Parents Involvement in Childrens Education - Essay Example

?Parent’s Involvement in Children’s Education Children are likely to succeed in their education, when there is a supportive environment created by the parents and schools. So, it is worthy to note that apart from the school educators, parental involvement plays a significant role in determining the children’s improvement in learning activities. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of parental involvement in the children’s achievement and how it contributes to their educational outcomes. Also, significant differences in the gender-biased parental involvement and its outcomes are also analyzed. Families – main context of learning. Though everyone accepts the fact that enhancing the educational outcomes of the children is the major goal for the schools, the centrality of the families in the children’s learning cannot be ignored. Among the significant factors in children’s learning, the foundation established by the family environment is a highly influential one as it helps the children to achieve their full potential in learning. Researches have confirmed that the part played by the families on children’s education is indispensable for their cognitive growth and development. As per the systems theory, the families play a meaningful role in a child’s educational success. According to Bronfenbrenner, “the informal education that takes place in the family is not merely a pleasant prelude, but rather a powerful prerequisite for success in formal education.” (Christenson & Sheridan, p.32). Though schools might provide opportunities for the children to learn, the families are the fundamental platform that will increase their academic and developmental outcomes. Secure and stable family environment provides the children with high aspirations, intellectual stimulation, positive attitudes and self-conceptions which are the ‘building blocks’ to their learning ability. Thus, a healthy family atmosphere will certainly influence the children’s commitment and engagement towards learning. According to the developmental psychology, a child’s first three years is the basis for his/her cognitive growth and this is why the family part in these years of development is crucial. The family setting in which a child grows influences his/her activities, observations, communication skills, conducts and motives, which are indeed the key elements in shaping the child’s literary experiences. On this perspective, it is evident that families are the main context of learning for the children and a supportive environment will make a positive difference, particularly in their educational success. Thus a family setting that provides enough resources and opportunities for the children to learn will influence their later educational outcomes. It is observed that children who are nurtured well in their family environment tend to be better competent in their social and educational spheres even in the later stages of life. However, differences in these settings will contribute to variations in patterns of learning among the children. This is why children brought up at different levels of families tend to act differently, in accord to the way in which they were raised. Thus, family environment is the main context of learning for the children as it will boost up their educational attainment to a greater level, when nurtured in the right way. Impact of parental attitudes and aspirations: When parents are involved actively in the children’s learning activities, their attitudes and aspirations tend to influence the educational achievements of the children. The relationship between the parental aspirations and the children’s educational outcomes is complex as it is interrelated with various other social, economic and psychological aspects. It is evident from various researches that the expectations of the parents tend to impact the achievement of the children to a considerable level. Parents who have higher expectations on their children tend to involve more in their learning activities, which would favorably benefit the child to get the better educational attainment. The parental attitudes and aspirations may vary with different factors such as education level of the parents, socio-economic status, ethnicity, relationship status, etc. For instance, parents with higher education have higher expectations on their children’s educational outcomes, which might lead to greater achievements among those children. Since the level of parental education predicts their self-efficacy beliefs, it also predicts the academic abilities of the children. Similarly, the socio-economic status of the families also directly intervenes with the attitudes and aspirations of the parents, thereby affecting the educational attainment of the children. It is observed that children from more advantaged socio-economic backgrounds tend to have strong predictions for achievements than the children from low socio-economic status. The aspiration-achievement gap is likely to increase in gender biased ethnic groups and parents from low socio-economic backgrounds. Whilst higher parental aspirations can lessen these effects of social backwardness and ethnic differences, the results are shown to vary between different ethnic groups. Certain studies have found that the attitudes and aspirations of the parents are not only associated with the economic and educational background but also with the abilities and skills of the children. “According to Goodman and Gregg, parental expectations are linked to parental involvement, and to the child’s cognitive ability and attainment. In general, parents calibrate their expectations according to the ability and prior