Parental Involvement in Childrens Education: Why Does It Make a Difference - Research Proposal Example

Parental Involvement in Children’s Education: Why does it make a Difference? Introduction The role of parent involvement in the academic achievement of children has been one of the areas in which researchers have exhibited interest. Notably, earlier research reveals that parents who are actively involved in the academic progress of their children may make a remarkable difference in the performance of children. Therefore, recent research has focused on understanding school-family relationships that define parent involvement. In addition, researchers have sought to identify evidence that parent involvement can register positive outcomes in the performance of students. Parent involvement has proven to be a critical force in the development of children as well as determining their academic success. More importantly, parent involvement eventually determines the success of children in life. When parents are actively involved in the life of children, especially in aspects concerning education, their children are more likely to see the benefits of education and develop positive attitudes towards learning. However, the degree of parent involvement in education varies immensely. Whereas some parents only ask their children about the school day, others are actively involved in checking the homework of their children as well as visiting the school in an effort to discuss the progress of their children. The accepted definition of parent involvement is the existence of active participation involving effective communication concerning issues that surround the academic learning of a student as well as other activities that go on within the school setting (Afolabi 2014, p. 8). Parents must be willing to receive and give feedback to teachers concerning the progress of their children. The highest level of involvement requires parents to play the critical role of partners in all the sectors concerning the education of their children. Parents should be actively involved in decision-making processes within the school system. Therefore, the school administration should ensure that all the advisory committee have parents as members. Research reveals that parents who register the highest level of involvement are likely to register positive outcomes in the academic progress of their children. Parent involvement does not only affect the academic performance of the children, but also determines whether children develop the desirable behaviour. Learning in school does not only impart children with new knowledge and skills, but also is of critical importance in the personality development (Afolabi 2014, p. 13). Therefore, parents, teachers, and policy makers have recognized the value of the active involvement of parents in the learning process of their children. In order to ascertain the impact of parent involvement on academic achievement, researchers have relied on assessing report card grades, feedback from teachers, scores from standardized tests, cognitive test scores, high school completion, as well as the dropout rates (Avvisati et al., 2014, p. 78). It emerges that children with parents who exhibit interest in their learning process register positive academic outcomes right from early childhood. Such children also have better cognitive skills and are likely to learn languages faster. On the other hand, lack of parent involvement in the education of children may result in poor performance as well as poor cognitive skills in children. Parents who collaborate effectively with the school system have their children more focused on achieving their educational goals and with a higher chance of completing high school (Avvisati et al., 2014, p. 64). Other researchers have sought to identify whether parent involvement in the education of children in high school presents positive outcomes as has been ascertained with younger children. Many of the studies have proven that high school students are more likely to have focus in their education if they are aware that their parents have expectations from them. In cases where parents do not show any interest in the education of high school students, they are less likely to be focused on registering remarkable performance. Most importantly, parent involvement can have positive social and emotional effects in the life of a student. Students spend a high percentage of their time in school. Therefore, parents who do not communicate with the school administration and teachers concerning the behaviour and performance of their children may eventually lose touch with the lives of their children. However, being actively involved may help children undergo successful and healthy social and emotional development. In addition, parent involvement may serve to reduce the development of high-risk behaviours among students (Chen & Gregory 2009, p. 53). The level of parent involvement has been categorized into three. Some parents are actively involved in the learning of their children at home. Other parents move a step further and are involved at school. The third category represents the most effective form of parent involvement at both the home and school setting through a two-way communication system. Research has revealed that the beliefs and the expectations of both parents and teachers may serve to determine the level of parent involvement. Teachers that are willing to discuss the progress of their students with parents are more likely to encourage involvement at the school level. Notably, the perception of parents determines their attitudes towards school (Gonzalez et al., 2013, p. 188). Therefore, the expectations of both parents and teachers may encourage the involvement of parents and eventually result in improved performance of students. In the study that will be carried out, the researcher will seek to establish whether parent involvement in the education of their children makes a difference. The research will explore the different levels of parent involvement as well as the types of difference that such involvement registers, previous research has ascertained that parent involvement that parent involvement register positive outcomes. However, this study will focus on identifying the most effective degree of parent involvement. Evidently, parents are proud of their children when they register outstanding performance and when they are well behaved. Therefore, it is rational to determine the level of involvement that parents can undertake in order to ensure that their children register good grades and that they undergo a positive personality development (Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler 1995, p. 322). Research Question The main research questions in the study will be: 1. Does parent involvement in the education of their children make a difference? 