How parents participate in their children's education - Literature review Example

Literature review Mawjee (2008) found that parent participation in children’s schooling and education is an essential ingredient in the children’s academic success. The study focused on facilitation of increased parental involvement in education of their children in a multi-ethnic elementary school, California. The findings revealed that students whose parents got actively involved in their education scored better grades and showed more commitment to school work. Suc involvement included regular discussion of child progress with the teacher, checking if student did their homework, offering remedial work, and offering educational advice. . The findings were supported by an later study by BECTA (2010) which reported that parents who paid little attention to their children’s education risked having their children perform below par academically. Notably students who parents actively involved themselves in their academics scored and average of 55% in contrast to an average of 43.6 attributed to students who parents were less concerned about their progress in school. As a matter of fact, the study reported a positive correlation between parental involvement and children’s academic performance. Williams & Chavkin (2009) on the other hand deviated from conventional research which assesses level of parental involvement based on students academic performance; rather, the researchers sought ways through which parents involve themselves in education of children. According to researchers, parenting also constitutes involvement in children’s education. By establishing conducive environments to support students, parents are already getting involved. Communication forms between parents and teachers, more particularly diaries were also noted as ways through which parents can involve themselves in education of their children (Williams & Chavkin, 2009). The diaries for instance act as a bridge between parents and teachers and hence directly involve parents in their children’s education. Through this, both teachers and parents can get to understand the student’s educational progress. Other areas mentioned by the researchers include parent volunteer programs, assisting students learn at home, decision making and community collaboration (Williams & Chavkin, 2009). According to the researchers, such programs allow parents to witness first-hand their children’s progress. A recent research in Ghana investigated not just the level of parents involvement in their childrens education but also the relation between involvement and performance in mathematics and English (Chowa, Ansong, & Osei-Akoto, 2012). While the finding that the level of parents involvement remains rather low was unsurprising, particular considering te modern society where parents are more focused on making money, what came as a surprise was the finding that children with actively involved parents did relatively lower in mathematics and English as compared to students whose parents were not actively involved (Chowa, Ansong, & Osei-Akoto, 2012; Carpentier & Lall, 2005). However, the researchers explain that this finding could have been motivated by the fact that most parents who actively involve themselves in their students education are those whose children perform below standard. Another study reported that high level of parental involvement with their children at home as compared to school-based involvement. In the study, the majority of parents reported having discussed with the children their educational expectations. However, of the 107 parents studied, a substantive 57% reported never assisting the children with their homework (Fantuzzo, McWayne, Perry, & Childs, 2010; Conteh & Kawashima, 2008). The study also reported that most parental involvements were in the form of PTA meetings, reason being, most of these meetings are mandatory and accompanied by penalties for parents who fail to attend; a common practice employed by some scools nto deal with parents who are so busy to look into their children’s progress. On the other hand, Georgiou (2007) reported that socio-demographic traits of parents determined the level of involvement in their children’s education. This finding is supported by almost all empirical study on parental involvement, most of which point out that factor such as marital status, educational level, as well as child’s gender dictate parental involvement trends (Georgiou, 2012); Neimanns, 2009; Kleine, 2010; Department of Education, 2008).These findings are supported by Peters, Seeds, Goldstein & Coleman (2008), who reported that most parents have been historically involved with their children at home as compared to school. Unlike any studies which focus on purely on involvement of parents in educational settings and their activities, the research focuses on selected research aimed at underpinning parent involvement legitimacy. For instance, Epstein (2008) set stage for determination of parent’s involvement by taking an active role in creation of a comfy educational environment. She further affirms that parents who involve themselves with their children’s education are known to also demonstrate good parenting skills. Goldman (2005) further notes that those with generally good parenting skills involve themselves in their children’s education through constant communication with school staff, volunteering substantial amount of their time in school, help children learn at home, engage themselves in active decision making, in schools, and also regularly communicate with the school community. On the other hand, Nyako & Vorgelegt (2007) suggests that active parental involvement produces greater recognition of tutors’ skills, enhanced teacher evaluations, greater parental understanding of inner operations of the school, as well as higher school ratings program success and effectiveness. Like many other studies, Ho & Willms (2009) reported that a high rate of parent involvement in their children’s education resulted into improvement in not just academics but also increased participation in school activities such as basketball, and other social center events. Additionally, teachers attested that an increased parent involvement resulted into a corresponding improvement in overall attendance patterns. The children were also reported building their self-esteem, thanks to parental involvement. In terms of discipline, Harris & Goodall (2007) reported that an increased parent involvement resulted into a sharp decline in the number of discipline referrals recorded by teachers; a finding that is supported by multiple other studies (Flouri & Buchanan, 2004); Fisher, McCulloch, & Gershuny, 2009; Brooks et al., 2008; Catsambis, 2008). Other studies have also reported that increased parent involvement is of great importance. For instance, Reynolds and Clements (2005) reported that that school programs which avail support and resources towards parent involvement in children’s education, produce greater and longer-lasting benefits in academics and general child welfare as compared to other efforts which consume a large share of public spending, for instance, smaller class population and extra-school hour programs. However, a number of studies have also warned that whilst the prescription for increased parent’s involvement in schools sounds simple, practical changes require vast resources as well as teacher’s professional development to prepare them to work alongside parents (Feuerstein, 2008; Dauber, 2011; Sleegers, 2005; Robb, 2009; Barlow & Coren et al., 2002). In general, multiple literature points out that parental involvement in childrens schooling is of extreme importance, not just at a shallow level but at a more pro-active role. Most studies affirm that indeed increased parents involvement potentially yields better performance from the side of students not just in academics but also in other areas of study. Read More