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