Parent interest key to student achievement
Parent involvement in education is crucial. No matter their income or background, students with involved parents are more likely to have higher grades and test scores, attend school regularly, have better social skills, show improved behaviour and adapt well to school. Parenting practices that potentially contribute to children’s learning are categorised in terms of communicating with children, supervising or checking homework, attending school activities, communicating with the school and creating a positive home learning environment.
Running across all of parenting style, encompasses behaviours, expectations. According to a report titled The Complexity of Community and Family Influences on Children’s Achievement in New Zealand, commissioned by the Ministry of Education, regardless of ethnicity or socioeconomic status, families with high levels of educational expectations have the most positive effects on their children’s achievement at school.
The onus is on both schools and parents to work together. ‘‘Incorporating school-like activities into family activities, these is
which parenting attitudes and through providing parents with access to both additional pedagogical knowledge and information about finding and using local educational resources, can have dramatic and positive impacts on children’s achievement,’’ the report says.
School activities designed to promote parent involvement in children’s learning are organised according to the six categories developed by Johns Hopkins University Professor Joyce Epstein, a world authority on school-family-community partnerships.
1. Parenting: Assisting families with setting home conditions to support children as students.
2. Communicating: Informing parents about school activities and children’s progress.
3. Volunteering: Organising volunteers to support school activities.
4. Learning at home: Involving parents in homework and other curriculum-related activities and decisions.
5. Decision-making: Including families in school decisions.
6. Collaborating with the community: Coordinating services and resources from the community for families.
Ways to keep in touch with what is happening at school:
■ Schools regularly give children newsletters to take home. Ask your child if they have one; they often get lost in school bags.
■ Keep in touch with teachers. You can make an appointment to talk with them at any time.
■ Parent Teacher Meetings, usually held after work hours.
There are two main ways you can get more involved in your child’s school community:
■ Join a parent group.
■ Join the Board of Trustees.
When parents are engaged in children’s school lives, students have the support and knowledge needed to finish assignments, and develop a love of learning.