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Parent involvement in education
The importance of parental involvement in children's education
The importance of parental involvement in children's education
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Effectively Involving Parents in Schools
Parents are the first teachers of the students in our future classrooms. From the student’s birth until they enroll in a school program, the job to educate them is up to their parents. Once a child has started school, the job of the parent is not finished in regards to their child’s education; the role is just changing. No longer are parents solely responsible for their child’s education. Instead, parents now have a new partner, teachers. As future teachers, it will be part of our job to facilitate this relationship further and to encourage parents to be involved in not only what happens outside the classroom, but what is happening inside the classroom as well.
I chose this topic because as a future teacher I value the role parents should play in their child’s education. According to the Michigan Department of Education (2001), school age children spend seventy percent of their waking hours including weekends and holidays, outside of the school setting. It is not only up to the teacher to educate the child, but it is integral that parents have an active role as well.
What Studies Show
Studies show that engaging parents as co-educators in the education of their children has lead to many positive results. These studies have also yielded reasons as to why or why not a parent chooses to become involved and in what capacity.
The Student
In their paper, Parent Involvement: The Critical Link, the Oregon State Department of Education (1990) wrote that involving parents in education lead to students feeling more valued, competent, effectual and created a family environment in which achievement was stimulated and encouraged. The Michigan Department of Education (2001) showed through decades of ...
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...ifference? Teachers College Record, volume 97(2). Pages 310-331. Retrieved from http://www.vanderbilt.edu/peabody/family-school/papers/childrens _education.pdf
Michigan Department of Education. (2001). What Research Says About Parental Involvement in Children’s Education. Retrieved from http://michigan.gov/documents/ Final_Parent_Involvement_Fact_Sheet_14732_7.pdf.
Oregon State Department of Education. (1990). Parental Involvement: The Critical Link. Retrieved from ERIC http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED387219.pdf
Robson, Maggie & Hunt, Kathy. (1999) An Innovative Approach to Involving parents in the Education of their Early Years Children. International Journal of Early Years, volume 7, no 2. Page 185-193. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.oberon.ius.edu/ehost/ pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=8919849e-1d4d-4b13-91ec-200069d583bc%40 sessionmgr 4004&vid=2&hid=4206.
Deplanty, Jennifer, Duchane, A Kim, Kern-Coulter Russell (2007). Perceptions of Parent Involvement in Academic Achievement. The Journal of Educational Research. Vol 100, No. 6, 361
...or parents to become actively involved in their child’s academics. Research supports that as a child ages parental involvement decreases, this is a vast problem that through communication, school activities, sending parent notices, and etc. could be fixed.
A child’s first teacher is his or her mother and father. As a parent, involvement in the education process in the early years includes engaging the child through age appropriate games, regular reading, and simply interacting on a daily basis. A child that is engaged in this way are set up to develop into students who succeed academically. Once that child attends school, parental involvement shows that the parent places value on education. Furthermore, “staying connected to the classroom gives you ideas of how to expand what she learns at school,” (Driscoll & Nagel, 2010) thus providing parents with additional tools to implement in the home to continue the teaching process even after the school day has ended.
