Parents'+Role+in+Education+by+Cindy+Heggood

Due to [|No Child Left Behind](2001), a great deal of emphasis has been placed on school accountability for student achievement. There are multiple factors that influence children’s education. What role do parents play in the education of their child’s education? Parental involvement is defined as the extent of participation parents have in their child’s education. Parent involvement includes but is not limited to providing assistance with homework, being aware of their child’s progress or grades, setting expectations, and volunteering. Teachers’ responsibility and accountability for student achievement is monitored and measured through [|No Child Left Behind] (2001). As a result, student achievement is directly linked to standardized test scores. No Child Left Behind was designed to close the achievement gap and to provide equity in education for all students. By the year 2014, 100% of students across the United States are expected to reach academic proficiency measured by standardized tests. The goal is for all students to have necessary educational skills to succeed in life.

According to research, parent involvement also plays an important role in the academic success of their children. “The researchers found that parents' effort is more important for a child's educational attainment than the school's effort, which in turn is more important than the child's own effort” ([|Parents’ effort key to child’s education performance, 2012]). Parents’ attitudes and beliefs toward education directly influence their child’s attitudes and motivation. If parents do not value education, then often their children do not value education either. Parents who do not complete high school themselves, often struggle to provide assistance with homework because they lack the reading, writing, or math skills necessary. “Research also shows that a home environment that encourages learning is even more important than parents’ income, educational level, or cultural background” ([|Gurian, A].). According to research studies, parent involvement leads to decreased student absences and increased academic and behavioral success compared to student lacking parent support. Students’ attendance is crucial to student success. Several reports have connected frequent absences to low academic performance and increased school dropout rates. Studies conducted lately indicate that attendance may predict a student’s academic achievement as successfully as test scores ([|Perez-Pena, R., 2012]). Extensive research conducted by Ruby Payne examines the effects of socioeconomic status on student achievement. Differences in socioeconomic statuses are one of the leading causes of student achievement gaps. Students from low income households lack resources and support at home. A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby Payne provides strategies to help impoverished students succeed academically despite economic disadvantages (click here to learn more about resources from [|Ruby Payne]).
 * Research Concerning Parental Involvement **

According to research, “86% of the general public believes that support from parents is the most important way to improve schools,” (Rose, Gallup, & Elem, 1997). The conclusion of A New Wave of Evidence, a report from Southwest Educational Development Laboratory in 2002 concludes that despite “family income or background, students with involved parents are more likely to. ..
 * Effects of Parental Involvement **
 * Earn higher grades and test scores
 * Enroll in higher-level schools
 * Attend school regularly
 * Have better social skills
 * Show improvement
 * Adapt well to school

Parental involvement is the key to children’s academic success. Many factors contribute to the academic success of children. It is vital for administrators, teachers, and parents to work together as a team to provide the best education possible for children. Parental involvement plays a crucial role in the academic achievement of children. It is important for schools to include parents in the education of their children and to promote parental involvement. The National Education Association (NEA) provides a website with valuable resources to increase parental involvement in schools (click here to reach the [|NEA] website).