achievements of their children.” (Gorard et.al, 2012, p.25). Similarly, the economic constraints, availability of opportunities and child’s abilities are also the key factors that influence the parents aspirations. In general, the parents’ aspirations tend to change over time with respect to their perceptions of the child’s skills and ability. Overall, the attitudes and aspirations of the parents and their expectations have a greater impact on the successful educational attainment of the children, despite the varying factors. Educational support and the challenges: Today’s parents believe that they have equal responsibility on their child’s education along with the school and so participate in wide range of learning activities with their children. They act as a key resource in improving the children’s learning activities like reading, writing and numeracy skills, bringing positive difference to their academic achievements. So, it is necessary for the parents to understand the impact that this educational support will provide to their children’s achievement. For this purpose, they need to get involved in the children’s educational activities like helping the children at school, assisting them with homework and engaging them in other learning activities. Offering educational support can improve the child’s self-efficacy, academic progress and literacy skills. There are various ways in which the parents can support their children in their educational development. Creating an effective learning environment which is free from distractions will impact on the children’s achievement. The parental involvement in the reading activities of the children would result in higher language, pre-reading and learning attainment, thereby showing significant positive impact on their educational outcomes. Recent data from National Child Development Study suggests that “children of parents with the poorest grasp of literacy and numeracy are at a substantial disadvantage in relation to their own reading and math’s development compared to children who have parents with good literacy/numeracy.” (“Bynner & Parsons, 2006, p.100”). In a survey in 2007, around 51% of the parents surveyed felt very involved in their children’s, nevertheless, one-third of the parents felt the necessity for more involvement in their children’s educational achievement. There are various challenges for the parents to becoming more involved. It was also shown that 44% of the parents view their work commitments as a barrier for becoming more involved. (Peters et. al. 2008, p.4). However, the benefits attained from working have rationalized the parents’ fairer involvement towards their children as a stable economy in the home is also a fundamental requirement for the children’s growth and development. Similarly, the ethnicity, relationship and educational levels of the parents also influence the parental involvement in the children’s achievement. For instance, single parents, especially women are willing to be more involved compared to lone men; and those from Black British background and parents of special-needs children show more parental involvement than others. In addition, lack of time spending with the children, childcare issues, and poor literary skills of the parents can also be associated as the barriers to effective parental involvement. Benefits of parental involvement: Parental involvement has been the key factor in improving not only the academic achievements of the children but also their overall behaviors and skills. Such an involvement helps the parents to monitor their children’s day to day progress in school, which might lead to better academic attainment. When parental involvement is effectively planned and implemented, it results in substantial benefits for the children, parents, educators and the school. On the parents’ part, helping the children increases their self-efficacy along with their confidence level. When the parent increases their rapport with the school, it allows the parents to share their mutual learning experiences and respect the efforts of the school in shaping the children’s educational success. Moreover, the educational support rendered by the parents can enhance their ability to help the children for better academic attainment. This would successively improve the parents’ skills and confidence as well as their understanding of how to support their child’s skills development. Better understanding would let the parents to be sensitive to the social, emotional and intellectual needs of their children. This increases the emotional attachment and positive reinforcement, lessening the punitive approaches towards the children. Apart from the children-focused benefits, the parents’ perception on the school activities is greatly improved, strengthening their ties and commitment with the school. For children, the parental involvement increases their grading scores, homework completion, attendance regularity and self-esteem. Also children tend to perform well in their academic achievements, despite their ethnic, social and parents’ educational status. According to CIERA’s research, it is studied that helping the children in their learning activities develops a wide range of knowledge for supporting their school-based education. “Parental help in the form of modeling good reading habits and monitoring homework and television viewing is associated with gains in student achievement.” (“Improving the Reading”). Children whose parents are actively involved in learning activities are characterized with positive attitudes, higher attendance rates and improved social interactions with peers. Furthermore, the parent’s involvement in regulating their children’s disciplinary