The
Importance and Implementation of Parental Involvement
Benjamin
V. Erickson
University
of Northern Colorado
The vast amount of literature concerning
parental involvement in the educational process gives evidence to the high level
of importance that parental involvement carries in the field of education.
Through involvement in their children’s education parents can create benefits
that extend to their children, teachers, schools, their community, and
themselves. The themes that permeate through the discussion of parental
involvement in education mirror those that are essential to the success of any
human relationship. Communication, respect, trust, open mindedness, and
familiarity are all aspects that go into a successful relationship, and also
play an integral role in creating effective parental involvement in the
educational process, and developing strategies to achieve it. The literature on
parental involvement in education also makes it clear that the definition of
parental involvement is not a concrete thing, and what constitutes parental
involvement can look different between individual situations. The varying types of parental involvement can
be influenced by cultural differences, socio-economic status, teacher attitudes
and a myriad of other factors that can be as individual as the people that are
involved in the educational process. Through the awareness of the importance of
parental involvement in education and the differences that make people the
individuals they are, teachers can develop strategies to encourage effective
parental involvement and foster positive relationships with parents that have
benefits for all involved.
Research
has shown that parent involvement in education has positive benefits for
students, and can increase academic performance on standardized achievement
tests and classroom performance, as well as increasing children’s perception of
cognitive competence (Topor, Keane, Shelton, & Calkins, 2010). Improved
student performance through parental involvement benefits not only the students
themselves, but also teachers and parents. Teachers gain examples of successful
parental involvement to build upon, as well as improved test scores and class
grades. Parents receive concrete proof that their involvement in their child’s
education can yield positive benefits. Positive experiences between teachers and
parents help create strong parent-teacher relationships because positive
interactions with teachers create memorable experiences of the school process
for parents (Snell, Miguel, & East, 2009). Fostering positive relationships between
teachers and parents through effective parental involvement can lead to
increased and more effective parental involvement in the future.
The
realization of the benefits of parent involvement and strong teacher-parent
relationships can lead to parents taking a leadership role and encouraging
other parents to become involved in their schools. In a study of middle school
parents in an urban area of Colorado researchers found that parents changed
from a personal interest in their own child’s success to being involved for the
purpose of helping and educating other parents and the school itself (Snell et
al. 2009), which benefits parents, students, teachers and schools as a whole. When
parents take a more active role in the encouragement of parental involvement in
their schools and communities the weight of fostering parental involvement
doesn’t rest solely on the shoulders of the teacher. Christiankis (2011) notes
that while the benefits to students, parents, and teachers gained from parental
involvement are well documented, the definition of parental involvement varies.
These differences in what parental involvement can look like leads to the need
to research which types are the most successful, and how to best encourage
parents to be active participants in their children’s education.
Parents’
involvement in the educational process can come in several forms including
helping with homework and assignments, stressing the importance of education,
communication with school staff, and being involved on school committees. Hill
and Tyson (2009) found that parental involvement that focuses on academic
socialization has a strong positive relation with achievement among middle
school students. This type of involvement focuses on the understanding of the
purposes and goals of education, as well as the value of education and making
plans and preparations for the future. Recognition of the types of parental
involvement that are most successful in producing achievement is important, but
if teachers are not successful in promoting parental involvement than it is all
for not. While there may various definitions for what parental involvement is,
one thing that is clear is that there must be a change in the traditional views
of parent involvement. Auerbach (2007) suggests that this can be done by
embracing a wide range of practices by diverse parents in their homes and at
school rather than the parental involvement practices associated with white,
middle class parents in order to shape a new definition of parental involvement.
Awareness of cultural, linguistic, racial and socio-economic differences among
the parents of school children is an essential aspect of developing strategies
to promote parental involvement.
While
the United States is made up of many different cultures, our educational system
favors the dominant culture and promotes the ways of thinking, language and
values of that dominant culture in schools (De Gaetano 2007). This monocultural
focus in education has lead to minority groups being marginalized and viewed as
unwilling, nonparticipants in their children’s education. Recognition of this
problem is the first step to creating strategies to encourage parental involvement
among minority groups. Because of cultural differences parents and teachers can
often have a different view of what parental involvement in education means. A
key to encouraging increased involvement is allowing parents from culturally
diverse backgrounds to have their perspectives heard in order to recognize what
parent engagement means to them (Snell et al. 2009). It is also essential that schools understand
the complex race, class, and gender identities, family histories, cultural
aspects and dynamics that shape the relationship minority parents have with
schools (Auerbach 2007). Through understanding how cultural differences shape
parents’ interactions with schools, teachers will be better prepared to
recognize how they also shape perspectives on parental involvement. Once
parents and teachers have established what they expect parental involvement to
look like research based strategies that encourage parental involvement can be
put into place.
