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Hidden Parent Involvement
from
No Parent Left Behind - Reaching the
Hardest-to-Involve Parents
International Center for Leadership, Dr. Bill
Daggett
Much of what we see as parent involvement is only
visible from the school level. However, the most
important influence made in this arena is the parent
and child together at home. When parents talk with
their children about school, the importance of
education, educational aspirations, homework, and
going to college, research shows that children do
better in a wide variety of areas.
The magnitude of effective parent involvement that
takes place in the home and is not observable by the
school can be compared to an iceberg, where only a
small portion of its mass is observable.
When schools take a one-dimensional view of parent
involvement and see it only as parents participating
in school, they miss one of the most important
aspects of assisting the families. Schools must
strive to assist parents in working with their
children at home by making sure that they are
equipped with the tools to help their youngsters
succeed. To do this, schools must ensure that
parents are provided with information on such topics
as:
·
school rules and the reasons for them
·
homework assistance
·
school curriculum
·
state standards
·
grading policies
Schools also need to offer workshops in such areas
as:
·
child development
·
specific strategies to help children at home
·
college requirements
A
significant challenge for schools endeavoring to
improve parent involvement is involving the entire
school community. Many parents are well connected to
the schools. They attend all school events,
participate in teacher conferences, and serve as
homeroom parents, etc.
There is another group of parents whom we call the
"hardest-to-involve" parents. They are rarely
involved in school activities, come to school only
when there is a problem, and do not attend parent
conferences on a regular basis. This behavior often
leads school personnel to assume that the parents
don't care about education or the progress of their
children. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Research shows that these parents do care about the
performance of their children and want them to do
well in school and go to college. Why then don't
they participate? Answers lie in a variety of areas.
Many parents had bad school experiences themselves
and are reluctant to experience those feelings again
by coming to school. Some speak a language other
that English and feel uncomfortable in the school
environment. Many face transportation, employment,
and childcare issues that may prevent them from
being involved in the school.
A
parent partnership team can address these issues
once they are understood.
These parents will become involved more
often if the barriers can be addressed. It is the
school's responsibility to bring in these
hardest-to-involve parents in order to meet the
goals of assisting all the children in the school.
Schools must become more "parent friendly"
institutions.
Highlights from the Research on Parent Involvement
and Student Achievement
¨
Involving the parents of students in their education
and the life of the school can pay dividends
in
raising student achievement.1
¨
A
comprehensive effort to improve parent involvement
and education enhances the school program and can
bring improved results.2
¨
After adjustment for socioeconomic status, parent
involvement is comparable across racial groups and
parents' educational aspirations for their children
have a consistent, positive effect on students'
academic performance.3
¨
A
study of 20,000 high school students and their
families found that when parents participate in
their children's education, the result is an
increase in student achievement and an improvement
in students' attitudes.4
Highlights from the Research on Barriers to Parent
Involvement
¨
Most barriers to parent involvement are found within
school practices, not within parents.5
¨
Any parent can be "hard to reach." Parents must be
approached individually; they are not defined by
gender, ethnicity, family situation, education, or
income.5
¨
Social class can impact parent's involvement in the
school, especially when the school does not reach
out. Parents from low socioeconomic status (SES)
homes may feel that teachers do not want them to be
involved and feel "negative vibrations" from
teachers. Some parents lack the chance to come to
school because of work schedules, daycare and
transportation issues.6
¨
Parents reported that time was the biggest barrier
they faced in becoming involved in school (87%).
When teachers were asked about barriers, they also
reported that time (56%) and the lack of training in
how to work with parents (48%) were major barriers
to working effectively with parents.7
ACT
Policy Report
Closing
the Achievement Gap
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