Child Education; why Parent Involvement is Important
As a parent, have you ever ask yourself what contributes to your child’s academic performance? Have you ever have a rethink into what is the most accurate predictor of academic achievement within the corridor of the classroom? You are worried right!
Permit me to break the ice. It’s not socioeconomic importance, nor how prestigious the school is that a child attends. The best predictor of a child/student achievement is the extent to which families encourage learning at home and involve themselves in their child’s education. That is it. The mere truth.
When parents like you are engaged in their children’s school lives and activities, students have the home support and knowledge they need to not only finish their homework and tasks, but also develop a lifelong love of learning, unlearning, and relearning.
Now and then, parental involvement and engagement in education matter more than ever because it’s in deterioration. In 2016, research shows a significant drop in parents who believe that intimate parent-teacher communication is effective. Parents now prefer remote methods of communication, like online student portals, and they are less likely to attend parent-teacher associations, conferences (PTA) or school activities. This shift is immediate and worrying due to what it means for parent engagement.
While digital tools can help families stay informed, students are missing out when parents don’t offer their time and support. The characteristics behind this difference and change in parent involvement at school are multi-faceted. Some parents have scheduling or transportation issues that make volunteering or attending parent-teacher conferences tough especially in a congested state like Lagos, Nigeria. Others, like low-income or minority families, feel that teachers and school staff makes them uncomfortable or shows a lack of cultural awareness.
If a parent-teacher relationship wasn’t established early in the year, parents also may not know whether they’re welcome at school. Some organizations, however, are more at-risk for low parent engagement as this is lowest in families below the poverty line or with older children, as well as parents who do not understand the terrain or speak the area’s primary language or did not graduate high school.
The involvement of a parent in schools is the first stride to parent engagement and, eventually, parent partnership. When parents and teachers work together to establish a thriving classroom, the consequence on their students is genuine. Students with engaged parents don’t just have high test scores: their attendance, self-esteem, and graduation rate rise, too with a better sense of belonging.
Parent-teacher relationships are more than an elective classroom advantage. They are crucial for helping students in personal development and classroom level reach their academic potential. If educators don’t make a space for parent partnerships in their schools, they will be limiting students classroom’s capacity for growth. Getting involved is part and parcel of your child’s growth in school, get engaged.
Adeyinka Meduoye