighschooldiplomaandtwochildren,ages6and10.Forhim,themainchallengeofdeploymentwasthelackofconstantcommunication.Althoughhehadnearlytwodecadesinthemilitary,hestated,it’salwaysachallengeforhimwhenhemustleavehisfamilyduetodeployments.However,hehadcompletefaithandtrustinhiswife,whohestatedhadmoreeducationthanhedid,sohedidnotfeeltoooverwhelmedorconcernedbyhischildren’seducationduringdeployment.Overall,hefeltfortunatetohavehiswifethereathometosupporthischildren\'seducationalprocess.Intermsoftheeffectsonthespouseandhowhisrelationshipwithhiswifewasimpacted,Jonathonexplainedthattheirrelationshipwasgoodnomatterwhatbecausetheyhadbeenthroughitallandknewhowtohandletheupsanddownsofdeployment.Hepointedoutthathiswifewasdedicatedtoensuringthatthechildrenreceivedthebesteducation,eveninhisabsence.Henotedthatwhenaway,speakingtothechildrenviaphoneorInstantMessagingcouldencouragethembecauseitletthemknowhewasstillinvolvedintheirlives,thinkingofthem,andthatheexpectedgreatthingsfromthem.Heemphasizedtheimportanceofconstantcommunicationinordertobesupportiveofhischildren\'seducationbutalsotoproactivelyaddressissuesthatcouldsurfaceduetohisphysicalabsence.Overall,becauseofhistrustinasupportivewifeathome,hefeltthatdeploymentdidnothaveasignificanteffectontheacademicperformanceofhischildren.Theonlychallengeheobservedwaswhentravelingacrossdifferentlocationswhereitbecomesaproblemofmaintainingconstantcommunicationwiththechildrenandalsocheckingtheirassignments.Althoughdistantcommunicationhassomerewards,Jonathonexplainedthatphonecommunicationislessidealthanface-to-facetime.Jonathonexplainedthatthebestwaytostayinvolvedisjusttomaintainconstantcommunicationwithyourspouseandchildrenasbestaspossible.ZacZacwasanArmyNoncommisionedOfficer,male,Caucasian,30,married,holdingtherankofStaffSergeant(SSG),withahighschooldiplomaandtwochildren,ages12and15.Whiledeployed,Zacstatedhewasabletocommunicatefairlyoftenwithhischildren.Overall,hefeltsatisfiedwiththerolethateveryoneplayedinhelpingintheeducationofhischildrenduringhisdeployment:“Ithinkit’sacombinationofalloftheabove.Family,educators,andselectedmemberswithinmycommunityplayedamajorroleinassistingmychildrenintheireducationwhileIwasdeployed.IdidwhatIcouldfromafar,butthesekeyplayerssteppedinandfilledinwhereIcouldn\'t,andI\'mextremelygratefulforthat.”Zacreliedonhiswifeforinformationabouthischildren’sacademicprogressduringhisabsence.Atthesametime,healsonotedthatitwasnoteasyforhiswifetohandleparentingresponsibilitiesindependently;hefeltsheenduredenormouspressure,particularlyrelatedtooverseeingthechildren’sprogressinschool.Forthatreason,Zacstatedhewasgratefulthattheteachersandpeopleinthecommunityweretheretohelpgiveapositiveexampletothechildren.Heindicatedastrongbeliefinhavingasupportsystemofteachers,communityandfamilyascriticaltomitigatingpotentialissuesthatcouldleadtoachild’sregressintheiracademics.Zacfelthischildrenunderstoodthechallengesofhisdeploymentinthesensethat“itmakesithardforeveryonetocope,andthattheytoohavetoincreasetheirfocusontheireducation.”Thepresenceofasupportivewifeandmother,coupledwithhiseffortstocommunicateconstantly,wasthebiggestadvantagethathelpedtoaddressdailychallengesandsustainedhiseffortsinstayingconnected.Overall,Zacexplainedthatthemajorchallengesthroughouthisdeploymentprocesscamemostlyinthepre-deploymentstage,whichresultedfromanxietyaboutnotknowingwhat’stocome—butonceitarrives,itdidn’tseemasbadbecauseeveryonefoundawaytoworkthoughthechallengesastheyoccur.JamesJameswasanArmyofficer,male,Caucasian,36,married,holdingtherankofMajor,withanM.A.degreeandthreechildren.Inordertocopewiththechallengesofdeploymentandtoensurehischildrenstayedfocusontheireducation,JamesstatedhereliedheavilyonhisfaithinGod.Hewentontofurtherexplainthathisexperiencethroughoutdeploymenthadbeenbothgoodandbad;however,hisfamilyandchurchcommunityplayedacrucialpartinhisabilitytoputthingsinperspective,whichhelpedhimtoestablishedandmaintainedabalancebetweenallaspectsofhislife.Uponreflectingonthechallengesofdeployment,Jamesstated,communicationwasamajorchallengeforhim:James:NotbeingabletocommunicateasoftenandasmuchasIwouldlikewasachallenge,notjustformebutalsoforus.Ourfamilyisprettytightknit;mywifeandIhavealwaysencouragedourkidstocommunicatewithusaboutanyandeverything.Unfortunately,whiledeployed,Iwasunabletoprovidemykidsthatopportunity.Despitenotbeingabletocommunicateasoftenaspreferred,Jamesfoundwaystoadjusttothenewconditions;hedidwhathecould,wheneverpossible.Althoughhepreferersbeingphysicallypresentandinvolvedwithhischildren,heacknowledgedthat“parentalinvolvementinchildren’seducationdoesnotmeanhavingtobethereatalltimes.Aparentcanprovidecarethroughothermeanssuchasfinancial,spiritual,andemotionalsupport.Fromaspiritualstandpoint,JamesnotedthatheleaveseverythingtoGod,makingiteasyforhimtoaddressmultiplechallenges.Thus,whetherdeployedornot,hehastaughthischildrentofindsolutionstochallengesbyturningtoGodforsupport.Forthatreason,henotedthatdespitehisdeployment,hischildrenseemedtobemoreresponsibleandcontinuedtoaccomplishthethingsthatwereexpectedofthem.Throughouttheinterview,itwasclearthatbeingawayfromhisfamilywasthebiggestchallengeforJames;however,hedidn’tallowittodeterhimfromstayingconnectedorfromplayingapartinhischildren’seducativeprocess.Hedidthisbyhavingconversationswithhiswifeabouthowtheirchildrenweredoinginschool.Theseconversationsoftentookplaceafterengagementswitheducatorsorreceiptofquarterlyreportcards.TheoverarchingpointJameswantedtorelaywasthat“astrongfamilysupportsystem,groundedinfaith,andenforcethroughconstantcommunication,isveryimportanttocopingwiththechallengesofdeployment,particularlyasitrelatestobeingawayfromthefamilyandstayinginvolveinchildren’seducation.”BillyBillywasanArmyofficer,male,AfricanAmerican,44,holdingtherankofSergeantMajor(SGM)withaB.A.degreeandthreechildren.Billyhadnocomplaintsaboutdeployment,stating,“itispartofthejob.”Hedidnotbelieveoneshouldviewitasanexcusenottobeengagedintheeducationofone’schildren.Atthesametime,henotedthathehadalargeextendedfamilythathecouldrelyonforsupport:“Ihaveaprettybigfamily,andforthemostpart,wewereinaprettygoodfinancialstate,sothosetwofactorsplayedamajorrole.IwouldsaythatthestrongbondIsharewithmywifeandkidsmadethingsgosmoothly.”Themainchallenge,Billynoted,wasthatmorewasexpectedofhiswifewhilehewasaway:shehadtoserveasbothmotherandfatherforthechildren,i.e.,actasnurturerandasdisciplinarian(arolehetypicallyfilledwhenathome).ForBilly,parentalinvolvementinhischildren’seducationinvolvedestablishingrules,attainingconsistency,andprovidingoversighttoholdthekidsaccountable.PersonalaccountabilitywasthenumberonelessonBillyaimedtoteachhischildrensothattheywouldknowtomanagetheiraffairsatschoolwithouthavingtobeproddedbyaparent.Duringdeployment,Billyexplainedthatthemethodofparentalinvolvementinachild’seducationchanges.Discipliningthembecomeschallenging,anditonlymeansthattheyhavetoholdthemselvesand,equally,relyonhiswifetostepinwhentheyfailtodoso.Fortunately,Billy\'sstatinghiswifehasalltheskillstohandlenumeroussituationsrelatingtothechildrenandrarelyasksforhisassistanceorinput.Asalludedtobyotherparticipants,Billystatedthechallengesheincurredweremostlyrelatedtocommunicationdifficultiesduetothenetworkfailure,andwhileinregionswithextremelydifferenttimezones.TimTimwasanArmyofficer,male,AfricanAmerican,34,married,holdingtherankofFirstLieutenant(1LT)withaB.S.degreeandthreechildren.Whilebeinginterviewed,Timexplainedthat,duringhisdeployment,hewasconcernedabouthischildren’seducation,intermsofhisabilitytoassist,whenneeded.AlotofTim’sconcernsoriginatedfromfeelingoverwhelmwithhisdeploymenttask,coupledwiththegeographicaldistanceanddifferenceintimezonebetweenhimandhisfamily,whichhestated,madeitdifficulttocommunicate.Toalleviatesomeofthecomminationchallenges,Timonlymadecallsduringtheweekends;thatway,hedidnotinterferewithhischildren\'sschoolrequirementsduringtheweek.ForTim,parentalinvolvementdidnotjustfocusonacademicdevelopmentbutalsomoraldevelopment.Hevieweditashisdutytoprovidemoral