Parent Involvement in Learning

Learning is a continuous process that requires involvement from parents, teachers and students alike. The success of the education system is heavily dependent on the relationship that exists between teachers, parents and the students. When positive, it creates a learning environment where teachers have the support, they need to create a learning environment; parents are involved in the learning and teaching process; and students are aware of the input from both parents and teachers as well as how it is likely to impact their academic life. Despite the important role that parents and teachers play in the student’s learning, research suggest that parents are not as involved in their children’s education as much as they should be. Most parents only contribute by paying school fees, attending important meetings and ensuring that students go to school with all the provisions required. There is however need for more involvement in the child’s learning both at school as this is likely to determine the kind of attitude that the student has towards school and learning.
Solution

            The best approach to remedy the issue where parents are not as involved in their children’s leaning is by facilitating parents’ involvement in school activities, when the child is at home, and also setting academic targets that the student is expected to achieve during their learning (Ulman et al, 2012). Since learning is something that happens even outside the classroom, parents’ involvement ensures that the students keep learning and gaining knowledge even when teachers are not present (Clinton & Hattie, 2013). There is however the need for teachers to instruct parents on what approaches to take in order to ensure that the student gets the right type of support and guidance from parents and caregivers.

• Parents involvement during school activities

Students engage in various school activities that are not necessarily related to learning. Although there are school activities such as symposium, debates and spelling bees that aim at improving the student’s knowledge, others related to sports and hobbies are intended to help break the classroom monotony by giving students the chance to get away from books and focus on other aspects of their lives (NEA, 2016). Parents involvement in such events is important as it communicates to the student that the parents is interested in the overall development of the child. In activities such as sports for example, the absence of a parent could have negative consequences on how the student performs (NEA, 2016). Some students tend to perform better at spelling bees or competitive sports when their parents are present. The negative consequences are that a parent’s absence could affect the individual’s performance negatively.

            Parents involvement in school activities also teaches the parents and caregivers that learning is a process that involves more than just reading books and attending lectures. The learning process incorporates other activities such as sports, debate, arts and other fields that do not necessarily have to do with the learning curriculum (Lopes, 2012). The exposure is ideal in that it communicates to parents the importance of allowing students to have hobbies that are not necessarily tied to their academic performance (Garcia & Thompson, 2013). When at home, parents can therefore come up with activities that take attention away from learning and focuses on the student’s development (Lopes, 2012). Creating such an environment at home is ideal in that it allows the student freedom to engage in other activities and still study. Parents must however strike a balance between learning and other activities to ensure that the students learning does not come second to hobbies.

• Parent involvement at home

Parents can also positively influence their children’s learning by engaging in activities aimed at promoting positive study habits while the child is at home. Being a continuous process, learning takes place even after the student leaves the classroom. Most schools have a system where students are given assignments to work on at home (Bunijevac & Durisic, 2017). The assignments vary in depth depending on the period of stay at home. On a daily basis, most schools give students homework to work on at home as part of fulfilling the curriculum in time and also to increase the student’s retention. Parents should therefore get involved and ensure that the student has an ideal learning environment. The goal is to establish a system where the child is given ample space and time to study and tackle assignments without interruptions from other members of the family (Bunijevac & Durisic, 2017). Parents involvement should also extend to helping the student tackle tasks that may be too challenging. The goal should however remain to help the child fulfil the assignment requirements on their own. Parents should in no way do the assignments on behalf of the student but rather teach the child how to go about finishing the homework.

Schoolwork performed at home also gives students the chance to manage themselves and this greatly helps them to become independent (Spungan, 2014). While students are supervised most times while at school, homework helps the students to be more independent as it creates a system where students are expected to manage their own time while at home and find a balance between responsibilities at home and also what is expected from the teachers (Williams et al, 2002). Since parents are more accustomed to juggling different responsibilities, they are in a better position to assist the students strike a balance between their school and personal life (Pungan, 2014). Parents can help students to design study timetables so as to have a plan on how to accomplish specific tasks. Parents should however only act as a guide and ensure that the students commit to the assignments or homework without offering any help that could be detrimental to the students learning in the long run.

• Parents expectations on learning

The attitude that students have towards learning is greatly influenced by the expectations that parents set for their children. To improve academic performance, parents should get involved and teach their children on the importance of education and the impact that academic qualifications have on society (Ntekane, 2018). Other than just pushing children to get good grades, parents should also spend time to explain what good grades translate into in real life. Parent involvement should therefore focus on teaching their children on the importance of education in securing promising careers. To achieve this, parents should first set academic requirements that the student has to achieve (Ntekane, 2018). Parents should assess their child’s academic performance and come up with goals to help them improve. Parents should also take time to review tests and any feedback provided by teachers relating to the child’s performance at school. The information can then be used to set targets that the child is expected to reach (Desfoges, 2003). A reward system can be put in place to motivate the student. Most of the motivation should however come from the student as this acts as proof that the concept of education is clear and that the child is committed to acquiring academic excellence.

Conclusion

            The lack of parent involvement ion a child’s learning is mainly because parents do not have a clear understanding of what schoolwork entails. Most parents are of the opinion that school is a place of learning where students attend lectures, write down notes and take exams. Inviting parents to school activities therefore creates an environment where the parents gets to see how schools’ function and also to identify the huge influence that parents have on their children’s learning. It also makes it easier for parents, teacher and students to communicate and this makes the learning process more successful.

References

Bunjievac M and Durisic M, (2017) “Parental involvement as a important factor for          successful education” CEPS journal, retrieved from,      https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1156936.pdf

Clinton, J. & Hattie, J.  2013.  New Zealand students' perceptions of parental involvement in        learning and schooling. Asia Pacific journal of Education, 33(3): 324-337.

Desforges, C (2003) The Impact of Parental Involvement, Parental Support and Family    Education on Pupil Achievement and Adjustment. DfES Research Report

Lopes I, (2012) “Parental involvement in children’s education: Why does it make a           difference” The Teachers College Record

NEA, (2016) “Parent, family and community involvement in education” Centre for Great             Public Schools, NW, Washington DC

Ntekane A, (2018) “Parental involvement in education” ResearchGate, DOI:             10.13140/RG.2.2.36330.21440

Sapungan M, (2014) “Parental involvement in child’s education: Importance, barriers and            benefits” ResearchGate, retrieved from,             https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283539737_Parental_Involvement_in_Child            's_Education_Importance_Barriers_and_Benefits

Ullman A, Williams B and Williams J, (2002) “Parental involvement in education” BMRB          Social Research, retrieved from, https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/4669/1/RR332.pdf

Williams,B, Williams,J & Ullman,A (2002) Parental Involvement in Education: DfES      Research Report

 

Garcia, L.E. & Thornton, O.  2014.  The enduring Importance of parental

            involvement. Retrieve from, http://Neatoday.org/20 14/11/18/the- enduring-          importance of parental-involvement-2/.