Comr. Yusuf Abubakar Idogwu, X-Rays The Need For Parental Involvement And Engagement In Children’s Education For Overall Success
Different studies have shown that the most exact indicator of academic accomplishment isn’t financial status, nor how lofty the school is that a kid attends. The best indicator of students performance has been demonstrated to be the degree to which families support learning at home and include themselves in their youngster’s education.
As indicated by various studies, When guardians are occupied with their children’s school lives, students will in general have the home help and information they need to complete their assignments and foster a long lasting love for learning.
It is now save to say that the earlier a connection is established between parents and the educational process of their children, the more robust is the foundation for the success of the student. The more guardians engaged with their children’s education, the better their whole class inspiration, conduct, and grades become.
Now What is Parent Engagement or Involvement?
According to Experts, parent engagement is parents and teachers sharing an obligation to assist their children with learning to meet educational objectives.
In this way, they make a commitment. Parents commit to prioritizing their child’s educational goals, and teachers commit to listening and providing a space for collaboration with parents.
Furthermore, According to a meta-analysis of more than fifty studies on parent involvement in schools, it was established that there is a direct connection between students’ academic performance and the participation of parents in their children’s education.
Parental Involvement is key in the education of children, because When there is good communication between parents and teachers, absenteeism decreases. According to a report by Johns Hopkins University (JHU), this helps reduce student absenteeism by 24 percent.
According to JHU, aspects such as comprehension and reading fluency improve when there is parental involvement, even more so if parents spend time reading with their children. The students feel more motivated to learn, and their grades improve.
Parental involvement also improves teacher performance. When parents have better communication with teachers, they learn to value the work and the challenges that teachers face, which makes the teachers feel appreciated. It also helps the teachers to get to know the student more, allowing them to teach in a more personalized and effective way.
Let me also sound a note of warning to school owners here that as tempting as parental involvement can be, it has to be approached with caution for whatever is beneficial to society can also be abused thereby defeating it’s initial purpose.
Although parental involvement helps students in so many ways, it can also have negative connotations. There are several cases where parents become excessively involved and want absolute control or constantly calling the teachers to check their children’s progress, which uses up a lot of the teacher’s time.
School owners should also ensure that Teacher recruitment, book selection, and curriculum development, among others, are areas where parents should not be included.
To this end, schools should work with guardians and teachers to foster strategies regarding parental participation and create boundaries so that parents know the limits of their involvement.
Schools likewise need to guarantee that families regardless of their different societal position and foundations should feel invited in the School if they are expected to be involved in their children’s education.
Parent also shouldn’t be so stressed over the degree of responsibility as essentially by asking the student how they did in school and going to school gatherings, guardians can impact the students academics.
To achieve high level of engagement and involvement of parents,
Proprietors should Give parents their contact information and get to know them. That way, when they have questions, they’ll feel comfortable reaching out.
Provide opportunities for parents to connect with the school through class activities, or parent-teacher committees and other great engagement opportunities
Conclusively, Schools needs to urgently adopt parental involvement and engagement as part of the educational process as it offers benefits to everyone, including the school, the teachers, the parents, and above all, the students.