Trend and Issue
Parental involvement in children’s academic achievement is both a trend and an issue. The concept that parental involvement increases children’s academic achievement is appealing to society and to the educational field. Studies conducted in early childhood, elementary, middle, and high schools indicate that attempts to increase student achievement are more successful when the family takes an active role in education (Henderson & Berla, 1994). Studies conclude that children whose parents are actively involved in their education display greater levels of academic development and achievement. A study conducted by Dyer and Hecht in 2001, reported that “Some parents often feel unwelcome on school premises, feel like intruders rather than parents, and receive the impression they are interfering when they do contact teachers with questions. There has to be a discussion among parents and teachers as to the importance of each party’s role; instead of viewing parents in adversarial light, schools should nurture the role of parents as partners in the education of their child” ([|Gonzales-DeHaas & Willems, 2003]). As a result, research indicates it is important for schools to encourage parental involvement by creating a welcoming atmosphere where parents feel comfortable taking an active role in their child’s education. Teachers and parents need to work together as a team to promote academic achievement. Research concludes that parental involvement is significant for children’ academic success from early child through high school; however, the trend is that parental involvement decreases as their children grow. The trend is that parents are much more involved in their child’s education in elementary school, but as their children grow older, parent involvement declines as their child progresses into middle school and high school. “Parent involvement at the secondary level is just as important, if not more important, than in the elementary years, especially in inner city areas and high-risk communities” ([|Gonzales-DeHaas & Willems, 2003]). As a result, numerous schools have developed various workshops for parents and provide multiple opportunities for parents to become involved by volunteering to assist in classrooms or other activities. Parent conferences are the most common form of parental involvement in elementary and secondary schools. Research supports that parents of high school students typically only receive phone calls if a teacher experiences discipline problems or to discuss student progress initiated by parental concern. “A study conducted by Dornbush and Ritter (1988) found that 39% of high-school teachers surveyed reported believing that parents lack training to help at home, while 62% of teachers surveyed agreed that they cannot affect the ways parents assist in schoolwork” ([|Gonzales-DeHaas & Willems, 2003]). Clearly, teachers’ attitudes impacts parent involvement. Lack of parental involvement is not always due to lack of parental concern. Even though parents have a desire to be actively involved in their child’s education, they often lack the time. Children come from diverse family backgrounds. Family structures have changed significantly throughout the history of the United States. Family structures include but are not limited to traditional family, single parent family, and stepfamilies ([|Meyerhoff, M., 2006]). The traditional family consists of a mother, father, and their children. Single parent families could be the result of divorce, death of a parent, or a mother who chose not to get married. Stepfamilies occur when parents remarry. Single parents sometime work multiple jobs to provide for their children’s needs and do not have time to become actively involved in their children’s education. Research indicates that parental involvement increases children’s academic success. There are multiple issues that surround parental involvement. Teachers’ attitudes and family structures are just two of the issues that contribute to the amount of parental involvement.

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<span style="color: #b100ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Annotated Bibliography of Parents' Role in Children's Edcuation Sources:
<span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|AMLE (Association for Middle Level Education)] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The AMLE was founded in 1973 and is a national edcuation association committed to providing information and research about the health and education of young adolescents (middle school children). This specific link provides outcomes of parental involvement and suggestions for increasing parental involement based on research.

<span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Child & Family WebGuide] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Visit this website created by Tufts Unveristy. It provides several liks to research, articles, and statistics regarding parental invovlement in schools.

[|Downey, Maureen]<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> (2012) A call for students to be more repsonsible for their learning. <span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. 14 May 2012. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This newspaper article provides an opinon about student accountability from the viewpoint of a college student. It describes how students and parents need to accept more responsibility for learning rather than placing all of the blame on teachers. It shares how American education has shifted the focus away from learning and academics and how the students are suffering as a result. It offers an interesting attitude from a student's perspective about the growing concern of academic achievement of American students.

[|Friedman, Thomas (2011)] How about better parents? <span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The New York Times. 19 Novemeber 2011. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This newspaper article describes how parent invovlement in education impacts their child's academic achievement. It provides research based on the Program for International Students Assessment (PISA). According to the PISA, Amercian students' academic success is low compared to other nations including Singapore, Finland, and Shanghai. The PISA suggests that children's academic success is postiviely influenced when parents encourage learning at home.

[|National Coalition for Parent Involvement] <span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(1980-2012). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Visit this website designed to foster parental involvement in their child's education. It provides a monthly newsletter and numerous resources for developing significatnt relationships between families and schools. It also provides information concerning current educational policies and programs.

[|National PTA/Building Successful Partnerships Barriers to Parent Involvement: Roadblocks and detours] <span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">New Jersey State Parent Information & Resource Center Website. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This document created by the New Jersey State Parent Information & Resource Center offers suggestions on how to promote parental involvement by creating a welcoming environment in which parents are not intimidated. It descrbies how parents often feel inadequate and invaluable and provides recommendations on how educations can help parents overcome these feelings. It stresses the importance of reaching out to various populations with different cultrual backgrounds or family structures.