This article is part of the Community School Model Guide. Learn all about The Four Pillars of Community Schools, Community involvement in schools, and School-Community relationship.
This is a sub-topic of the ‘Community School Model’ pillar page. See brief for the Pillar page here.
Encouraging learning at home and getting involved in your child’s education and school program is essential for the child’s view on education. Having involved parents, children receive school assignments easier and feel they have the support they need whenever they are stuck with a project.
Parent Involvement in Education Basics
There are different parental involvement types – parental involvement with the school, parental involvement with schooling and parental engagement with children’s learning. While the latter is where each parent should be, being at teh beginning with parental involvement with the school is a start and is good. Parents see they can do more and make time for more activities with their children in time.
What is Parent Engagement?
Parents’ engagement refers to getting involved in your child’s education and offering them the support they need whenever they find trouble handling a school assignment.
Teachers need to be aware of the degree students can count on their parents and whether students receive any guidance at home. The fewer guidance children receive from their parents, the more teacher involvement needs. However, some experts believe parents’ engagement is a shared responsibility with teachers to help children in their educational goals.
The ideal situation is a direct collaboration between teachers and parents to help the child in the education process.
Parent engagement and parent involvement are two different concepts, though they both exist to help the child succeed in school and life.
Parent involvement equals the participation of parents in school activities and projects. Here teachers are those that set the educational goals.
Meanwhile, parent engagement is the degree to which parents commit to prioritising their children’s studies and helping them at home.
The importance of Parental involvement
Parents and teachers need to work together to establish a prosperous future for the child. There is no one more interested in the well being and success of the children than their parents and, of course, their teachers, who are always proud to hear about their former student’s success.
There is a direct link between the degree of parental involvement in a child’s education and the motivation, the academic success and the behaviour towards the education. While we may live in a world that spins so fast and teh time is not what it used to be, with a little bit of planning and less out of work hours working time, we will indeed find the opportunity to give our children the proper support in their educational path.
Parent Engagement and Student Success
“A school striving for family involvement often leads with its mouth—identifying projects, needs, and goals and then telling parents how they can contribute. A school striving for parent engagement, on the other hand, tends to lead with its ears—listening to what parents think, dream, and worry about.” (Larry Ferlazzo)
Benefits of parent involvement in schools
Academic Achievement
Children whose parents are more engaged in their school activities and help them with their homework have bigger grades and score better on any academic tests. “No matter their income or background, students with involved parents are more likely to have higher grades and test scores, attend school regularly, have better social skills, show improved behavior and adapt well to school.” (National Coaltion for Parent Involvement in Education)
Higher Attendance
The positive effect that the parent’s involvement in their children’s school also has a direct effect on the student’s attendance. Students have an increased school attendance, which helps them finish high school and continue with university education.
Better School-to-Parent Communication
Once parents develop a relationship with their children’s teachers, they have the opportunity to understand better the school and its educational style. More than this, each child is different and thus has different needs. A direct relationship between the parents and the teachers helps the teachers work towards the child’s exact needs.
Positive School Culture
A positive school culture depends a lot on the well-being of the students. In a classroom where students lack engagement, lack self-esteem, are afraid of failures and have difficulty understanding the course, the effect is more negative than positive.
However, once students know they have support at home, support at school, and know that their needs are attended to, their motivation and self-confidence increase. Along with the two, positive school culture is created inside the classroom.
Mental Health
Children look up to their parents, and seeing their parents get engaged in their off home life means a lot to them. Having the possibility to include parents in their school program makes them feel safe and supported. This contributes to their well-being. They are not stressed out due to school as they know they can always count on their parents for guidance.
Parental Involvement Activities
There are many teachers today that encourage parent involvement. And though sometimes, they may encounter difficulties in making parents understand the importance of at least a minor involvement in their children’s education. It is essential for them to keep pushing.
Become a class parent-helper
Starting, being a parent that gets involved in your child’s school and activities, you can volunteer in extra-curricular activities, be one of those that has a class and presents a topic, be a part of the committee of parents or help introduce and engage other parents in activities. You do not have to do many, just a few and have the proper results. Any involvement in your child’s school is worthy and matters.
Organize an after-school club
There are various types of parents. Some like to get involved in school activities while others tend to better like and have availability for after school activities. Having an after school club helps those parents that cannot get involved in school activities be a part of the school.
A lot of return on investment can be received from this kind of club
– Meet other parents and see what they struggle with regarding school concerns.
– Be a part of the solution and help others.
– Receive help and pieces of advice.
– Bond the parents-children relationships.
– Create an after-school club for children as well.
– Develop friendships.
Help with extra-curricular activities
Extra-curricular activities exist from the willingness of teachers to involve students as much as possible in activities and keep them engaged. At the same time, also teaches them other physical, social and cognitive skills. More than just the classroom lessons, extracurricular activities help children learn to act in an informal environment and discover their passions.
These extracurricular activities can be
– Practising a sport.
– Book club.
– Forest walk.
– Planting trees.
– Cinema going.
– Art classes.
– Photo taking.
– Sustainability projects.
– Challenging students to find solutions to real-world problems.
– Supporting the school in different projects.
– As a parent giving help in organising these extracurricular activities means a lot to the teachers.
Get involved in decision and policymaking
Many parents like getting as involved as possible in the decision making of the school and its policy. It allows them to help create a school environment that fits their child’s needs. More than just helping their children and accommodating their needs, it helps the school as a new and outside opinion is always welcome, and sometimes it can make a difference in the improvement processes.
Share your expertise
Expertise sharing is an excellent idea for parents who like to share what they do in the real-world and how they can help class lessons. Showing willingness to do this, teachers will find a way to include your expertise in their teaching schedule.
Conclusion
Parents would not expect teachers to do all the work to educate their children. Each child comes from different backgrounds, has different needs, passions, and degrees of understanding. Thus being an involved parent can guide teachers toward the points they need to focus on for each child. This is the only way a child can have a successful education path.
Parental Involvement in Schools FAQ
Why is it essential to have parental involvement in schools?
Parental involvement is a must, especially for the children. Seeing a raised interest from their parents regarding their school life helps them become more engaged in learning. It brings only positive things for everyone involved.
What are the 3 benefits of parent involvement?
The main benefits of parental involvement are:
– Better grades and increased school attendance
– Wellbeing
– Raised interest in learning
How does parental involvement help with the effectiveness of school?
Parental involvement in the school processes helps the school answer the study needs of each child.
