Parent Involvement
Overview
This inquiry project is dedicated to inform people how parent involvement can positively and negatively effect students but also how parents can get involved.
Introduction
Before diving into what Parent Involvement looks like and how we can incorporate this topic into the classroom and at home, we first need to be able to define what parent involvement is. In the reference listed below, we read that "parent involvement requires communication between both parents and educators."
Next, we will define what parent involvement looks like from a Teacher's perspective. In the same article, we read that teachers define the same concept as, "Being involved in the educational process such as helping in school activities and assisting with their child's homework."
Lastly, we will define this concept from a Parent's Perspective. Once again in the article, we see parents describe parent involvement as "getting their child to school on time and solving issues at home."
As you can see, there are three very different points of view, but with this presentation, we will go more in-depth on what we had learned parent involvement to truly mean.
After taking time to look at the other OER Presentations, (Gifted & Talented, Content Learning Center, English Language Learners, and Special Education) you will see that parent involvement plays a huge part in each of these different areas. The role of parents in and out of the school, helping their students through their education, is very important and should not be ignored or overlooked. Each content area has a different reason as to why they parents are needed, but they play a key role in helping thier children strive when it comes to their own education.
Other topics that will be covered in this OER:
1. The Pros and Cons of Parent Involvement,
2. Ways for parents to be involved at home, and
3. Ways parents can be involved at school.
Reference List:
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1169&context=bis437
Purpose of the Project
The purpose of this inquiry project is to dive deeper into the important educational topic of parent involvement. As stated in an article from the University of Nebraska, "Parent involvement is critical in children's academic success." As future educators, we found it necessary to inform you why it's vital for parents to be involved in their child's education. With this educational information, we hope to close the gap between the strained relations between parents/educators which happen to be two important factors in a students' life.
Reference list:
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&context=cehsdiss
Main Points of Project Topic
Pros of Parent Involvement in school and at home:
- When learning, parent involvement creates a strategy for increasing the educational effectiveness by increasing the time that parents and children spend together at home.
- A technique called: "Parent as a role model", can be used so that the parent is a natural teacher of varied skills which allows children to learn different skills at home than those being taught at school.
- Parent involvement can make for a positive change in reguards to behavior in the classroom as well as at home when parents and teachers work together to address problem issues. With this type of involvement, it is believed that children will become "a more creative and academically sufficient student."
- Parent inolvement in school and at home can lead to adolecense refraining from unheathy behaviors such as: "risky sexual behaviors, tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use." Which helps with positive social factors.
- Parent involvement in school and at home with teachers can show children effective ways to communicate and work as a team.
Cons of Parent Involvement in school and at home:
- Parents that are economically disadvantaged will focus more on thier work force environment instead of focusing on their childs education due to needing money to support themselves and thier families.
- Most parents are uneducated about how to be involved in thier childs education as well as the need to be involved. They might see their presence as unnecessary.
- Working-class parents ma not have the time needed to be involved in their childs educational experiences as well as their everyday life.
How can parents get involved at school?
Most teachers understand that parent involvement is a complex process therefore some parents can contribute in ways such as:
- Providing supplies/ books
- Providing assistance in the classroom (ex: chaperone at a field trip)
- Providing the teacher with an out of class idea/perception of the student
- Having parents present in the classroom whether it be having the parents read to the students, coming in and talking about their careers, or even something as simple as coming in for a parent/student workshop where the teachers can work with both parents and students on understanding daily concepts and tasks that are expected from the student.
How can parents be parents involved at home?
Contracts between teachers and parents implies a formal agreement to conduct and complete activities or a set of them.
Case one asks parents to provide or withhold privileges or punishments to the child for school performances and behavior patterns based on rules determined by the parents, teacher, and student.
The second contract technique requires parents to supervise or assist students' with their homework or other projects.
Personal contracts are vital to developing the commitment of parents to participate in a program of learning reinforcements at home.
Some techniques to involve parents at home can be, but are not limited to:
- reading books,
- encouraging discussion,
- informal activities, and
- the development of parent tutoring/evaluation skills.
School subjects for parent involvement at home:
reading,
art,
science, and
home/hobby skills.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1169&context=bis437
Final Conclusion
Based on our research, parent involvement needs to be more prevalent not only in the classroom but also at home. There needs to be more communication between educators & parents so that there are less issues that can arise during the school year.