2. What is the best degree of parent involvement in optimizing the performance and behaviour of children? Rationale of the Study In the recent past, policy makers have, placed emphasis on the role of parents should play in the education of their children. In addition, there has been an observed difference in the performance of students whose parents’ are actively involved in their education. Therefore, it is of critical significance to determine the difference made by parent involvement in the education of their children. Findings from the study should help parents and teachers recognize the benefits of establishing a two-way communication concerning the performance and behaviour of students (Lau, Li, & Rao 2012, p. 415). Aims and Objectives The study will have the following objectives: 1. To determine the perspective of parents on the importance of getting involved in the education of their children 2. To determine the perspectives of teachers on the difference made by the parent involvement 3. To determine the perspectives of policy makers on the importance of parent involvement in the education of their children 4. To compare the difference in performance of students whose parents begin to register involvement in their education Theoretical Framework The study will adopt a qualitative approach. Therefore, the main research paradigms will be interpretivism and subjectivism. Interpretivism is an important paradigm in qualitative studies because it allows the researcher to describe their views concerning different phenomena after analysing data. Subjectivism is also important because it recognizes the value of the opinion held by participants concerning reality. Both of these paradigms ensure that the researcher can successfully interpret a diverse range of constructions in accordance with the views of different participants (Liu et al., 2010, p. 128). Research Design The research will adopt a qualitative approach in an effort to establish whether parent involvement makes any difference in the education of children. The research questions will be addressed by a qualitative approach. The approach will allow the researcher to determine the opinion of parents, teachers, policymakers, and students. In addition, a qualitative approach is more effective in determining the best level of parental involvement that should present the optimal positive outcomes (Stitt & Brooks 2014, p. 93). The qualitative approach is highly subjective, and it will rely on the opinion, views, and experiences of different participants. Participants The research will comprise of four distinct groups of participants. The researcher will identify a school in the United Kingdom, which encourages parent involvement. The first group of participants will comprise of parents of students in the identified school. Through purposive sampling, the researcher will identify 20 parents from the school with children in different grades. Purposive sampling will be more appropriate in identifying the parents because the researcher will rely on the help of teachers in an effort to identify parents who have maintained a good record of involvement. Therefore, 10 of the 20 parents will be that exhibiting outstanding involvement in the education of their children. Through the help of teachers, the researcher will identify 10 other parents who have registered low levels of involvement in the education of their children. After the identification of the parents, the researcher will obtain their phone numbers from the school and conduct them in order to carry out a warm up session before the study (Walker, Shenker, & Hoover-Oempsey 2010, p. 27). Notably, the willingness of parents to participate in the study will be identified at this level. The second group of participants will comprise of eight teachers identified from different grades and teaching different subjects. In addition, purposive sampling will be used in the identification of teachers who can participate in the study. Since the school administration tracks down the corporation of teachers and parents in promoting the success of students, teachers with the best records will be identified. Notably, identifying teachers who have maintained effective relationships with parents is of critical importance. For this reason, the study needs to understand the factors that encourage parents to be more involved in the education of their children at the school level. All the teachers identified for the study will be briefed on the purpose of the study as the researchers conduct the warm-up session. During the warm up session, the researchers will explain to the teachers the role that they will play in the study. Worth noting is the fact that teachers are in a better position to determine whether parents register the required level of involvement both at home and at the school level (Yoder & Lopez 2013, p. 430). Therefore, teachers will need to understand their role more critically if they are to provide informed opinions during the study. The third group of participants will comprise of five policy makers in the education sector. In order to identify the most reliable policy makers for the study, the researchers will consult with the United Kingdom education department. The identified policy makers will need to have a minimum of five years in the education sector. After obtaining the contacts of the policy makers, the researcher will conduct them through telephone calls and conduct a warm-up session for the study. The warm up session will highlight the purpose of the study as well as its significance to the education sector. The fourth group of participants will comprise of 10 students whose parents were identified in the first group of participants as having the lowest level of parental involvement (Yoder & Lopez 2013, p. 415). The students will belong to different grades. Through the help of the teachers, the parents will give consent to whether they want their