A Need for an Overall Development of a Child Introduction - Research Paper Example

Parental Involvement A Need For An Overall Development Of A Child Introduction The survey regarding the parental involvement in the academic life of children was carried out to study what parents think about their involvement in their children’s school activities and if they face any barriers while doing so. Parent’s role do not end by getting their children’s home work done or by looking at their reports. If parents want their children to have an all round personality, they need to make sure that they are involved in every aspect of their development. This not only assures teachers that the child’s parents are taking responsibility for their growth but also make children develop confidence in themselves and help them to get a positive boost in performing. The survey was divided in three parts i.e. 1) Parental involvement at home, 2) Parental involvement in school and 3) barriers to parent involvement. The number of parents who responded to the questionnaire was fourteen. The total number of questions in all the three sections was twenty one. No question was left unanswered. Following is the analysis of the survey that was taken. Parental Involvement at home: The set of questions in this section was created to see what parents think about the importance of their involvement in their children’s school activities at home. All the parents (100%) agreed to the fact that their involvement in the school is important for the healthy development of their children. 92.9% of parents also said that they knew what ‘parental involvement’ means and also agreed that they want to spend more time with their children so that their children perform to the best of their ability and get all the resources available. 100% parents agreed that they are responsible to get their children motivated to complete their home work and their assignments. This shows that parents do understand and agree to the fact that their children’s behaviour and interest in school can be controlled by their involvement with their children’s school activities at home. However when the question turned to the communication between teachers and parents, a drop was seen in the agreement response. Only 85.7% parents said that they communicate with their child’s teacher when necessary. This shows that there is a communication barrier between the parents and teachers, although a slight one. Not just that but the next question about the suggestion of ideas from teachers as to how to raise their children provoked a strong response on a negative side. 38.5% parents disagreed with the suggestion and 53.8% were neutral about it. Only 7.7.% of parents agreed that they should get suggestions from teachers regarding the upbringing of their children. While 78.6% parents said that they think teachers need to give them more information regarding the classroom learning activities of their children, 21.4% responded neutrally to the same question. This shows that parents are open to the idea of the teachers involvement in their child’s development as long as it remains limited to the classroom activities. They are not open to the idea of the teachers influencing the behavior pattern and the habits of their children. So it is not surprising to see that 92.9% parents say that they should be responsible to get their child involved in the school by motivating them and encouraging them to do better. No parent disagreed to the fact that their attention and encouragement is necessary to get the child interested in school and studies. This makes it clear that parents do not want teachers to involve themselves with the personal lives of their children. They seem to be against the idea of teacher influencing the behaviour and the raising patterns of their children. Parental Involvement In School: The survey under the section of parental involvement in school showed that parents are very well aware of the fact that their involvement in the school activities enhances the chances of their children performing successfully at school. 100% of the parents said that they believed in the concept of parental involvement. However, for the parental involvement in school, what is necessary is the communication between the school staff and parents. This is where the response was extremely varied and shows confusion. On the idea of teachers initiating contact with parents, 14.3% of parents strongly disagreed , 28.6% disagreed, 28.6% were neutral, 14.3% agreed and remaining 14.3% strongly agreed. This shows that there lack of clarity regarding the communication pattern. It also suggests a strain between the relationship of the teachers and the parents. In this section, the conflict was also found in the question wanting teachers to inform them about the classroom activities. While 92.8% agreed to it, only 78.6% had agreed to the same question in the previous set of questions under the section ‘parental involvement at home’. This shows that when it comes to parents getting involved in the school, they think that it is the teachers duty to let them know what is going on in the classroom and hence they hold teachers responsible for communicating it to them. 92.8% agreed that they inquire in school if they have any questions regarding their child’s study. This shows that they are not hesitant to contact the school if they feel something is wrong with their child’s performance or development. Barriers to parental involvement: 100% parents said that they expect to be involved in their children’s education. However, when it came to question of giving time for school activities, 57.1% said that they have time but 42.9% remained neutral. This raises a question regarding the reasons for not getting involved in the school activities. This shows that there are definitely other reasons for lack of involvement in school activities. The question of having time is a very clear question. Remaining neutral on this question means time is not an issue of their involvement. 100% parents said that they are not hesitant in approaching the school to know about their child’s performance and 92.8% said that school is quite open to their involvement. 92.9% disagreed that it is hard to communicate to their child’s school while 7.1% agreed to it. This 7.1% may be the parents who chose to remain neutral when asked if school is not receptive to their involvement. This shows that the obstacle is not the way the school works but on the parents side. Parents find it difficult to approach the school not because the school is not open to their approach but because they have some communication barrier. When asked about their awareness regarding the contribution they can make to their children’s curricular activities, 28.6% decided to remain neutral while rest said that they are aware of their contribution. Overall analysis: 1. From the survey, one thing that is clearly visible is the fact that there is a strong communication barrier between the teachers and the parents. Parent’s opinion regarding who should take the initiative to communicate varied greatly. This shows that because of lack of understanding on this issue, there are chances of communication problem. This can affect the child’s performance at school and also can create a wrong picture in the mind of the teachers. 2. The survey also shows that parents are not open to the idea of teachers influencing their children’s behavior. They think that teachers should only look at the academic development of their child and nothing else. Steps to be taken: 1. Parents should be guided about the communication pattern between them and teachers to avoid any hesitancy or confusion regarding the communication. In the power game between the parents and the teachers, the one who loses is the child. So, a clear and a precise communication system should be introduced. 2. Parents should understand that the teachers not only observe the academic performance of a child but also know a lot about the personality , behavior, fears and aptitude of a child. So if a teacher has a suggestion regarding the behavior pattern of a child, parents should accept it and then do what they find right rather than being close to the suggestion. The survey clearly shows that for children to enjoy a healthy emotional, mental and physical growth, what is necessary is the harmonious relationship between the parents and the teachers and the only way this relationship can be developed is through healthy communication. Read More