Where do our children spend most of their time?

Why should parents get involved?

What impact does parent involvement have?

What are the major factors in parent involvement?

How do parents’ expectations affect student achievement?

How can I get involved?

Q. Where do our children spend most of their time?

• School-age children spend 70% of their waking hours (including weekends and holidays) outside of school
• Time with TV/Video games

Q. Why should parents get involved?

• The earlier parents are involved in a child’s educational process, the more powerful the effects.  The most effective forms of involvement are those which engage parents in working directly with their children on learning activities at home.

Q. What impact does parent involvement have?

• 86 % of the general public believes that support from parents is the most important way to improve schools. 
• Decades of research show that when parents are involved, students have:

• Higher grades, test scores, and graduation rates.

• Better school attendance.

• Increased motivation, better self-esteem.

• Lower rates of suspension.

• Decreased use of drugs and alcohol.

• Fewer instances of violent behavior.

• Family participation in education was more important to students’ academic success as family socio-economic status.
• The more intensely parents are involved, the more beneficial the achievement effects.
• The more parents participate in schooling, in a sustained way, at every level – in advocacy, decision-making, and oversight roles as fundraisers and boosters, as volunteers and paraprofessionals, and as home teachers – the better for student achievement.

Q. What are the major factors in parent involvement?

• There are three major factors of parental involvement in the education of children:

• Parents’ beliefs about activities that are important, necessary, and permissible for them to do with and on behalf of their children.

• The extent to which parents believe that they can have a positive influence on their children’s education.

• Parents’ perceptions that their children and school want them to be involved.

Q. How do parents’ expectations affect student achievement?

• The most consistent predictors of children’s academic achievement and social adjustment are parents’ expectations of the child’s academic attainment and satisfaction with their child’s education at school.  Parents of high-achieving students set higher standards for their children’s educational activities than parents of low-achieving students.

Q. How do I get involved?

• Parents can become increasingly involved in home learning activities both as role models and as guides to their children.  Schools encourage children to practice reading at home with parents.  Students who do this make significant gains in reading achievement compared to those who practice only at school.  Parents can contribute to student success many other ways.

1.      Establish a daily family routine: 

Parents can start by providing a time and quiet place to study, having dinner together as a family, or being firm about bedtime.

2.      Monitor out-of-school activities:

Parents can set limits on TV watching. They can arrange after-school activities, and check up on their children when the children are at home without them.

3.      Model the value of learning, self-discipline, and hard work:

Have conversations with your children, and demonstrate that achievement comes from working hard.

4.      Express high, but realistic, expectations for achievement:

Set goals and standards that are appropriate for a child’s age and maturity. Recognize special talents, and inform friends and family of a student’s successes.

5.      Encourage child’s development/progress in school:

Show interest in a child’s progress at school, help with homework, and stay in touch with teachers and school staff.