Parental involvement has emerged as one of the most important topics in education. The stability of the American family has declined recently, which sparks the interest of what degree parents are involved (or uninvolved) in their children’s education (Jeynes 202). Educators and parents view parental involvement quite differently. Educators see it as helping at school and at home. Examples of this include parent’s attendance at PTO/PTA meetings and assisting children with their homework at home. Although this is the expectation, most parents do not agree, many see parent involvement as getting their children to school on time (if that) and solving issues at home that involve
Parent involvement is a major topic of concern among policy makers, educators, and researchers (Brooks-Gunn, Duncan, & Maritato, 1997; Rouse & Barrow, 2006; Young, Austin, & Growe, 2013) for more than 20 years. School districts, educational leaders, and researchers all agree with the premise that strong school-family partnerships improve children’s learning and outcomes. Parents and schools, separately or together, represent noteworthy influences on the essential sources of support for children’s learning and development. Children develop within multiple contexts, and development and learning are optimal when effective networks and permanencies among these systems are created. Semke and Sheridan (2012) affirm methods
Parental involvement is essential in helping address the functional/educational needs of the student both in and out of the classroom. According to research on good schools, parent involvement makes a difference. You cannot help your child succeed in the classroom if you are not involved. Positive parent involvement has a significant impact on student achievement, school attendance. Parents participate with the school in establishing its organizational goals, actively participate in developing the school’s policy on discipline, grading, attendance, testing, promotions, and retentions, listen to their children, recognize that children spend only a portion of the day at school and that much of their time is spent at home; therefore much can and should be done at home. As an SLP it is my responsibility to educate parents on what they bring to the table and establish what they would like to achieve in order to increase their child’s learning. As an advocate for children I will encourage parents to periodically determine if they, their child, and the school are working together in their plans for the child’s future, encourage visits with teachers and administrators at the school on a regular
According to Mendez &Westerberg (2011) the earlier in a child’s education parental involvement begins, the more prevailing the effect will be. Early childhood education programs with strong parental involvement components have continued to demonstrate the positive outcome on student’s positive attitude toward learning and their high academic
“At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child 's success is the positive involvement of parents.” Jane D. Hull. In this day and age many parents have lacked involvement in schools. Parents are the first teachers and it has truly become a lack of participation because of jobs, timing, and other family situations. There are many different looks from family contribution in schools and this is what will be discussed in this paper.
Discussions continue about improving the U.S. public education system. One question which is frequently overlooked is: What is the role of parents in education?
Children are our future leaders, doctors, and more. They need to be taught everything they will need to have success throughout their lives. Parents are known to be the first natural teachers of their children (Sad & Gurbuzturk, 2013). Over the past few decades, researchers have become increasingly concerned with parental involvement in their children’s education. The current idea of learning appears to be focused on developing the entire child through emotional, academic, and social adjustment rather than just academic development (Cheung, & Pomerantz, 2011). Parents and schools have begun to form partnerships in order to help the acquisition of knowledge through the development of the children’s individual abilities, engagement, and interest. Researchers have been focusing on finding a central aspect of parenting that helps to ensure the child’s future success through social and emotional development of their children (Warner, 2010).
Parent involvement is one of the most influential aspects of student motivation. The parents are the initial teachers of the child before the child goes to school and encounters education through a teacher. If a parent is completely engaged in the learning process with a child, there can be growth between the child and the parent simultaneously. The parents set an example for the child, so that the child understands that help is in the classroom and at home. Alma Wright, a first and second grade teacher, believes that parents in the classroom are a good way to stimulate children. She says, “Their active participation is a positive influence. The school is open for parents to share their talents and motivate their children” (Drew, Olds, and Olds, 1974, p. 71).
To conclude, my research shows a clear link between parental involvement and children performing better in school. Children who's parents are involved in their education are showing better performance and are achieving higher grades. They also show better behaviour, more enthusiasm, ambition and higher levels of engagement. compared with children who's parent are not involved in their education. My research also shows that parental involvement has great benefits for both children and parents in many ways, so much so that the most effective schools are those who encouraged parents to be involved.
Recent studies on parental involvement in education have found that there are many benefits for both the student and the adult when parents become involved in their children’s education. Without parent support, it is very difficult for a child to be motivated. From what I have seen growing up, only a small percentage of students are self-motivated, so it is absolutely vital that parents assist in the motivation process. I found this table to be particularly interesting and important.
The support of a parent is the single most important factor in predicting success in school for young children (Bourquin). Parents who make it a point to get involved with the child’s education are communicating the importance of education to their child (Heffer). There are a variety of ways in which a parent can get involved. This can range from at home help and encouragement with homework, attending athletic ...
Parental involvement promotes the social growth of a child. Children whose parents are involved in their education have many advantages. They have better grades, test scores, long-term academic achievement, attitudes and behavior than those with disinterested mothers and fathers (Gestwicki, 2001). Parents becoming involved in their child's schooling creates extra sources of social constraint to influence the child's behavior (McNeal, 2001). For example, parents talking to their children and becoming involved in the school conveys a message to the child of education being important. Parents should be talking with your children's teacher and letting her know about your family. The more she knows about your child, the better she will be able to connect with your child.