Parental involvement in education can enhance child development by clarifying the needs of both the child and the school, forging invested relationships with school staff, maintaining quality of education at the institution and encouraging children to participate in educational activities both at school and at home. Parents who are wary of involvement due to intense time restraints may still be able to find flexible options for participation.
Defining Parental Involvement in Education
In the federally mandated "No Child Left Behind" Act of 2002, parental involvement is described as "the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities." However, there is no specification that parents must come to school, notes the Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Development (CCSRD). In other words, parents can maintain interactions with the school system and promote educational ideas through their activity in the home.
The Benefits of Parental Involvement
Parents are a child's first teachers and the bridge between home and external learning environments. Parents who create a climate for learning and extend their enthusiasm to school institutions can ensure the quality of instruction, which can benefit all participants in the school system. Schools can also tailor their programs and services more accurately when they have direct feedback from their community. Most importantly, children who observe that their parents have a vested interest in their schools may become more motivated or otherwise inclined to participate in school activities. According to CCSRD, research has shown a strong relationship between the involvement of parents in schools and their children's educational effort and achievement.
Challenges of Involvement
As families become increasingly nontraditional, they also grow increasingly fragile, according to educator Jeri LaBahn. Families may have even more limited free time, supervision or financial resources. They may be unaware of volunteer opportunities or unconvinced that their efforts would be valued. Moreover, parent-teacher involvement tends to decline over time, notes a research study in the American Journal of Community Psychology. Researchers studied 1,205 children (grades K-3) for three consecutive years, noting that the frequency, quality and duration of parent involvement consistently declined each year.
Parent Involvement Strategies
By establishing communication early on in the school year, schools can rapidly learn of issues facing both the parents and the institution. Schools may offer parent education classes, to encourage sharing between families, or develop out-of-school projects to promote family participation led by parents' own interests. If nothing else, schools must be flexible and offer an array of options, as parents may be unable to chaperone field trips or lead fundraisers and may even be unsure as to how to check homework (and thereby give their signature that it has been completed). The Center for Exceptional Children recommends that schools help parents establish and use graphic data charts to record their child's work efforts and share progress with the school administration.
Parent Involvement Precautions
Families in high-risk areas or of students earmarked as having special needs may have additional concerns that may prevent parental involvement. Schools serving these populations may need to develop particularly flexible, low-stress and even colloquial opportunities for parents to remain involved and maintain realistic expectations about the results.
References
- Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Development: What Schools Want Parents to Know
- Educational Psychology Interactive: Parental Involvement in Secondary Schools
- American Journal of Community Psychology: Parent Involvement and School Performance
- Center for Exceptional Children: Strategies to Increase Parent Involvement
