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