,emotional,andfinancialsupport.Hestatedhisdefinitionofparentalinvolvementdidnotchangewhilehewasdeployed;however,heacknowledgedthatdeploymentdoescreatesomelimitations,especiallyasitrelatestobeingabletointeractwithhischildrenteachers:Tim:Thebiggestdifferencesofarisnotbeingabletocheck-inwithteachersasmuchasIwouldlike.MostschoolsarenowvirtualbecauseoftheCOVID-19pandemic,sothatdoeshelpbecauseIcouldaccessmykid\'sprogressonline,butifIhaveanyquestions,I\'mnotalwaysabletocontacttheteachersforquickresponsesbecauseofthetimezonedifference.Tocopewiththelimitationsincommunication,TimutilizedWhatsAppandothersocialmediaplatformstoenhanceinteractions.Byconnectinginthisway,hestatedhecouldreducehisanxiety,whichwouldoftenresultfrombeingapartfromhischildrenandnotknowingwhatwashappeningbackhome.Stayingintouchwasseenbyhimasveryimportantforeveryone,especiallywhenmaintainingasenseofnormalcy.Timemphasizedthat,fordeployedparentstomaintainasenseofbalanceandinvolvementintheirchildren\'seducation,theymustcreateschedulesforpredictabilityandsetexpectationsthatarebothflexibleandrealistic.BrianBrianwasaNavyofficer,male,AfricanAmerican,34,married,holdingtherankofLeuenanatwithaB.S.degreeandfourchildren.Whilebeinginterviewed,Brianexpressesuncertaintyabouttheeffectsofdeploymentonhischildren’seducation,especiallyduringtheCOVID-19pandemic.Hestatedthatwhiledeployed,hiswifeplayedtheroleofkeepingthefamilytogether,whichsubsequentlyallowedhimtofocusalmostentirelyonhisdeploymenttask.Intermsofhisroleinhischildren’seducationwhiledeployed,hestateditwasminimalatbestbutalludedtogeographicalseparationasamajorcontributingfactor:Brian:Mybiggestchallengethusfarisbeingindifferenttimezonesfrommychildren.Thishaspreventedmefrombeingabletocorrespondwithteachersinperson,aswellasattendschoolfunctions,suchasparent-teacherengagements.Coincidentally,duetotheongoingpandemic,theoptionforface-to-faceinteractionshasbeendeferred.Additionally,Brianrevealedthathisdeploymenthadcreatedseveralinconveniences,especiallyininstancesofnetworkcommunicationfailures,whichmadeitdifficultforhimtomaintainanopendialoguewithhischildren.Despitetheseinconveniences,Briantooksolaceinknowingthathiswifewastheretokeepeveryonetogether.Thisgavehimasensethathischildrenwouldcontinuetofulfilltheiracademicobligations.AccordingtoBrian,“maintaininganopenlineofcommunicationwithyourchildren”isthemostimportantthingadeployedparentcoulddotostayinvolvedwhileseparated.JaniceJanicewasanAirForceofficer,female,AfricanAmerican,32,married,holdingtherankofSSGwithanMBAandthreechildren.Asaformermilitarychild,Janicehadagreatdealofunderstandingofwhatitislikeforachildtohaveadeployedparent.Forthatreason,shedidn’tattempttodotoomuchonherown:instead,sherelieduponherhusbandandotherrelativestoplayacrucialroleinsupportingherchildren’seducation.ThebiggestchallengeforJanicewasmaintainingcommunicationbecauseitrequiredhertoalignherschedulewiththatofherchildren.Thiswasimportanttoherbecause,inherview,parentalinvolvementincludesbeingpresentatalltimes.Thoughphysicalpresencewasnotpossibleduringdeployment,sherecognizedthatchildrenstillneedemotional,financial,andspiritualsupport.Thus,shefocusedonensuringthattheseneedsweremetevenintimesofphysicalseparation.Janiceexplainedthatitwasdifficulttomonitorherchildren\'seducationwhiledeployed.Still,shehadconfidencethatherhusbandandin-lawswouldmakeupfortherolesshecouldnotfulfillwhiledeployed.Shecouldtrustthemtodosobecauseherfamilyknewhowimportantherchildren\'sacademicprogressionmeanttoher.Additionally,Shenotedthatshefeltthedeploymentpositivelyaffectedherchildrenbecauseitmadethemworkevenhardertomakeherproud.ForJanice,thedeploymentstagewasthemostchallengingbecauseofthelackofphysicalinteractionswithherchildren.Sheviewedthepost-deploymentstagetobechallengingaswellduetotheprocessofhavingtoreintegrateherselfintoanewroutinecreatedinherabsence.Heradvicetomilitaryparentsistobeproactiveandtopreparechildrenforwhatthingswillbelikeduringdeploymentinordertoreduceanxiety.TammyTammywasanArmyofficer,female,Hispanic,singlemother,43,holdingtherankofChiefWarrantOfficer(CW2)withaB.S.degreeandfourchildren.ForTammy,beingasinglemothermadedeploymentdifficultbecauseshehadtoseekhelpoutsidethenormalsupportchannels.Tammywasdeployedduringthetimeofthisstudyandstated:Tammy:Thekidsarecurrentlystayingwithmymother;shehasbeenahugehelpandsupportsystemforusovertheyears.I’mnotsurehowIwouldbeabletodowhatIdowithoutherhelp.I\'mextremelygreatlyforher.Ialsohireatutortoassist,beingthatmymotherisn\'talwaysabletounderstandtheirschoolassignments.ForTammy,themajorobstacletoherinvolvementinherchildren’seducationwasdistanceandthebarriersitcreatedincommunication.Inherview,shewouldliketobemoreactivelyinvolvedinherchildren’seducation,butdeploymentmadeitnearlyimpossible.Intermsoftheeffectsofdeploymentonchildren\'sbehavior,thechildrendemonstratedmixedreactions,andsometimesTammyfeltthatherchildrenwerenotdoingtheirbestbecauseofherabsence.Shestatedhercommunicationoptionswerelimited,whichmadeherreliedevenmoreontheinputsofhermotherandotherrelatives.Withoutafullsupportsysteminplace,Tammyhadnochoicebuttotakethechildrenoutsideoftheirnormalapproachtolifeandschool.Thisdisruptionpreventedthemfromfocusingonschoolthewayshewouldhavepreferred.However,asasinglemother,shestatedshedidthebestshecould,underdeploymentconditions,butwasgratefulthathermotherwastheretocompensateintheareasshecouldn’t.ThomasThomaswasaMarineofficer,male,Caucasian,married,26,holdingtherankofCorporal(CPL)withanH.S.diplomaandonechild.AccordingtoThomas,beingdeployedasayoungparentscaredhim:heworriedthathischild’seducationwouldbesignificantlyaffected.ForThomas,theonlysupportinhisabsencecamefromhisnewlyweddedwifeandrelatives,especiallyinrelationtotheirstudies.Thismadeitdifficultforhimtoknowwhattodo,ashelackedexperienceinhelpinghischildwitheducationwhilebeingdeployed.Deployedatthetimeofthisstudy,henoted:Thomas:ThemajorchallengeisthatIfinditdifficulttoengagewithteachersandeducatorsasIwouldloveto.ItisbadformebecauseIamstillnewinparenting,andnow,thepandemichashittheworld.Mostschoolsarenowvirtualbecauseofthepandemic,sothatdoeshelpbecauseIcouldaccessmykid\'sprogressonline,butifIhaveanyquestions,I\'mnotalwaysabletocontacttheteachersforaquickresponsebecauseofthetimezonedifference.However,Thomasalsoexplainedthathewantedtobelievethattheprocesswouldgoonasbestaspossible.Hedidnotwanttobenegativeaboutanyofitbecausethatmightmakeitharderforhisfamilyathome.Hebelievedthatsolongaseveryonewasacceptingofthesituation,itwouldworkoutintheend.Hestated:“Ijustwishwehadmoreunderstandingofhowtodothis—butwearebothnewtothis,sowearekindoflearningonthego.”Havingthehelpandunderstandingofteachersfromhispointofviewwasverycrucial:withouttheirhelp,hedidnotthinkitwouldgowellforhischildintermsofmakingacademicprogress.Forthat,hewasgrateful.TerryTerrywasanAirForceofficer,female,married,AfricanAmerican,30,holdingtherankofTechSergeant(TSgt)withanH.S.diplomaandtwochildren.Atthetimeofthisstudy,Terrywasanticipatingdeployment.Hermainconcernswerethatshewouldneedtorelyonsupportfromherhusbandandrelativestohelpmakecertainthechildrenwerestayingfocusedonschoolwork.Shealsoanticipatedthecommunicationanddistancebarriersasbeingaproblem,butshehopedthatshecouldmaintainanopenlineofcommunicationwithherchildrenviasocialmedia.Oneofthemainreasonsshewashopeful,too,wasthatshehadtaughtthechildrentobeself-motivated,andsheknewthattheycouldbetrustedtostaythecourse.However,withoneparentawayforasustainedperiod,anythingcanhappen—thatwasherfear.Withchangesinschoolingduetopandemicconstraints,Terrypointedoutthat“giventhesenewchanges,Iwouldsaymyinteractionwithteachershasbeenalteredbutmoresobecauseofthepandemicandnotnecessarilybecauseofdeployment.”Shenotedthatshetrustedthesystemandtheprocessandstatedthatinherabsence,theschool,herhusband,thechildrenthemselves,andrelativesinthecommunitywouldallhavetobeaccommodating.Shedidnotlikethatshehadtoputthisonthem,butasamilitaryservicewoman,itwasoutofherhands.Sheknewthatonereasonshecoulddoherjobeffectivelywithoutworryingtoomuchaboutherchildren’seducationwasthatthesupportfromtheschool,home,andthecommunitywassufficienttoensurethathelpwouldcomeasneeded.ResultsThedatadescribedbelowwerecollectedthroughquestionnaires,semi-structuredinterviews,artifactanalysis,andfocusgroups.Analysisofthedataledtothegenerationofthreethemesthatcouldconsistentlyexplaintheexperiencesofdeployedparentswithrespecttotheirchildren’seducation:jobsatisfaction,theimportanceofcommunicationwithone’sfamily/socialsupportsystem,andtheneedfortrustworthyteacher/schoolsupport.Eachofthesemajorthemesalsocontainedsubthemesessentialinunderstandingtheexperiencesoftheparticipants.ThemeDevelopmentThemeswereestablishedbyapplyingMoustakas\'(1994)transcendentalphenomenologicalmethodandcodedusingNVivosoftwarenodes.Themainthemesandsubthemeswithassociatedcodingaretabulatedbelow.Table5IdentifiedThemesandRelatedCodesThemeThemeCodesSubthemeTotalSubthemecodesJobsatisfaction36Dependency27SharedExperiencesEducationsupport48N/AN/ACommunication/socialsupportsystem12N/AN/AJobSatisfaction.Inthedatacollectionphase,itwasevidentthattheparticipantsweresatisfiedwiththenatureoftheirmilitaryjobs.Alltheparticipantsindicatedthatthenatureoftheirworkwasnotchallengingbutthatdifficultiesarosewhendeploymenttookplace.Whendeploymentoccurred,theparentslookedforwaystoaddressissues.Thisbecamedifficultonlywhensupportsystemswerenotinplace.Thoseparticipantswhoweredivorcedorsingleparentsexpressedthemostanxietyaboutdeployment.Thosewithsupportsystemsexpressedlessanxietyandmaintainedanoverallpositiveviewoftheirwork.ThefollowingresponseillustratedtheperspectivesofjobsatisfactionfromBrian.Brian:Ireallyenjoymyexperiencesinthemilitarythusfar;Idon\'tthinkthere\'sanyothercareerfieldwiththesameamountofopportunitiesasthemilitary.Iinitiallyjoinedforthebenefits,butIcontinuetoservebecauseofpeopleandtheorganization.Benefitswerealargepartofwhatledtojobsatisfactioninhisview,butalsothenumberofopportunitiesthefieldpresentswasabigplus.Thevariouswaystoservewereseenasaconduittojobhappiness.Billyhadadifferentperspectiveonjobsatisfaction,however:Billy:Forme,it\'slikeanyotherjob;youcancomplainaboutitorembraceit.Sofar,I\'veembracedit,andthatseemstoworkwell.Forhim,beingsatisfiedwithajobwasaninternalmatterwithinoneselfanddependsuponaperson’sdisposition.Onecaneithermakepeacewiththefactthathehastoworkorhecanfightit.Hissatisfactionwiththeworkstemmedfromaplaceofinnerpeaceandresolve,whichcorrespondswiththepeacethatsomeparticipantsdescribedasmaintainingthroughthesupportandaidoffamilymembers.Christopheracknowledgedthatsatisfactiondoesnotmeanthereareneverchallenges,andhedescribeddeploymentasachallenge:Christopher:Overall,myexperienceinthemilitarythusfarhasbeengoodbutsometimeschallenging,especiallyinmomentslikethis,whenI\'mdeployedandawayfrommyfamily.However,again,thethemeoffamilyarisesinhisdescription,suggestingthatalthoughtheworkissatisfyingitdoesputstrainsonfamiliesduringdeployment.Beingsatisfiedwiththeworkhelpstopersevere,however.Janice,likeBrian,citedbenefitsasabigreasonforjobsatisfaction,butlikeChristophernotedthatfamilyseparationduringdeploymentwasachallenge:Janice:Sofar,it\'sbeengood.IenjoywhatIdo,andthebenefitsaregreat,especiallythemedical.Theonlydownfallishavingtobeawayfromchildrenforanextendedperiod.Thedescriptionsindicateoverallthatitisthroughthehighlevelofsatisfactionthatmanyparticipantscontinuetopursuetheircareersbyfurtheringtheireducationinordertoholdhigherranks.Byadvancingtheirowneducation,theyfeltbettersituatedtotendtotheneedsoftheirchildreneveniftheydidnothaveaclearplaninmind.Zac:I\'maStaffSergeantintheArmy,andI\'mlookingforwardtobeingpromotedsoon.Mygoalistogobacktoschoolinordertocontinuemyeducation,notsureforwhatyet.I\'mmarried,andIhavetwoamazingchildrenforwhoIwoulddoanythingfor.DespiteZac’slackofcertaintyabouthiseducationalplans,hemadeaclearassociationbetweengettingbacktoschoolandhisownchildren’shappiness.LikeZac,mostoftheparticipantsdidnotgiveanynegativeinformationabouttheirmilitaryenvironmentregardinghowtheywerestructured.Negativeviewsofthemilitarywerethusnotanapparentreasonforwhychildren\'seducationmightbenegativelyaffected.Participantsinsteadobservedthatseparationfromfamilieswasitselfthemainchallengethatleadstoreducedparticipationofmilitaryparentsintheeducationlifeoftheirchildren.Billy,forinstance,maintainedthathelovesthesoldiersthatheinteractswithduringdifferentmissionsandthattheyhavebecomelikefamilytohim.Hispositiveregardforhisworkgavehimanoptimisticviewofthechallengesthatresultedfromparentingandguidinghischildrenthroughschoolfromadistance.Christopher,ontheotherhand,wasdealingwithdivorceandfeltthathisrelationshipathomeimpactedeverythingelsearoundhiminanegativeway.Hefeltgenerallyunhappynomatterwhatthesituationorenvironmentwas.Inthisrespect,Christopher’scasestandsoutasanoutlieramongtherestoftheparticipantsandsuggeststhatthefamilybondmaybethemostsignificantfactor.Withinthethemeofjobsatisfaction,multiplesubthemeshelptoanswertheresearchquestions.Forinstance,onsub-questionthreeonthechallengesthatmilitaryparentsfacewhentryingtoremainactiveintheeducationlifeoftheirchildren,thesub-themeofdependencybecameevident.Itwasclearthatmilitaryparentsprimarilyaddressedthechallengebyrelyingupontheirspousesorcloserelatives.Itwasalsoclearthatforthisreason,militaryparentswhoweresingleordivorcedapplieddifferenttechniquestoensurethattheirinteractionwiththeirchildrenremainedpositive—evenifthiswaseasiersaidthandone.Thefollowingresponsesfromparticipantssupporttheseobservations,beginningwithBilly,whoidentifiedhisfamilyasastrengthduringdeployment.Billy:Ihaveaprettybigfamily,andforthemostpart,wewereinaprettygoodfinancialstate,sothosetwofactorsplayedasignificantrole.IwouldsaythatthestrongbondIsharewithmywifeandkidsmadethingsgosmoothly.Billycoulddependuponhiswifeandchildrentomaketheprocessofdeploymentgoassuccessfulaspossible,meaningtherewasnomajorstressinvolvedintheprocess.Timlikewisecitedfamilysupportinovercomingthechallengeofnotbeingabletobethereforchildrenduringtheiracademicwork:Tim:Mywifeandrelativeshavebeenverysupportiveinraisingandhelpingthechildrenwiththeirstudies.Timdescribedthathecouldrelyonhiswifeandfamilymemberstofillthegapleftbyhimduringhisdeployment.Tammyalsodescribedasimilarsituationofsupportivenessfromherfamily:Tammy:Thekidsarecurrentlystayingwithmymother;shehasbeenanenormoushelpandsupportsystemforusovertheyears.NotsurehowIwouldbeabletodowhatIdowithoutherhelp.I\'mexceptionallygratefulforher.Ialsohireatutortohelpoutaswell,beingthatmymotherisn\'talwaysabletounderstandtheirschoolassignments.Tammy’sgratefulnessforhavingamothersoinvolvedinhergrandchildren’sacademiclivesshowsthroughinherresponseandsuggestsasub-themeoftheimportanceofextendedfamilyplayingaroleinthefacilitationofeducatingchildrenduringparentaldeployment.Christopherlamentedthelackofthiskindofsupportandnotedhisdivorceasabigreasonhefeltthatdeploymentmadeitdifficultforhimtoensurehischildrenwerekeepingupwiththeiracademicworkduringhisdeployment:Christopher:Iamdivorced.Ijusthadsomehardtimesbeingdeployedandkeepingthefamilytogether.Weweren\'tonthesamepage.Militaryparentsalsohavesharedexperiencesregardinghowtheyproceededinestablishinginvolvementintheirchildren\'seducation.Theyadoptedtechnologicalmethodsthataidedinsealingthegapcreatedbyalackofphysicalpresenceanddistance(oftenturningtosocialmedia).Theyaspiredtodeliveraffectionandsupportinthesameamountastheydidwhennotdeployed,regardlessofhowthataffectionandsupportwerechanneled.Thefollowingparticipantsandtheirresponsesshowahighdegreeofcorrelationintermsofsharedexperience.BillSchneidercitedtheuseofsocialmediaplatformsasawaytofacilitatecommunicationwithhisschoolkidsduringhisdeployment:BillSchneider:I\'musuallyactiveandengagedwithmykids\'educationwhilenotdeployed.Unfortunately,duetothedistancebetweenus,thingshavechangedslightly.SomemethodsI\'velearnedsofararecommunicatingthroughFaceTime,WhatsApp,andothersocialmedianetworks.Noteveryparticipantwasmindfuloftheseplatforms,however;BillyMathewsnotedthattimezonedifferencesmakeithardtocommunicateregardlessoftheavailablemodesofcommunication:BillyMathews:Ican\'tthinkofaspecifictime,butgenerally,communication,networkissues,andtimezonedifferencesmadeithardtocommunicate.Anotherchallengewasthatnetworkscouldfail,whichwouldmeancommunicationcouldnottakeplaceconsistently,asTimdescribed:Tim:Therewasatimerecentlywhennetworkconnectionsweredown,andwecouldhardlycommunicatewithourfamiliesbackhome.LikeBillSchneider,Johnathonoptedforsocialmediaplatformstocommunicate,aswellemailsandhand-writtenlettershome:Johnathon:ItriedtocommunicateasmuchaspossiblethroughphoneandFaceTime.Butthatwasn\'talwaysenough,so,attimes,Iwouldalsosendemailsormaillettershome.Christopherdescribedwantingtobethereinpersonandthatusingdigitaldevicestofillthatgapwasnotsufficientforhisliking:Christopher:I\'maveryhands-onperson,sonotbeingabletophysicallybetheretodemonstratecertainthingsisveryfrustrating.TherearecertainthingsIwasabletoteachorinstructoverthephoneorthroughfacetime,butitwasn\'tthesameasbeingthereinperson,sothatwasachallengeforme.However,hisexperiencewasintheminority,andmostparticipantswerepositiveaboutbeingabletocommunicateinwhateverwaytheycouldwiththeirkidswhiledeployed,asZacdescribed:Zac:WhenI\'mnotdeployed,Iamtalkingtothemabouteverything,andwhenIamdeployed,Iamcommunicatingtothemwithemailsandlettersbecausethatcontacthastobemaintained.ThecorrelationderivedfromtheparticipantswasconsistentwiththeEpocheapproach,i.e.,themethodbywhichphenomenologicalreductionplusimaginativevariationresultsinthederivationoftheessence.EducationSupport.Onthistheme,militaryparentsusedalltheavailablemethodstoensurethattheycouldparticipateintheirchildren\'seducation.Despitetheirdeployment,someparentsreviewedassignmentswiththeirchildren,whileothersmaintainedconstantcommunicationwitheducatorstoensurethattheirchildrendemonstratedtheappropriateeducationalprogress.Thiswasveryconspicuousinfiveoftheparticipantsassupportedinthefollowingquotes.Janicenotedhavingdirectcorrespondencewiththeteachersofherstudentswasabighelpasitalloweditherbefamiliarizedwithhowschoolwasgoingfromtheoneconductingclasses:JaniceIdris:Theexperiencewasreassuring;Igottheimpressionthattheywerestayingontopoftheirschoolwork.Plus,I\'veemailedtheirteachersacoupleoftimes,andtheirfeedbackwaspositive.ThiskindofdirectcommunicationwasnotablyabsentinChristopher’sexperienceandhelamenteditandtookpersonalresponsibilityfornotdoingmoretoinvolvehimselfonthatmatter.Hisexperienceoverallisoneofisolation;however,healsocitedtimezonedifferencesasanobstacle:Christopher:IfeltIcouldhavedonemorewhenitcametocommunicatingwithteachers.Inretrospect,Iprobablyshouldhaveemailedthemmoreoften,butatthetime,itjustdidn\'tseemverypersonal…Iwouldprobablysaymyinteractionwentfromonetotwotimesamonthtozero.Itriedacoupleoftimestotouchbasewithafewoftheirteachers,butbecauseofthetimezonedifference,itjustwasn\'tpossible.Otherparticipantswereabletoovercometimezonedifferences,however;andTimnotedthatinstantmessagingwasagoodwaytohelphimsynchupwithteachers.Emailexchangeswerealsousedinhisexperience:Tim:ThemostsignificantwayIparticipateintheireducationisthroughSkype,instantmessages,orsometimeswhenunabletosynchronizeourtimes,Iaskthemtoemailmetheirassignmentstoreviewthemforerrors.Whennotdeployed,thiswouldbedoneinperson.Tammyagainreturnedtothesupportofhermotherintakingcareoftheeducationalaspectsofherchildren’slivesduringdeployment.Thisreiteratestheimportanceoffamilyduringdeployment:Tammy:Thekidsarecurrentlystayingwithmymother;shehasbeenanenormoushelpandsupportsystemforusovertheyears.NotsurehowIwouldbeabletodowhatIdowithoutherhelp.I\'mexceptionallygratefulforher.Ialsohireatutortoassistaswell,beingthatmymotherisn\'talwaysabletounderstandtheirschoolassignments.Mike,likeChristopher,alsonotedtimezonechallenges,buthealsoindicatedthathedidtakepersonalresponsibilityandtrytomakeitworkinspiteofchallengesbyarrangingtimesforlivecorrespondence:Mike:ThebiggestchallengeIwouldsayisnotbeingabletocommunicatewithmykidsataconvenienttime.Unfortunately,duetotimezonedifference,they\'regenerallyasleepwhenI\'mup,soinordertocommunicate,Iwouldhavetostayuplateoraskthemtostayuplate,neitherwasideal,butIthinkwedidourbesttomakeitwork.Overall,theparticipantssignifiedthatcommunicationwasessentialtomaintaininganeducationalsupportsystemduringtimesofdeploymentandthatfamilyandteacherinvolvementplayedabigpart.Communication/SocialSupportSystem.Thisthemeincorporatedattributesthatrevealedhowparticipantsusedifferentwaystostayinvolvedintheirchildren\'seducation.Forexample,thequestionofthemostchallengingstageduringdeploymentresultedinvariousanswerseventhoughthesemilitaryparentsoperatedinnearlysimilarenvironments.Theonlyexplanationforsuchdiversityisthenotionofpersonalresolutionsandhowdifferentparentspreparetoaddresspossiblechallenges.Thefollowingquotefrom3participantsverifiesthisconclusion.Bill,notedthatactualdeploymentisthemostdifficultphasebecauseofthelengthoftimeoneisaway:Bill:Allthreestagesofdeploymentarehard,butIthinkthedeploymentphaseisthemostchallengingbecauseIdon\'tgettobearoundthemasmuchasIwouldlike.Othersviewedpre-deploymentasthemosthectictimebecauseitischaoticandthereisalotofworryabouthowitwillgo,asChrisBrianpointedout:ChrisBrian:Pre-deploymentisthehardestbecauseofalltheanxietyandstressofmentallypreparingtobeawayfromthefamily.Thiscreatesalotofstressonthefamilyaswell,particularlymyyoungerkids.JaniceconcurredwithBillthatdeploymentisthemostdifficultperiodbecauseitisthetimeofgreatestphysicalabsence:Janice:Iwouldsaydeploymentphasebecauseyoucannotphysicallybethereforyourchildren.Iwouldalsoimaginethatthepost-deploymentphasewillbejustaschallengingbecauseIwillhavetointegratemyselfintoaroutinethatwascreatedinmyabsence.Asimilarassessmentonhowmilitaryparentsengagedtheirspousesalsoillustratedthediversityinhowparentsapproachedfamily/socialsupportsystems.Someoftheparentshadmoreinteractionswiththeirspousesconcerningtheirchildren\'seducationthanothers.Thestatementsfromthefourparticipantsbelowsupportthisinterpretationofthedata.Billyidentifiednotbeingtheretoprovidehouseholdsupportasanissue:Billy:Thebigchallengeformewasnotbeingabletosupportmyspouseasshetackledallthehouseholdresponsibilities.ItwastoughbecauseIhateknowingshehadtoplaybothroles(motherandfather).AlthoughIwantedtohelp,therewasonlysomuchIcouldhavedonefromafar.Relyingonaspousetofillthegapinparentalroleswasaconsistentsub-themeamongparticipants,asChristopherechoedBilly’sconcernsinthesameregard:Christopher:Whiledeployed,IhadtorelymoreonmyspouseandotherfamilymemberstocoverdownonthingsIwouldnormallydo.Zacalsonotedthischallengedbutemphasizedthatthisroleoverloadcanbesignificantandthatcommunicationhelpstoalleviatesomeofthestress:Zac:Ithinkit\'shardformyspouse,butitalltakestimetofigureout.Itriednottoputalotofpressureonher;IjusttoldhertodothebestshecouldandletmeknowhowIcouldhelp.LikeZac,Thomasemphasizedtherolethattimeplaysinfiguringouthowtomaintainroleresponsibilityandchoresduringone’sdeployment.Healsopointedoutthatotherfamilymembers,inhisexperience,werewillingtostepupandhelpout.Noteveryparticipantcouldsaythesame,butoverallthiswasaregularlyoccurringtheme—thehelpreceivedfromextendedfamily.Thomas:Myfirstdeploymentwashardonmywife;ittooksometimeforhertoadjusttomenotbeingtheretohelpwiththekidsandtheireducation.Butmycurrentdeploymenthasn\'tbeentoobad;Ithinkshewasbetterpreparedandknewwhattoexpectintermsoftakingonmoreresponsibilityinmyabsence.Wealsoestablishedanetworkoffamilyandfriendsthatarewillingtohelpifshegetsoverwhelmed.Anotherconsistentsub-themewas,oncemore,therolethatsupportivefamilymembersplayinmakingthedeploymentgomoresmoothly,asThomasnoted.ResearchQuestionResponsesInanswertothecentralresearchquestion—Whataretheperceptionsandlivedexperiencesofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild\'seducation?Participants’datarevealedthattheyperceivethejourneyintheirchildren\'seducationaschallengingbecauseofdeployment.Theyplayotherrolesjustlikeageneralparent,buttheyareoftenseparated,andtheymustlookforalternativemethodsthatwouldhelpstrengthenthelevelofinteractions.However,theexactresponseanddescriptionsderivedfromthephenomenologicalstudiescanonlybepresentedbyrespondingtothesub-questions.Sub-QuestionOne:HowDoMilitaryParentsDescribeTheirInvolvementInTheirChildren\'sEducationWhileDeployed?Theinvolvementtookamixeddirectionbasedontheparticipant.Still,thecorrelationwascommonamongeightparticipantswhoexplainedthatthejourneywassometimeschallengingandthattheyfeltasiftheywerenotgivingthebesttothechildren.Beingphysicallyavailableforchildrenwasabigcomponentofparentalstress.Someparentsfeltthatchildrenneededthembytheirsidemorethanothers,however.Olderchildrentypicallywereviewedasbeingabletooperateontheirownwhiletheparentwasdeployedbetterthanyoungerchildren—atleastthatwasthesensegainedfromtheassessmentoftheexperiencesofthedifferentparents.Janice,forinstance,feltsheneededtobethereforherkidsinaphysicalway:Janice:Iwouldsaydeploymentphasebecauseyoucannotphysicallybethereforyourchildren.Iwouldalsoimaginethatthepost-deploymentphasewillbejustaschallengingbecauseIwillhavetointegratemyselfintoaroutinethatwascreatedinmyabsence.ThiswasalsotrueofChristopher,whofeltthatifhewasnottherephysicallyhecouldhavenowayofknowinghowhischildwasdoing.Thiswasexacerbatedbythelackofcommunicationbetweenhimandothers,however:Christopher:Notbeingabletobethereformysonphysicallyishard.Itmakesitevenmoredifficultwhenyou’redivorcedanddon’thaveasupportivepartner.Alloftheparticipantsvieweddeploymentasachallengethathasmanyfacets—timeandspacebarrierstocommunication,stressinvolvedinspousestakingonmorework,andfamilycharacteristics.However,whenadeployedparentmaintainedapositiveoutlook,theexperienceseemedtobebetter,asTimnoted:Tim:Overall,myexperienceinthemilitarythusfarhasbeengoodbutsometimeschallenging,especiallyinmomentslikethis,whenI\'mdeployedandawayfrommyfamily.Forthoseparentswhoaresingleandlackatraditionalsupportnetwork,deploymentwasmorechallenging.LikeChristopher,Tammyfeltthatthislackofspousalsupportcouldbeachallenge,butshepointedoutthatherchildrenwereolderandbetterabletodirectthemselves,soshedidnotfeeltooconcernedonthatpoint:Tammy:Myexperienceshavebeenmixed.Igenerallyenjoythemilitary,butasasingleparent,itcouldbequitechallengingyouhavetobedeployed.Luckily,mychildrenarealittleoldernowandalittlemoreself-sufficient.ThomasandZacdescribedthehappinessandpeacethatcomeswithbeingathome,butthejobofdeploymentisanecessaryonethatallmustaccept.Onceitisaccepted,thereisjustthechallengeofgrindingthroughthedaysandmonthsduringwhichtheparentisaway.ThatiswhyThomasvieweddeploymentasthemostchallengingphaseofall:Thomas:Allthreestagesofdeploymentareprettyhard,butIthinkthedeploymentphaseisthemostchallengingbecauseIdon\'tgettobearoundthemasmuchasIwouldlike…I’malwaysanxiousthatmykids\'educationwilldeclineduetomydeployments.Zacechoedthislineofthoughtbutlookedforwardtothedayswhenhewouldbereunitedwithhisfamilyandeveryonewouldbeabletogetbacktonormal.Thispositiveoutlookhelpedtosustainhimmentallyandmorally,andithelpedtocreatehopeinhisfamily:Zac:TheyseemhappywhenI\'mhome.We\'reallhappytobebacktogether;obviously,beingapartishard.Mikereiteratedthesamestrongfeelingsabouthowdifficultdeploymentisforthekidsbecausetheydonotgettoseetheirfather.Thiswasacommonsub-themeamongfathersduringdeployment.Hesawdeploymentinnegativetermsandfeltthathiskidssufferedacademicallyasaresult,withoutreallybeingabletopointtoanyonereasoninparticularotherthanthefactthathewasaway:Mike:beingdeployedisachallenge.Theydon\'tlikethatI\'maway,andIcan\'tbetherelikeIwanttobe,andtheyfeelthatIthink.It\'shardforthemandtheystruggle.Onepossibleexplanationforwhydeploymentisdifficultonkidsisthattheconsistencyofcommunicationisundermined,asJohnathonpointedout:Thereisconstantmovementfromplacetoplace,whichmakesithardtosettimeasideforlivetalk:Johnathon:Occasionally,wehadtotraveltodifferentlocationsacrossthebattlespace.So,duringthosetimes,itwasparticularlyhardtoconsistentlycommunicatewiththekids,muchlesscheckinginwiththeirassignments.Althoughsomeoftheparticipantshadthechallengingeffectssignificantlyreduced,assistancewasbroughtbyrelativesandspouses\'involvementintheirchildren\'seducation.Withoutthisassistance,thechallengeslikelywouldnothavebeenovercometotheextentthattheywere.UsingthesynthesisapproachandborrowingfromMoustakas’methods,itisviabletoconcludethatwithoutsupportfromfamily,militaryparentinvolvementwouldbeanextremelydauntingtask(Moustakas,1994;RuleandJohn,2015).Sub-question2:Howdomilitaryparentsperceivetheimpactoftheirdeploymentonthefamilyandparticularlyontheirchild\'sacademicperformance?Manymilitaryparentsacknowledgethatdeploymentcanhavedetrimentaleffectsontheirchildren\'seducation,especiallywhennosupportisgiventofamilies.Iftheparentfailstomakepriorpreparation,childrenarelikelytofacepsychologicalproblemsthatcanleadtopoorgrades—andparticipantsgenerallyseemedawareofthis.Theadvicegivenbytheparticipantsonhowmilitaryparentsshouldaddressthechallengesprovidesaclearillustrationoftheirperceptions,asshowninthefollowingquotes.Themainkeyamongthemallwascommunication,inwhateverformwaspossible—andwhenthiswasavailable,thingswentbetter.Whenitwasmissing,theperceptionwasnegative.Johnathon’srecommendationwastoalwaysbeabletocommunicatinghoweveronecan:Johnathon:Communicatewithyourspouseandchildrenasoftenaspossible.Noexceptions.Christopherhighlightedtheneedforhavingagoodfamilybehindone,andhesensedthathelackedthisanditwasonereasonforhisstressoverhischild’seducation:Christopher:Ensureyouhaveafamilysupportsystemthatsupportsyouandisonthesamepage.Balance,consistencyandflexibilitywerealsocitedaskeyqualitiestocultivateforparentsduringdeployment.Ifoneisrigid,oneisnotgoingtobeabletoadapttothebigchanges.Ifoneisnotabletoshoulderadditionalburdensorkeepthingsmovingpositivelyforward,theentiresituationcanfallapart:Zac:LearnhowtobalancebothworkandfamilyobligationpriortobeingdeployedTim:Trytofindconsistencies,developascheduleforphonecallsandvideochat.Billy:Beflexible,expectthingstochangeoften,butkeepeveryoneinformsaschangesoccur.Keepingeveryoneinformedandonthesamepagewasacriticalquality:Christophernotedthiswasmissing,andThomasadvisedthateveryonetalkasmuchaspossible,becauseithelpsthekidstounderstandwhattheparentsaregoingthroughandcluesthemintohowtheyalsoneedtostepupandtakeownershipoftheirschoolworkandberesponsible:Thomas:Iwouldadvisethemtotalktotheirkidsaboutpotentialdeploymentchallengespriortodeploying.Also,setrealisticexpectationsonwhenandhowoftenyou\'llbeabletocommunicate.Itisnotunfairtosaythatchildrenhavetobemadeawarethattheyareaccountableeventhoughoneparentisaway.ThiswastheessenceoftheargumentthatThomasmade,andothersechoedthesentiment.Childrenarecapableofunderstandingtheworldanditschallengesandtheywilloftenbewillingtostepupandshowthattheyarecapableofmeetinexpectations,buttheyneedtobetoldaboutwhatishappening.Jamesexpressedthissimilarly,asdidJaniceandTammy.Allthreerecommendedbeinghonest,openandrealisticwithchildrenaboutdeploymentandthedemandsthekidswouldhavetomeet:James:Iwouldadvisethemtocommunicateasmuchaspossible,especiallypriortoandduringthedeployment.Also,continuetoshowinterestinchildren\'seducation,eventhoughtheymaynotbeabletohelp.Janice:Iwouldadviseparentstobeproactiveinfiguringouthowtostayinvolvedwiththeirchildrenpriortobeingdeployed.Havingaplangivespredictabilityandreducessomeoftheinitialanxietybeforeleaving.Tammy:Beinvolvedasmuchasyoucan,setrealisticexpectations,andstayfocusonthethingswithinyourcontrol.Sub-question3:Whatchallengesdomilitaryparentswhoaredeployedfacewhiletryingtostayinvolvedintheirchildren\'seducation?Oneofthesignificantchallengesthatallthe12participantssharedwascommunication.Militaryparentsweredeployedindifferentregionsacrossmanytimezonesandthisaffectedcommunication.Theyalsofailedtooffersomeavailablesupportformswhennotdeployed,suchasphysicalcontactandface-to-faceengagement.Thewordsofthefollowingparticipantsbestillustratethenatureofthisdifficultythatallparticipantsrecognized.Christopheracknowledgedthatasahands-onpersonbeingawayfromthechildisdifficult,buthedidnotethathewasabletogetsomecommunicationacrossfromtimetotimeviadigitalmedia:Christopher:I\'maveryhands-onperson,sonotbeingabletophysicallybetheretodemonstratecertainthingsisveryfrustrating.TherearecertainthingsIwasabletoteachorinstructoverthephoneorthroughfacetime,butitwasn\'tthesameasbeingthereinperson,sothatwasachallengeforme.However,communicationstillsufferedfromthetimeandspaceobstacles,asthegulfmadeitinconvenientforlivechatstotakeplace.Timezoneswereagaincitedasissueswhenitcametocommunication,asMikeexplained:Mike:ThebiggestchallengeIwouldsayisnotbeingabletocommunicatewithmykidsataconvenienttime.Unfortunately,duetotimezonedifference,they’regenerallyasleepwhenI’mup,soinordertocommunicate,Iwouldhavetostayuplateoraskthemtostayuplate;neitherwasideal.Dependingupondigitalnetworksforcommunicationcouldsometimesbearecipeforfailure,asJohnathonlearned,soitwasimportanttoprioritizeandbehonestaboutwhatwasmostimportant—andforhimitwasthemission;heleftthetaskofschoolinguptothoseathome—teachersandthespouse,asthatwastheirmissionduringhisdeployment:Johnathon:Communicationwasachallenge.Thenetworksignalswerealwaysunreliable,andmissionrequirementssometimestookpriorityovercallinghometochatwiththekidsabouttheirschooling.Recognizingthisideaofeveryonehavingamission—notjustthedeployedparent—wascrucialforasuccessfulmaintenanceofthechild’seducationduringtheparentaldeployment.TheEssenceofLivedExperienceOneofthemostcriticalthemestoemergefromassessmentoftheessenceofthelivedexperienceistheneedtoinvolvefamilyandextendedfamilymemberswheneverpossibleintheprovisionofeducationalsupportforchildrenduringparentaldeployment.Whenaparentisaway,thereisanobviousgapthatneedstobefilled.Inthecasewhereaparent’ssupportfromfamilyislimitedforwhateverreason,perhapsbecauseofadivorce,itmakesoverseeingthechild’seducationallthemoredifficult.Butinthecaseswhereaparent’sfamilymembersareabletosupplyhelpwhiletheparentisaway,itgivesafeelingofreassurance,comfortandstabilitythatthechildren’seducationisnotbeingneglected.Beingadeployedparenttakesatollonallwhoareinvolved—teachershavetomakeanefforttostayengagedwiththedeployedparent;familymembersmayberequestedforassistance;spousescanfeeloverwhelmedbytheadditionalburdenplacedontheminhavingtofilltworoleswithoneparentgone.Theseareallchallengesthatcanbeovercome,however,throughpatience,communication,andthepassingoftime,whichallowseveryonetoseewhatneedstobedonemoreclearlysothatthechildren’seducationisnotinterruptedordisturbedinanegativeway.SummaryThechapterprovidedbriefdescriptionsoftheparticipantsandfindingsobtainedthroughanalysisofthecollecteddata.Itdescribedtheroleofmilitaryparentsintheirchildren\'seducationthroughresultsascategorizedbythenatureofthethreemajorthemes:jobsatisfaction,educationsupport,andcommunicationwithfamily/socialsupport.Itendedbyrespondingtothecentralandthesub-questionsthatformedthebasisofthisphenomenologicalresearch.ChapterFive:ConclusionOverviewThistranscendentalphenomenologicalresearchaimedtoassesstheperceptionsandlivedexperiencesofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild\'seducation.Thischapterdiscussesthefindingsdescribedinthepreviouschapterandsummarizeswhathasbeenunderstood.Italsodiscussesboththepracticalandempiricalimplicationsoftheresearch.Inaddition,itidentifiesboththelimitationsanddelimitationsoftheresearch,providesrecommendations,andconcludeswithafinalsummation.SummaryoftheFindingsDatacollectedthroughquestionnaires,semi-structuredinterviews,artifactanalysis,andfocusgroupsprovidedthebasisfortheidentificationanddevelopmentofthethreethemes,whichwerejobsatisfaction,educationsupport,andtheneedforcommunicationwithone’sfamily/socialsupportsystem.Eachofthesemajorthemescontainedsubthemesessentialinansweringboththecentralandsub-questions.CentralQuestion:Whataretheperceptionsandlivedexperiencesofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild\'seducation?Inmyresponsetothecentralquestion,Iexplainedthattheparticipantsperceivedthejourneyintheirchildren\'seducationaschallengingbecauseofdeployment.Thiswasprimarilybecausetheyplayedotherrolesjustlikeageneralparent,buttheywereoftenseparated.Theyhadtolookforalternativemethodsthatwouldhelpstrengthenthelevelofinteractions.Atthesametime,participantsdidnotviewthechallengeasstemmingdirectlyfromthenatureoftheirjobsinthemilitary.ParticipantsgenerallyhadfavorableviewsoftheirjobandelectednottocorrelateJobsatisfactionasafactorintheirperceptionofdeploymentasitrelatestoitschallenges.Equally,all12participantsacknowledgedthatamilitaryparentfaceschallengeswhenaddressingtheirchildren\'seducationalneeds.Tobetterunderstandthesechallenges,thesub-questionsofthisstudyprovidethebeststartingplacefordiscussion.FirstQuestion:Howdomilitaryparentsdescribetheirinvolvementintheirchildren\'seducationwhiledeployed?Inresponsetothefirstquestion,Iexplainedthattheinvolvementtakesamixeddirectionbasedontheparticipant.Still,acorrelationwascommonamongeightparticipantswhoexplainedthatthejourneywassometimeschallenging,andtheyfeltasiftheywerenotgivingthebesttotheirchildren.Althoughtheresponseshadsomevariationdependingonhowthemilitaryparentsviewedtheireducationroleintheirchildren\'slives,itwasclearthattheyacknowledgedthattheyhadaroletoplayintheirchildren\'slives,evenwhiledeployed.Thisrolewasjustasimportanttothemasthejobtheyperformedduringdeployment.Thus,themainchallengewasnotthattheyweredeployedbutratherthattheyhadtodotwojobsatonce,oneofwhichwasmademoredifficultbecauseofdistance.SecondQuestion:Howdomilitaryparentsperceivetheimpactoftheirdeploymentonthefamilyandparticularlyontheirchild\'sacademicperformance?Tothesecondquestion,Iindicatedthatmanymilitaryparentsappreciatethatdeploymenthasdetrimentaleffectsontheirchildren\'seducation,especiallywhennosupportisgiventofamilies.Iftheparentfailstomakepriorpreparation,childrenarelikelytofacepsychologicalproblemsthatcanleadtopoorgrades.Theadvicegivenbytheparticipantsonhowmilitaryparentsshouldaddressthechallengesprovidesaclearillustrationoftheirperceptions.Alltheparticipantsagreedthatdeploymenthassomeeffectontheacademicperformanceofchildren.However,theeffectvariesbasedonthemeasuresthatparentsputintoreducingtherippleeffectsofthedeployment.Ingeneral,spousesandrelativeswereinstrumentalindeterminingtheperformanceofchildrenduringthedeploymentperiod.ThirdQuestion:Whatchallengesdomilitaryparentswhoaredeployedfacewhiletryingtostayinvolvedintheirchildren\'seducation?Tothethirdsub-question,Irespondedbyindicatingthatoneofthemajorchallengesthatall12participantssharedwascommunication.Militaryparentsweredeployedtodifferentpartsoftheworld,andthisaffectedtheviabilityofregularcommunicationchannels.Inresponsetothischallenge,parentssoughtotherpossiblealternativemethodstoconnectwiththeirchildreninordertoassistthemthroughtheeducativeprocess.Unfortunately,thiswasneveraneasytaskforthem,andtheywereforcedtousespouses,teachers,oreducatorstolearnmoreabouttheirchildren\'sperformance.DiscussionThisdiscussionsectionaimedtoexaminethefindingsbyreflectingonthetheoreticalconceptsinchaptertwo.First,thestudy\'sbasiswasinspiredbytheoreticalconceptsintheliteraturereviewthatofferedinsightsintotheexistingresearchandpossiblebridgestocloseresearchgaps.Overall,theresearchwasfoundtosupportthediscussionontheperceptionsandlivedexperiencesofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild\'seducation.TheoreticalLiteratureThetheoreticalliteraturethatformedthisstudy\'sbasiswasinformedbythetheoryofparentalinvolvementsuppliedbyEpstein(2011)regardingtherelationshipbetweenparents,school,andcommunity.Accordingtothetheory,parentsplayacrucialroleinprovidingtheguidanceandsupportchildrenneedtoachievetheiracademicgoals.ThesixkindsofinvolvementidentifiedbyEpstein(2011)areparenting,communicating,volunteering,learningathome,decision-making,andcollaboratingwiththecommunity.Thesesixkindsofinvolvementformedthebasisofdesigningtheresearchquestionstoensurethatalltheaspectswereincorporatedintheresearch.Inallsixtypesofinvolvement,theparentplaysapivotalrole:Themorerobusttheparent\'sinvolvement—includingsettinghighexpectationsforschoolachievement—themorelikelythechildistopursueidentifiedgoals(Castroetal.,2015).Thisrelationshipbetweenparentalsupportandstudentacademicachievementwasvalidatedbynumerousresearchstudiesandisrecognizedasauniversalphenomenoninvariouscultures(Benner,Boyle&Sadler,2016;Mahuro&Hungi,2016;Nunezetal.,2015).Inlightofthisrevelation,thestudyanalyzedhowparentalsupportsplayaroleindeterminingchildren\'sacademicperformance.Keytosuccessfulmanagementofthesituationappearstobecommunicationamongparentsandhonestywithchildrensothattheyknowtheyareaccountable.Mystudycameataninterestingtimewhenmilitaryparents\'challengesharmonizedwiththeeducationsector\'schallengesduetotheCOVID-19pandemic.Communicationchallengesbroughtaboutbydistancewereasimilarthemeforeach.However,aswithteachersduringCOVIDclosures,deployedparentssoughttousetechnologytoclosethedistancegapsbetweenthemselvesandtheirchildren.Otherliteraturealsoshowedthatmilitarydeploymentaffectstheacademicperformanceofchildren.Forexample,astudybyAlfano,Lau,Balderas,Bunnell,andBeidel(2016)identifiedthenegativeimpactofmilitarydeploymentonchildren,particularlyrelatedtotheireducation.Thisimpactcouldcreateaneedforthesechildrentorequirementalhealthtreatmentbecausetheylacktheconsistencyandstabilitymostchildrenhaveinatypicalnuclearfamily.Inthisview,thestudyrevealedsomepsychologicalreasonsthataffectchildren\'sperformanceduringthedeploymentphase.ThisisevidentintheexperiencesofMike,Zac,Tim,andBilly.Itisaclearillustrationthatattimesofchallenges,theeducationofchildrenishighlyaffected.ConsideringTammy\'scase,whoisasinglemother,andChristopher,whoisdivorced,theparentalinvolvementbecomesmorechallengingduetoalackoffamily/socialsupportsystems.Otherparticipantscouldidentifythevolunteersupportofextendedfamilymembersorteachers,whohelpedinoverseeingthechild’seducationduringdeployment.Reflectingontheearlierliteratureinchaptertwo,Nicosia,Wong,Shier,Massachi,andDatar(2017)indicatedthatchildrenneedconsistencyintheirlivestomanagetheproblemsandadversitythatcometheirwayduringthegrowthanddevelopmentphasesoftheiradolescence.Withoutthisconsistency,theyareatriskoflackingadequateacademicskillsandfollow-through(Nicosia,Wong,Shier,Massachi&Datar,2017).Suchconsistenciesarebetterachievedwhenbothspousesareavailabletothechildrenandaresupportive.Whenthemilitaryparent,whoissupposedtoplayboththemother’sandthefather\'srole,ismissing,thepresenceofnecessaryacademicguidanceislimited.Aseriesofdeploymentsandreintegrationprocessesthatfollowdeploymentmayinterruptthisdevelopmentalprogress(Knobloch-Fedders,Yorgason,Ebata&McGlaughlin,2017).Consistencyisofgreatrelevanceinensuringthatachild\'slearningprocessisnothamperedinanyshapeorform.Insomeinstances,transfersfromoneschooltoanothercouldbeacomplexundertaking.Thisexampleisparticularlythecasewherecreditsarenottransferrablebetweeninstitutions–effectivelymeaningthelearnerrisksstartingalloveragain,whichcanhaveanunfortunateeffectonthestudent.Therefore,parentsandteachersshouldbeawareofthetrial’sstudentsexperienceduetomilitarydeployment(DePedroetal.,2018).Mostoftheparticipantshadyearsofserviceinthemilitary,whichmeanstheyweremoreexperiencedinhandlingdeploymentcasesandattainingsomebalance.However,itmustbeacknowledgedthatallofthemhadastartingpoint,likeinthecaseofThomas,whostated:Thomas:ThemajorchallengeisthatIfinditdifficulttoengagewithteachersandeducatorsasmuchasIwouldliketo.ItisbadformebecauseIamstillnewinparenting,andnow,thepandemichashittheworld.Mostschoolsarenowvirtualbecauseofthepandemic,sothatdoeshelpbecauseIcouldaccessmykid\'sprogressonline,butifIhaveanyquestions,I\'mnotalwaysabletocontacttheteachersforaquickresponseduetothetimezonedifference.Hisstatementimpliesthatparentalinvolvementinchildren\'seducationrequirespriorpreparation,experienceandplanning.Withoutthenecessarypreparation,parentscaneasilybesubjectedtofeelingdepressedoranxious,whichcanresultinpooracademicperformanceonthepartofthechildren,astheyareaffectedbyparentalactionsorinactions,whichinturnaffectsmorale.Indeed,theliteratureindicatesthatthoseparentswhoexperiencedepressionorPTSDduringorafterdeploymentalsonegativelyimpacttheirchildren\'slivesandaffecttheirabilitytosociallyandemotionallyadjusttotheirenvironments(Lesteretal.,2016).Thus,deploymenthasimpactsbeyondamereabsence;whenparentsreturn,theydonotalwaysreturninthesamementalandemotionalstatetheywereinwhentheyleft.Theymaybebringingbackpsychologicalbaggageortraumathat,inturn,impactsthechildevenafterthedeploymenthasended.Thereareresidualeffectsofdeploymentthatmustbeconsideredwhenassessinghowchildrenofmilitaryparentsareaffectedbydeployment(Lesteretal.,2016).EmpiricalLiteratureThisstudyexpoundedontheexistingliteraturebygivinginsightsthatwillaidinclosingtheresearchgapsrelatedtomilitaryparentinvolvementinchildren\'seducation.However,mostofthefindingsinthisresearchaddedtowhatalreadyexistedbutlackedsupport.Forexample,existingresearchindicatedthatchildren\'sperformanceisaffectedwhenparentsgotowarduetoincreasedanxietyandstress(Lesteretal.,2016).Interactionswithotherfamilymemberswerealsoseenasimportanttoolsinimprovingthechildren\'sacademicperformance.Forexample,earlierstudies,likeBrownfieldandThompson(1991),providedevidencethatsuggestednorelationshipamongyouths,families,anddelinquency,positingthatsociallearningandsocialcontroltheorieswereinadequatetheoreticalframeworksforexplainingadversityamongchildrenandadolescents.Christopher\'sresponsehintedathowfamiliesandcommunitiesviewchildrenfrommilitaryfamilies:Christopher:Teacherswereasignificantfactor,especiallybeinginthemilitary.Inmyopinion,Ithinkteachersinmilitaryschoolstendtobealittlemoreempathictowardsstudentswithdeployedparentsbecausetheythemselvesorinamilitaryhouseholdorhaveexperiencedotherstudentsinthesamescenario.ThisrevealstheneedfortheconnectionthatEpsteincallsforinhertheoryofcommunity-parents-teachersinprovidingguidanceforlearners.However,otherresearchers,suchasKoon-Magnin,Bowers,Langhinrichsen-Rohling,andArata(2016),usedself-controltheoryandsociallearningtheorytoexplainwhyadolescentgirlsandboysdeviateintodelinquency,latercounteredtheirstudy.Bothstudiesindicate,nonetheless,thatthereisarelationshipbetweenfamilyandchildbehavior,withparentsactingasamoderatingforce.Inthisview,someoftheelementsconcerningtheeducationofchildrenstillrequiremoreexamination.Everythingisnottiedtotheparent\'sroleinenhancingacademicperformance,likeaidingintheirassignment.Theymustappreciatetheothereffectsthathaveanindirectcontributiontotheperformanceofthechildren.Mostoftheparticipantsexplainedthatfamilymembersplayedapivotalroleintheeducationoftheirchildren.Itimpliesthatintegrationisvitalinchildren.TheeffectscanbeexplainedbyreflectingonthecasestudybyTrieretal.