| ABSTRACT | | | | parents open, so that the parents can interact with the |
| The importance of parental involvement as an | | | | teachers and get up to date information of their |
| accelerating and motivating factor in their children’s | | | | children’s school activities. One way to involve |
| education is a worldwide-accepted fact. This research | | | | parents is to schedule school events and arranging |
| project provides an in depth explanation along with | | | | classroom activities such as volunteering for libraries, |
| specific reasons, the importance of parents’ | | | | acting as classroom aides or efficiently organizing lunch |
| involvement in their children’s education. It also | | | | breaks. The teachers also opt for making phone calls |
| discusses the parenting techniques, their types and | | | | at the children’s houses to keep in touch with the |
| their consequences if neglected. It also describes the | | | | parents and getting to know the extent to which they |
| ways to measure the outcome of the positive parental | | | | are contributing towards the welfare of their children. |
| involvement. Furthermore, it mentions the teachers | | | | Apart from the above activities, the teachers also |
| involvement and the difficulties faced by the teachers | | | | assign home activities for both the parents and their |
| in getting parents involved in their children’s (this is | | | | children so that the parents remain indulged in their |
| further supported by the examples of two teachers | | | | children and the children get to study at home. |
| who with their deliberate efforts won the parents over | | | | However, it was a bad and disappointing experience |
| to devote their maximum attention towards their | | | | for the teachers when many of the parents failed to |
| children), single-parent involvement, children’s own | | | | respond as expected. Many of the parents were so |
| efforts to improve their academic levels and joint | | | | overwhelmed with their official work that they could |
| home-school based interventions. A detailed analysis | | | | hardly take out some time for their beloved children. |
| of the different main ideas is given, based on the | | | | Moreover, for some parents their schoolings were not |
| findings from other research surveys and projects. | | | | positive and character-boosting experiences, therefore |
| INTRODUCTION: | | | | they preferred to keep a distance from their |
| Parental involvement can be seen to fall into three | | | | children’s school as well. This made it really difficult |
| types: 1) Behavioral, 2) Intellectual and 3) Personal. The | | | | and at times impossible for teachers to bring the |
| research explores the effect of multi-dimensional | | | | parental involvement to the desired level. Nevertheless, |
| participation of parents and the resulting progress of | | | | the activities of two teachers proved greatly fruitful in |
| children in their studies when different parental | | | | making parents involved in their children. They were |
| resources were dedicated to them. Actively | | | | Carlos Valdez, an art teacher and 8th grade class |
| participating parents help their children in their academic | | | | sponsor, and Mike Hogan, the school’s band |
| development by going to schools and participating in | | | | director. They did it by involving parents in music |
| open houses. By keenly observing the behavior of their | | | | festivals and other school ceremonies. They proved to |
| children they can rightly judge the kind of behavior or | | | | be great examples for the future teachers to come. |
| the allocation of resources required by their children. | | | | If the children’s academic development programs |
| Such caring parents can also motivate teachers to | | | | are to prove successful they must share two |
| become more attentive towards a particular student, | | | | characteristics: |
| thus maintaining the cycle of parent-teacher | | | | 1) Developmentally appropriate practice: |
| involvement. Encourage Building up cognitive and | | | | A child’s academic progress is clearly reflected by |
| perception abilities in a child are a major concern in the | | | | the appropriate practice he/she administers while in |
| upbringing of the child. The way the parents involve | | | | school life. During transitions from pre-school to |
| their children in cognitive learning is by exposing them | | | | kindergarten, a child if given the exact developmentally |
| to different cognitively stimulating activities and | | | | appropriate practice tends to learn a great deal of |
| materials such as books, electronic media and current | | | | language and playing skills. He develops a keen interest |
| events at home. This helps the child to practice all | | | | in exploring his environments and interacting (without |
| sorts of language comprehending skills at the school. | | | | hesitation) with his adults. |
| The results show a remarkably positive behavior at | | | | 2) Supportive services: |
| the school and with peers. | | | | These include the assistance that the school provides |
| Two parenting processes namely the Supportive | | | | to low-income family students. The services include |
| Parenting (SP) and Harsh Parenting (HP) helped a lot in | | | | health care, childcare and community care. This |
| the research of parental involvement in their | | | | strengthens the relation between school and children |
| children’s education. By adjusting the levels of | | | | and creates a sense of security and confidence |
| supportive parenting, different levels of successful | | | | among the children. They get to learn that their |
| outcomes were observed. Supportive parenting in | | | | communities are a part of their school since the |
| even kindergarten students yielded positive results. | | | | school’s supportive services strive to help |
| Four measures of supportive parenting were used in | | | | community development. |
| the study, they were: | | | | It is commonly believed that children are good |
| 1. Proactive teaching. | | | | self-teachers. Their self-initiated strategies help improve |
| 2. Calm discussion in disciplinary encounters. | | | | their expression, creativity, intellectual capabilities and |
| 3. Warmth. | | | | extra-curricular skills. This idea is proved by the |
| 4. Interest and involvement in peer activities. | | | | documentation of young children’s work provided |
| The assessments were conducted when children | | | | by Reggio Emilia : |
| entered kindergarten and when they reached grade 6. | | | | “The Reggio Emilia educators highlight young |
| There was a factor noted to hinder children’s | | | | children’s amazing capabilities and indicate that it is |
| development: family adversity. It was the result of a | | | | through the unity of thinking and feeling that young |