process and letting them to participate in academic achievements and social development would considerably decrease their inappropriate behaviors at school and society. The diverse cultural and social backgrounds of the children can be eradicated with a positive intervention of parental involvement along with the school educators. Thus, efficient parental involvement shows a substantial influence on the academic and social roles of the child in his/her later years. Parental involvement variations: Effective parental involvement has proven to have a greater impact on the educational achievement of the children. However, there are many variations observed in the way that parents involve in a child’s educational activities. This depends on various factors, resulting from the different groups of parents, owing to their social and cultural backgrounds. Firstly the ethnic groups show a considerable variation in levels of parental involvement. Black parents and non-White ethnic groups are likely to be more involved in their children’s activities twice than that of the White parents. Similarly, parents from non-White backgrounds tend to be take responsibility for their children’s education by involving actively in their school activities. It is observed that compared to the 27% of the White parents, only 17% of the Black and Asian parents stress on the child’s education as solely the school’s responsibility. (Peter et.al. 2008, p.40). Researches have confirmed that Black and Asian parents hold a high regard for their children’s future, placing extremely high value for their education. This is mainly because of the cultural factors that encourage education for preventing social exclusion and racial discrimination. In addition, the differing parental involvement across the ethnic groups is due to the unequal opportunities and low socio-economic status of the communities. Secondly, the differences in family environment also show some variations in the parental involvement. Lone parents are less likely to be involved in their children education are also not confident in participating in the school activities. Also low-income and working class families tend to show prominent differences in parental involvement due to inflexible work schedule, lack of child care and lesser opportunities to interact with the school. As poverty is associated with lower academic success in many cases, parents from low socio-economic status tend to show variations in their parental involvement. Thirdly, the educational level of the parents holds a crucial part in their parental involvement. Less educated parents’ involvement in the children’s educational activities are affected by their inability to cope with the homework activities and also due to their limitations in accessing the educational resources. These variations in the parental involvement owing to the parent’s ethnic or social setting influence the parent’s habitus for their children’s educational involvements. Consequently, it increases the attainment gap between these children’s’ learning activities and educational outcomes. Conclusion: Recent researches like CIERA project have concluded that parental involvement is associated with better academic achievement outcomes. It increases the children’s educational attainment in schools by letting them earn higher grades, reducing the school drop-outs, increasing the attendance rates and improving their social skills and behaviors. It is also observed that gender-biased parental involvement towards boys and girls might show variations in their behavior and development. Since girls garner more attention from the parents than the boys, the parental involvement seems to differ accordingly. The differences in parental involvement show that girls are reported to be more indulged in activities like reading, teaching songs and rhymes. This might be due to the reason that girls tend to actively support the parental involvement than the boys. In addition, girls possess better communicative skills; and it is easier for the parents to grasp their academic needs. The significant difference in parental involvement among the girls and boys affects their opportunities in learning, thereby resulting in differed performance scores. This type of differences might account to some variations in social and cognitive behavior when they enter schooling. Researches have also shown that a favorable learning environment readily encourages children’s education, their attitudes and skills, apart from the impact of the parental attitudes and aspirations. Despite a parents’ income, cultural background or education level, the parental involvement can positively contribute to the educational success of children. Thus, parents and communities are a foundation plank in children’s literacy development and educational attainment, playing a crucial part in influencing their education in school and beyond. References: Bynner, John. and Parsons, Samantha. (2006). “New Light on Literacy and Numeracy. Research Report.” National Research Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy. November 2006. Web. 6 Dec 2013. Christenson, Sandra, and Sheridan, Susan M. Schools and Families: Creating Essential Connections for Learning. Guilford Press, 2001. Gorard, Stephen. Huat See, Beng and Davies, Peter. “The impact of attitudes and aspirations on educational attainment and participation.” Joseph Rowntree Foundation, April 2012. “Improving the Reading Achievement of America's Children: 10 Research-Based Principles.” CIERA.org Web. 6 Dec 2013. Peters, Mark. Seeds, Ken. Goldstein, Andrew. Coleman, Nick. “Parental Involvement in Children’s Education 2007.” BMRB Social Research 2008. Web. 6 Dec 2013. Read More