children to be enrolled as participants in the study. Materials The three groups of participants comprising of parents, teachers, and policy makers will be interviewed by the researchers. Therefore, the main materials in the study will be interview questions, that will be used in semi-structured interviews of the three groups of participants. In addition, scores on standardized tests may also be of critical importance in the study, as they will be used by teachers to compare the performance of the ten students identified in the study. In order to determine the relevance of the interview questions to be used in this study, they will be reviewed by two experts. Since many of the questions will be open-ended, there will be no use of piloting them as the interviewers can direct the conversation with the interviewees (Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler 1995, p. 335). Procedure As mentioned above, semi-structured interviews will be used as the most effective data collection strategies in the study. Parents, teachers, and policymakers identified for the study through purposive sampling will be required to sign a form of consent after the warming up session. As mentioned above, parents and policy makers will be contacted by telephone and briefed on the purpose of the study. In addition, the researcher will request them for a convenient date for the interview for the interview session. In the case of teachers, they will be briefed about the study in a face to face meeting with the researchers at the school venue. All the participants will have to sign a form of consent that will ascertain their voluntary participation and reassure them of confidentiality and anonymity (Yoder & Lopez 2013, p. 419). In the case of the group comprising of the students, parents will have to sign the consent forms in order to authorize the researchers to use them as participants in the study. The interviewers will then interview the three groups of participants comprising of parents, teachers, and policy makers. After interviewing the parents with the lowest level of parental involvement, it is expected that they will increase their involvement whether at home and at school. Therefore, teachers will monitor the performance of their children closely in order to determine the difference made by parental involvement. Therefore, the teachers will monitor the behaviour and the performance of the identified students for three months in order to determine whether the increased parental involvement will have any positive outcomes. After the three months, the teachers will undergo a second interview session in order to discuss their findings with the researchers. Data analysis will follow after the second interviews with teachers are conducted (Afolabi 2014, p. 10). Data Analysis Qualitative data analysis in this study will rely on thematic analysis. Thematic analysis is a reliable approach because it gives the researchers an opportunity to obtain an in-depth analysis of the data. All the interview sessions will be recorded in order to ensure that data is transcribed easily. The researchers will organize the data in accordance with the identified frameworks. The identified frameworks are of critical importance in the descriptive analysis of data. Identifying the right frameworks is a precondition for proper organization and coding of the data. Data will be coded according to the themes evident in the collected data. After the process of data coding in accordance with the themes, the researchers will embark on the interpretation of the data. Ethics Ethical considerations in any research are of critical importance. Therefore, the researchers will seek authorization from the United Kingdom education sector prior to conducting the study. In addition, the researchers will ensure that all the participants give their consent signifying their voluntary and willing participation in the study. The consent form will highlight the specific details of the study such as the purpose of the study as well as the timelines. The form will also brief all the participants on the different procedures of the study, highlighting their specific role. Most importantly, the researchers will maintain high levels of confidentiality and anonymity. Worth noting is the fact that participants need the assurance of the researchers that they will maintain high levels of anonymity and confidentiality. However, it is rational for the researcher to highlight the limitations of confidentiality before the study. All the participants will have the freedom to withdraw from the study at their convenience (Stitt & Brooks 2014, p. 81). Since the study will involve a group of students, higher levels of protection of the minor will be needed. Therefore, the researchers will ensure that both the parents and teachers give their consent before the children can be enrolled into the study. Limitations One of the potential limitation of this study is the high level of subjectivity. Being a qualitative approach, the researchers rely on understanding the feelings, opinions, and experiences of the participants. Such high levels of subjectivity may introduce a measure of bias in the study. In addition, all the participants in the study will be identified through purposive sampling a factor that may limit the generalizability of the findings. In order to determine the difference made by parental involvement, future research may need to monitor the performance of the students for a longer time. However, in this study, the identified students were only monitored for three months. Future studies may also need to give attention to different aspects student learning and the potential benefits of parental involvement (Chen & Gregory 2009, p. 53). Summary Evidently, the study will adopt a qualitative approach. Four groups of participants will be identified for the study. Specifically, the study will comprise of 20 parents, 8 teachers, 5 policy makers, and ten students all identified through purposive sampling. Interview sessions will be used as the most reliable data collection techniques. The thematic analysis will be the most effective approach to data analysis. One of the outstanding limitations of the studies is the subjectivity of the qualitative approach. The research will consider ethical issues such as consent, anonymity, and confidentiality. 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