When
research based strategies for encouraging parental involvement that respect
cultural differences are put into place teachers have a greater chance of
creating effective parental involvement and building strong parent-teacher
relationships. In order to be able to put these strategies into practice
teacher education has to put emphasis on teachers developing relationships with
parents from diverse social backgrounds, and examine local meanings of
involvement with parents (Christianakis 2011). Through being positive,
proactive, and solution oriented, respecting families’ roles and cultural
backgrounds, communicating consistently, and empowering families with knowledge
of opportunities for involvement teachers can create strong relationships with
parents while encouraging involvement (Edwards, Da Fonte 2012). Effective
communication with parents is one of the most effective strategies to encourage
parental involvement. When communicating with parents it is important to ask
parents to become involved, and to do so in an accessible, consistent and
informal manner in a format suited to individual parents (Stalker, Brunner,
Maguire & Mitchell 2011). In order to best communicate with parents,
teachers should survey parents about their preferred method of communication,
as well as access to and comfort level with technology (Graham-Clay 2005). By
showing parents the respect they deserve, having an understanding of cultural
differences, and communicating effectively teachers can create strong
relationships with parents that will encourage parental involvement in the
educational process.
Action Plan
When
developing an action plan to encourage parental involvement it is essential to
include strategies that would be effective for populations that traditionally
have low documented involvement such as minority groups, and families with low
socio-economic status. This is the only way to create a plan that would truly
serve all parents. The first strategy I would employ is finding ways to
establish a feeling of mutual respect with every parent who I work with. This
will take getting to know individual parents and families and their cultures
and backgrounds without feeling like I am intruding on their privacy. Accomplishing
this can be achieved through questionnaires completed by students and their
parents, as well as consistent, open lines of communication. Questionnaires can
be developed in multiple formats, and resources can be used to translate them
into other languages if necessary. This can also be used as a method to
determine what form of communication works best for parents, when is the best
time to contact them, what types of technology they have access to, and gauge
what parental involvement means to them. The information that is gathered
through this process would allow me to develop plans that are individualized to
the level of involvement specific parents are comfortable with, and possibly
encourage increased involvement as the relationship progresses. The use of
technology is also an essential strategy for me to encourage parental
involvement because of the many ways it gives you to encourage interaction.
While access to technology may present barriers for families in difficult
socio-economic situations, I would research ways in which to break down these
barriers and help families find resources to give them access to technology.
Making parent involvement part of the class itself is another strategy I would
employ. By creating assignments and projects that require parental input, and
clearly communicating this to parents it can become a natural part of the educational
process.
References
Auerbach,
S. (2007) From moral supporters to struggling advocates: Reconceptualizing
parent roles in education through the experiences of working-class families of
color. Urban Education, 42 (3), 250-283
Christianakis,
M. (2011) Parents as “Help Labor”: Inner-city teachers’ narratives of parent
involvement. Teacher Education Quarterly,
38 (4), 157-178
De
Gaetano, Y. (2007) The role of culture in engaging Latino parents’ involvement
in school. Urban Education, 42 (2), 145-162
Edwards,
C., Da Fonte, A. (2012) The 5-point plan. Teaching
Exceptional Children, 44 (3), 6-13
Graham-Clay,
S. (2005) Communicating with parents: Strategies for Teachers. School Community Journal, 15 (1), 117-129
Hill,
N.E., Tyson, D.F. (2009) Parental involvement in middle school: A meta-analytic
assessment of the strategies that promote achievement. Developmental Psychology, 45
(3), 740-763
Snell,
P., Miguel, N., East, J. (2009) Changing directions: participatory action
research as a parent involvement strategy. Educational
Action Research, 17 (2), 239-258
Stalker,
K.O., Brunner, R., Maguire, R. Mitchell, J. (2011) Tackling the barriers to
disabled parents’ involvement in their children’s education. Educational Review, 63 (2), 233-250
Topor,
D.R., Keane, S.P., Shelton, T.L., Calkins, S.D. (2010) Parent involvement and
student academic performance: A multiple meditational analysis. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in
the Community, 38 (3), 183-197
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