(2018)thatsupportsthedevelopmentmodelputforwardbyErikson(Shriner&Shriner,2014).Erikson\'seightstagesofdevelopmenttheoryhelpedtoexplainwhatchildrengothroughastheyage.Althoughtheeightstagescoveralllifeuptodeath,thefirstfivestagescoverchildhood,frominfancytoyoungadulthood(Shriner&Shriner,2014).Eachstageisdefinedbythepsychosocialconflictthatcharacterizesthatspecificdevelopmentstage.Thesestagesrequireparentalandfamilialinvolvement.Forthesereasons,wefindthatmilitaryparentslikeTimandChristopher,whohaveservedformanyyears,appreciatefamilies\'needsinchildren\'sacademiclives.Parentalinvolvement,asdiscussedearlier,goesbeyondassignments.Childrenmustbetrainedonhowtohandlechallengessuchastheonesfacedduringmilitarydeployment.Tough(2013)showedthatchildrenneedtobechallengedtodeveloptheirresiliencyandgrit.Tough(2013)arguedthatgritandresiliencewouldinevitablyhelpthechildovercomethechallengestheywillfaceastheygrow,whichwillbecomeharderandharderiftheyarenotpushedtobecomeresilientaschildren.Thisnotionwasalsofoundinthedataanalyzedforthisstudy:forinstance,Janicestatedthat\"Ibelievethatmychildrenattempttoworkevenharderattheirstudies,asawayofmakingmefeelproudofhowwellthey\'redoingalthoughI\'mnotthere.”Thishappenedbecauseshehadtrainedthechildrentobehaveinherabsenceandturnchallengesintoopportunities.Equally,Tough(2013)explicitlystatedthat“whenkindergartenteachersaresurveyedabouttheirstudents,theysaythatthebiggestproblemtheyfaceisnotchildrenwhoareunawareoftheirlettersandnumbers;itischildrenwhodonotknowhowtomanagetheirtempersorcalmthemselvesdownafteraprovocation”(p.17).Heclaimedthatchildrenmustbetrainedtocontrolthemselves,whereself-controltheoryoftencomesintoplayfortheproponentsofallowingchildrentodevelopgrit.The12participantsengagedwiththeirchildrenevenduringpre-deployment.ItwasduringthisphasethatTough\'srecommendationsshouldcomeintoplay.Bychallengingchildrenorallowingthemtobechallenged,theycanlearnwhatitmeanstopickthemselvesupandputintheefforttoovercometheobstacle.Thenovelcontributionthatthisstudyaddstothefieldisthatitshedsnewlightonthepivotalrolethatfamilysupportsystemsplayduringparentaldeploymentwhenitcomestoassistingintheeducationofchildren.Thoseparentswhoaredeployedwholacksuchsystemsfeltmuchmorestrainedandincapableofmeetingdemandsandhelpingtheirchildren.Parentswhohadadditionalsupportfromextendedfamilywereverygratefulforfamilymemberssteppingupandhelpingout.Thissuggeststhattraditionalfamiliesshouldbesupportedanddevelopedandmaintainedasanimportantfoundationalandsocietalelementintherearingofchildren.ImplicationsThissectionaimstoprovideempirical,theoretical,andpracticalimplicationsrelatedtothisresearch.Recommendationsareprovidedforthestakeholders,theU.S.Armydepartments,andstudentswhowishtoadvancethisresearch.EmpiricalImplicationsThisresearchaimedtoaddressthegapsinthecurrentstudiesthatfailedtoexaminetheperceptionsandlivedexperiencesofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild\'seducation(DePedroetal.,2018).Despitethemilitarybeingacommonareaofinterestinmanygovernmentsandresearchprograms,thefocushasalwaysbeenonthesoldiers\'traumaafterparticipatingindifferentmissions(DeVoeetal.,2017).Researchfailstoaddresstheimplicationsontheimmediatefamilymemberslikechildren,specificallyregardingtheireducation(BelloUtu&DeSocio,2015).Thethemesandsubthemesexplainedinthisstudyopenanewchapteronareasthatrequireanin-depthexploration.Theliteratureexaminedinchaptertwoacknowledgedthatdeploymentaffectschildren,causingsometobecomeviolent.However,thepsychologicalimplicationstransferredtothosechildren\'sacademicperformancewerenotexploredinpriorresearch.Forexample,researchperformedbyO\'Neal,Mallette,andMancini(2018)emphasizedtheneedforcommunitysupportformilitaryfamilies.Othersnotedthatitisalsoessentialforfamiliestobeopentocommunitysupport,astheirunfavorableopinionofthecommunitytheyliveincanharmthechildorstudent\'sdevelopment(O\'Nealetal.,2018).Thisresearchprovidedmoredetailsaboutsuchconcernsandprovidedactualdatatohelpdevelopsolutionstoaddressthechallenges.Likewise,Benneretal.(2016)andO’Neilletal.(2018)notedthatitisespeciallyimportantforacommunitytooffersupportinorderforchildrentoreachtheirpotential.Thiswasmadeclearintheresearchfindingshere,asparentsfeltbestwhentheyhadfamilysupportnetworksthatcouldprovidethatcommunitysupport.Withoutthatsupport,parentsfeltisolatedandunabletobetherefortheirchildren.TheoreticalImplicationsThisresearch\'sfindingshavesometheoreticalimplicationswhenassessedinviewofEpstein’sobservations.Themainimplicationisthatdeployedparentsshouldhaveastrategyforintertwiningacommunity,teachers,familysupportsystemtohelpguidechildrenwhileaparentisdeployed.ThisstudybearsouttheworthinessofEpstein’stheoryandprovidessupportforapplyingthattheoryinthemilitaryforfamiliesdealingwithdeployment.Itshowsthatfamiliesofdeployedparentsdependuponthefamilymembersvolunteering,teachersmakinganefforttostayinvolvedandconnectedtothedeployedparent,andthecommunity(extendedfamilyinmostcases)providingadditionalhelptocarrytheloadleftbythemissingparent.Epstein’stheoryisthuscorroboratedfullyinthefindingsofthisresearch.PracticalImplicationsThefirstpracticalimplicationisformilitaryparents.Itservesasanaidinhelpingthempreparetheirchildrenandfamiliesfordeployment.Militaryparentscaneasilyrelatetothefindings,whichimpliedthattheirplanningoutcomesaresignificant.Foreducatorsandteachers,thefindingscanhelpthemunderstandthechildrenfrommilitaryfamilies.Hence,theywillbetterunderstandwhatsuchchildrengothroughandwillinternaidindevelopingplanstoenhancetheiracademicperformance(O’Neilletal.,2018).Forstudents,theresearchprovidesinformationthatformsthebasisofadvancingresearchtocoverpossiblegapspresentedinthisresearch.FortheU.S.Armydepartments,thestudywillofferinsightsonpossibleprogramsforparentsthatwillenablethemtoaddressthechallengestheyfaceduetodeployment.TheU.S.Armyshouldpayspecialattentiontohowwellservicemenandservicewomenaremaintainingfamilysupportnetworks,whichclearlyplayapivotalroleinthelivesofthesepeople.Themilitaryshoulddomoretoemphasizetheneedtomaintaincommunication,honesty,andconnectivitywithstakeholders,becausewhataffectstheserelationshipswillaffectchildren,andthatinturnwillaffectmilitarypersonnel.Everythingisrelatedinthissense,andthemissionisnotjustaboutbeinginthefieldbutalsoaboutmaintainingorderandsupportbackathome.Themilitaryshouldthuseducatepersonnelontheimportanceofthismatter.LimitationsFirst,thestudywaslimitedintermsofthenumberofparticipants.Alargersamplecouldhavegivenresultsthataremorerepresentativeofthewholeofthepopulationanalyzed.Anotherlimitationwasthatthestudyusedonlythreefemaleparticipants.Thisdisparityaffectedthetransferabilityofthefindings,especiallyincreatingsolutionsthataffectfemalemilitaryparents.Asamplethatgivesanevendistributionwouldbepreferred.Besides,moreracesshouldhavebeenincludedtoassessapossibleeffectonhowdifferentracestackledeploymentissues.DelimitationsDelimitingwasdoneduetothestudy\'snatureinthatitinvolvesparticipantswhoplayacrucialroleandsometimesfindithardtoshareinformation.Thevariouswaysinwhichdatawascollected—interviews,focusgroups,andsharingofstories—helpedtoensurethatenoughinformationwouldbeobtainedtoshedlightonthissignificantissue.Delimitationofracialandethnicdiscrepanciestoenhancetransferabilitywasdoneinsofaraswaspossiblebyincludingasmanydifferentpeopleofdifferentethnicbackgroundsaspossible,ofallranksandexperiencelevels.RecommendationsforFutureResearchConsideringthestudy\'sfindingsandlimitations,futureresearchshoulduseamoreinclusivesamplethateliminatesthewidegenderdisparity.Equally,alargersamplethatreflectsthelargenumbersofmilitaryparentsintheUnitedStatesshouldbeused.Suchasmallsampleislikelytointroducebiasleadingtoquestionablefindings.Variousdeploymentlengthsandlocationscanalsobeseenasafactoraffectingoutcomesandshouldbefocusedonmoreinadditionalresearchonthistopic.Missionsthatareat-seaoron-landcanleadtoverydifferentexperiencesforpersonnelbasedonlogisticsalone,butalsobasedonperceivedthreatlevels,andopportunitiesforcommunicationbackhome.Thereisthedifferencebetweenofficersvs.enlistedpersonnel,whichcouldbeviewedasapotentialfactorthatcouldbeexaminedmoreindepth.Thosewhohavegreateraccesstocommunicationvs.thosewithlimitedaccesstocommunicationissimilarlyanissuethatcouldaffectoutcomesandwouldbeanopportuneareaformoreexploration.SummaryThistranscendentalphenomenologicalstudyaimedtoexaminetheperceptionsandlivedexperiencesofdeployedmilitaryparentsregardingactiveinvolvementintheirchild\'seducation.Datacollectedthroughquestionnaires,semi-structuredinterviews,artifactanalysis,andfocusgroupsdevelopedthethemesofinteractivityinthemilitaryenvironment,educationsupport,andpersonalandorganizationalresolutions.Throughanalysisoftheresponsesandartifactsofthe12participants,thestudyrevealedthatmilitaryparentsholddifferentperceptionsconcerningtheirchildren\'seducation,mostlyduetothechallengesthatcomewithdeployment.Theylackampletimetoengagewiththeirchildren,whichresultsinadverseeffectsontheirchildren\'sacademicperformance.Toaddressthesechallenges,strongfamilybondsareessentialtogetherwithpriorplanningtoavoidstressfulconditions.

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