| multipurpose negative process that included the risk of | | | | children can explore their world, represent their ideas, |
| low socio-economic status, single-parenting and family | | | | and communicate with others at their highest |
| stress. Child maladjustments were found to be more | | | | level.”(Edwards, Pope. C, Springate, Wright.K) |
| common in families with such adversities. No matter | | | | The climax rests in the fact that how the parents |
| how much negative impacts were cast, SP was found | | | | would know that their sincere involvements are really |
| to overcome the risks associated with family | | | | proving worthwhile for their children. The answer lies in |
| adversity. SP was strongly related to adjustment | | | | the attitude of the children. The degree of parental |
| procedures in grade 6 children who had single parent | | | | involvement can be judged by a child’s attitude |
| family or experienced low socio-economic status | | | | towards his school subjects, his academic desires and |
| (SES) in their early childhood. | | | | achievements. There is a direct relationship between |
| In a way to socialize their children, parents adopted the | | | | academic achievements and the attitude towards |
| techniques of calm discussion and proactive teaching. | | | | school. Schunk in 1981 had the following idea of |
| They helped lessen the behavioral problems by | | | | aspiration or academic desires: |
| carrying long discussions with their children, cultivating in | | | | “Level of aspiration is defined as one’s |
| them a sense of respect, calmness and peace of | | | | subjective probability that he or she will reach a certain |
| mind. Mothers also participated actively in reducing the | | | | level of education.”(Abu, H. & Maher, M) |
| peer stress among their children. It is also a widely | | | | As a result children who received adequate parental |
| accepted fact that supportive parenting plays an | | | | concern were found to be much more confident in |
| important role in the children’s development of | | | | their academic desires and achievements than those |
| empathy, prosocial behavior and emotional | | | | who could not get the right amount of parental |
| competence. On the negative side, the absence of | | | | concern. The individual involvement of mothers and |
| supportive parenting may be related to the | | | | fathers also plays a vital role in the behavioral |
| development of internal problems such as anxiety and | | | | development of a child. Students from one-parent |
| depression. | | | | household were observed to show less positive |
| Lack of the necessary parental care and attention is | | | | attitude towards schools and studies as compared to |
| the main factor for the subsequent rise in the | | | | students from two-parent households. One study |
| percentage of juvenile delinquency (crime among | | | | aimed at investigating parental concern showed that |
| children). The absence of parental instructions causes | | | | despite mothers’ sincere endeavors, the role of |
| children to develop irreversible behavioral and | | | | fathers could not be ignored and both served as an |
| emotional problems. They in order to seek attention, | | | | important foundation for the future progress of the |
| resort to crimes thinking that in this way they could fulfill | | | | child. This can be proved from the following fact: |
| their wishes. They may revert to uncontrolled violence | | | | According to a recent report from the National Center |
| if not kept an eye upon. Such criminal activities cannot | | | | for Educational Statistics (1997), compared to their |
| be brought to a halt until their distressing symptoms of | | | | counterparts, children with involved fathers are more |
| low self-esteem, depression, dysphonic mood, tension | | | | likely to have participated in educational activities with |
| and worries, and other disturbances are relieved. And | | | | their parents (e.g., to have visited a museum or a |
| the importance of parents’ role in this regard | | | | historical site with their parents in the past month), and |
| cannot be over-emphasized. | | | | are more likely to have access to multiple types of |
| In an effort to describe parental involvement, many | | | | resources at home as well (as measured by the |
| researchers use a term “Transition”(Lombardi, | | | | proportion of parents who belong to community or |
| Joan). “Transition” is used to describe the time | | | | professional organizations, or regularly volunteer in the |
| period in which children move from home to school, | | | | community). (Flouri, E. And Buchanan, A, Pg.142) |
| from school to after school activities, from one activity | | | | Also, the parental involvement has been discussed and |
| to another within a pre-school, or from pre-school to | | | | implemented in terms of interventions or prevention |
| kindergarten. The untiring endeavors of teachers in the | | | | programs, which are nothing but safety measures |
| phenomenon of transition cannot be ignored. They | | | | taken to assure healthy and perfect upbringing of the |
| prepared the children and their parents to face the | | | | child. The study uses school-based and home-only |
| problems of adjusting to elementary school programs | | | | intervention programs to find out the extent of |
| that had different psychology, teaching styles and | | | | intellectual capabilities found in children from different |
| structure than the programs offered at the | | | | family backgrounds. The success of one school-based |
| kindergarten level. In the elementary level schools the | | | | interventions can be proved from the following fact, |
| teachers had to face serious challenges in motivating | | | | which was a part of “Education Service |
| the parents to take interest in their children’s | | | | Improvement Plan 2001-2005” of Edinburgh: |
| activities. The teachers adopted different methods to | | | | ----The Scottish Executive Discipline Task Force, which |
| involve the parents in day-to-day classroom and home | | | | studied the causes of poor behavior among pupils in |
| activities. They used to send notes, invitation of | | | | schools produced a report of 'Better Behavior - Better |
| parent-teacher meetings, invitation of parental guidance | | | | Learning' in June 2001. The report included 36 |
| sessions and training sessions, continuously directing | | | | recommendations for action, which were then turned |
| the parent’s attention towards their children. Patricia | | | | into an Action Plan in 2002. Many of these have |
| Brown Clark suggests that it is very important to keep | | | | implications for the Education Authority. |
| the line of communication between teachers and | | | | |