Introduction
According to Garcia and Thornton (2014:1) current research shows that the involvement of family in learning helps to improve student performance, reduce absenteeism and restore parents' confidence in their children's education. Learners with parents or caregivers who are involved in learners’ education, earn higher grades and test scores, have better social skills and show improved behaviour. Which is something that we as a community and the world at large are in need of, as it would highly contribute in reducing crime and poverty. Ideally it would help to have a greater percentage of parental involvement in their children’s education. The study looks at parental involvement in depth by focusing on: the concept of parental involvement, its benefits, the disadvantages of not involving parents and how parents can be involved.
Task
Parental involvement plays a critical role in students’ academic success. When you work with parents, you get the extra support needed to help struggling children turn around their performance. You also encourage a lifelong love of learning in every student, creating more engaged and excited learners. By opening the lines of communication, encouraging parental presence in the classroom and offering opportunities for home enrichment, teachers can bring parents on board as partners in education.
Process
Higher grades - Kids whose parents are involved in their education get better grades and have higher test scores. And the more parents are involved, the more their children seem to benefit. A study of parents highly involved in the educational process showed that their children were more likely to improve in reading and math.
Better behavior - Kids develop better social skills and show improved behavior when their parents are involved at school. Studies have also shown that kids are less likely to skip school, less disruptive in class, and more likely to do their homework when their parents are involved. One study showed that when dads are highly involved in schools, their children enjoy school more and are less likely to be suspended, expelled, or required to repeat a grade.
Improved education - Research shows that parent involvement can help improve the quality of schools, raise teacher morale, and improve a school’s reputation in the community. Involved parents gain the respect of teachers; as a result, teachers have higher expectations of their children. Involvement pays off in the long term, too: Children stay in school longer and are more likely to continue their education after high school.
Increased confidence - When students feel supported at home and school, they develop more positive attitudes about school, have more self-confidence, and place a higher priority on academic achievement. Children of involved parents are more likely to feel that they’re accepted, included, and respected and at school.
Parents benefit too - When parents become involved in their children’s education, they become more comfortable in the school building, gain confidence in their parenting skills, and feel more capable of helping their children learn. They’re also more likely to continue their own education.
Evaluation
Including Parents in Evaluation of a Child Development Program: Relevance of Parental Involvement.
Hamida Amirali Jinnah, Lynda Henley Walters
Early Childhood Research & Practice 10 (1), n1, 2008
Program evaluation practices in early childhood care and education have been underdeveloped compared to the larger field of educational evaluation. The inclination not to include parental views in evaluation is mainly a result of the problem of positive response bias. Researchers who study client satisfaction with educational or child care programs find that parental satisfaction ratings are mostly positive. This study helps address the problem by considering the influence of parental involvement and underscores the importance of considering parental satisfaction ratings in program evaluation. Purposive sampling was used. Parents of children in a child development program were given questionnaires assessing parental satisfaction with the program and their perceived involvement in the program. Regression analysis revealed that parental involvement positively predicted a parent's level of satisfaction with the program. To explore the specific areas of satisfaction in greater depth, cluster analysis was used to identify two distinct groups of parents based on their involvement. The differences and similarities between clusters are discussed. Results have implications for researchers, practitioners, administrators, and policy makers.
Conclusion
Parental involvement in the classroom.
Sandra M Machen, Janell D Wilson, Charles E Notar
Journal of instructional psychology 32 (1), 2005
Improving parental involvement with public schools can improve schools. Parental involvement is highly important for pushing the public school systems to higher standards. Also, research reports that engaging parents in an active role in the school curriculum can open alternative opportunities for children to succeed in academics. This report will present information that addresses the amount of contact that parents have with school and the amount of time they volunteer in the classrooms. To develop effective parent-involvement programs, which range from greater support for the school programs to improved student achievement, researchers must investigate how to help school leaders identify practices and policies that encourage parent trust and involvement in the process of schooling.