Running head: INVOLVEMENT IN CHILDS EDUCATION

Parental Involvement in Childrens Education and Development Sara Kash-Brown University of Nebraska-Lincoln

INVOLVEMENT IN CHILDS EDUCATION Parental Involvement in Childrens Education and Development

The first few years of a childs life are the most important concerning development. The quantity and quality of development occurring during this time period determines the progression of later development and the child as a whole. One primary factor for a childs development is having strong relationships with their parents and family. The more a child interacts with others, the more they learn and experience. A parent who has conversations with their young child is helping him or her gain more language knowledge and move language development on to the next stage. Not all children have the opportunity to have parents who are always around and interacting with them. Parental involvement is considered to be defined as parents participation in the education of their children through behaviors that range from ideological support of education to active communication with school personnel (Waanders, Mendez, & Downer, 2007, p. 620). Parental involvement varies widely because of a few factors concerning the home life of the family. As more and more research is completed, researchers are finding that some lifestyle factors have a larger effect on the amount of involvement parents have with their child. Since this research has come to light, early childhood centers and preschools are putting more of an emphasis on involving parents in their childs education and development through many ways. By taking into account the lifestyle factors that affect the parents, centers and schools are starting to come up with new ways parents can become involved in the classroom and at home. Through this research, teachers are becoming more aware of what requirements parents have to deal with at home and are learning how to accommodate for those requirements and still give the parents opportunities to be involved in their childs education and development. Centers, schools, and teachers are brainstorming ways to have condensed conferences with parents who are very busy because of lifestyle factors.

INVOLVEMENT IN CHILDS EDUCATION Lifestyle Factors Affecting Involvement Waanders et al. (2007) conducted a study to determine what lifestyle factors affect parental involvement. They looked at three dimensions of parental involvement to gather their information: home-based involvement, school-based involvement, and parent-teacher relationships. The study that the researchers conducted consisted of 154 caregivers and 12 teachers from two Head Start centers in metropolitan areas. Through the study, Waanders et al. (2007) confirmed a lot of previous research conducted on what factors affect parental involvement. The researchers looked at each caregivers demographics: ethnicity, marital status, education level, living situation, etc.; they

also looked at economic stress of the caregiver, the neighborhood quality of the caregiver, parent efficacy of the caregiver (meaning a persons belief in his or her own competence to achieve a desired parenting outcome) (Waanders et al., 2007, p. 622), and parental involvement (determined through a self-report, teacher rating, and objective count of attendance at center activities and events). Neighborhood quality was one factor of three that stood out that affects the amount of parental involvement in school a child has. It was found that if a parent lived in a social, supportive neighborhood, they were more involved in their childs education. Living in a safe neighborhood gives parents opportunities to go out with their children and play. Having support also helps if a single parent with two children wants to go to her childs preschool during the day, but needs someone to watch her youngest child (Waanders et al., 2007). Another factor that affects parental involvement is economic stress. Some single parents need to work many hours or multiple jobs to make enough money to cover all of the familys expenses. Working all of the time does not give the parents any time to come to their childs

INVOLVEMENT IN CHILDS EDUCATION preschool to play with their child and go to conferences during the school day. Socioeconomic status and economic stress go hand-in-hand concerning the amount of involvement parents have

with their childs education. Having a low socioeconomic status means an increase in economic stress, which ends up meaning low parental involvement in the childs education and development (Waanders et al., 2007). Parent efficacy is another factor that greatly affects the amount of parental involvement a parent has in their childs education. A parents education level, their beliefs on education and concerning who is qualified to educate their child, and their primary language all affect their parent efficacy which then affects their involvement in their childs education. Parents who have a medium to high amount of income feel more qualified to be involved in their childs education whereas parents with a low amount of income believe their childs teachers are the ones who are qualified to educate their child. Believing that as a parent you can give support and help your child learn and grow causes you to become more involved in their education and development (Waanders et al., 2007). Ways to Involve Parents in Their Childs Education and Development There are many ways teachers in early childhood centers and preschools are involving parents in their childs education. For infants and toddlers, teachers give the parents an open invitation to come to the center and play with their child during the day. According to Hauptman (2014), not too many parents are able to do this because they work during the school day; but if a parent has extra time when they drop off or pick up their child, they might come in and play with Legos or read a book with their child. Hauptman (2014) works to make sure all parents are comfortable in the classroom and have the opportunity to interact with their child and the other children in the class.

INVOLVEMENT IN CHILDS EDUCATION Another way teachers are including parents in their childs education is through monthly or quarterly family activities. Sometimes there is a theme, such as a book the teacher has been reading, and sometimes there is not a theme. In a preschool classroom I visited, the teacher has quarterly family days that usually coordinate with a holiday. Sattler (2014) relayed to me that she focuses on showing parents the childrens development and progress during these family days. If a parent does not normally come to pick up their child, Sattler (2014) will not have an opportunity to show the parent progress that their child has made until the family days. In early childhood centers and preschools, home visits are sometimes required as a way to see how the children are doing at home. Home visits are opportunities for parents to discuss

with the teacher any concerns they have about their child. It is also a time for the teacher to relay information about their childs progress in the classroom. The teacher might also give the parents suggestions on what they can do to help their childs progress in school (Fantuzzo et al., 2013). During home visits, the teacher will usually bring an activity for all of the family to do or will find something the family can do with an item they have in the home (Sattler, 2014). Home visits are a way for parents to become more comfortable with their childs teacher, to interact with the teacher (especially if they work a lot of the time), and to learn more about the progress and development their child has completed. Teachers are able to see how the child lives and how the child is treated: basically, to see what the childs home life is like and to interact with the childs parents. Ways to Communicate with Busy Parents Many parents with children in early childhood centers or preschools have jobs and work during the school day. So during drop off and pick up time, parents usually have to move on to another task soon after. Since the parents do not have much time when picking up their child,

INVOLVEMENT IN CHILDS EDUCATION

teachers summarize what happened with the child during the school day. The parent and teacher might discuss the childs accomplishments, difficulties, and anything the parent can do at home to help with their childs development (Fantuzzo et al., 2013). If there is a troublesome event in the classroom, the teacher will schedule a conference with the parent. Throughout the school day, teachers might fill out a simple form that consists of the childs actions during the day, such as napping, eating, and going to the bathroom, and what the child learned that day. This type of form simplifies the pick up time discussion between the teacher and parent. It helps the teacher remember what the child did that day (Hauptman, 2014). Other ways teachers communicate with parents are through newsletter, notes, emails, and phone calls (Sattler, 2014). Final Thoughts Multiple studies have been conducted and have found that parental involvement stimulates a childs development. Early childhood centers and preschools are embracing this finding and are working to include parents in many aspects of the childrens school life. Teachers always include parents in decisions concerning their children and take parents suggestions concerning their child seriously. There are many deterrents concerning parental involvement for parents who have a low socioeconomic status, have a low parent efficacy, and live in a low quality neighborhood. Even with these deterrents, teachers and schools are working to give parents more and more opportunities to be involved in their childs education and development. Open invitation to come and play with their child, monthly family activities, and home visits are just a few ways teachers work to include parents in their childs progress and education. It can be very hard to be involved in your childs life if you have to work two jobs to afford everything your family needs. Early childhood centers and preschools are realizing this and are working to help those parents have more opportunities to be involved in the classroom

INVOLVEMENT IN CHILDS EDUCATION and in their childs life. For a child to develop and become the best person they can be, they need their parents or caregivers to be there for them and be involved in their life.

INVOLVEMENT IN CHILDS EDUCATION References Fantuzzo, J., Gadsden, V., Li, F., Sproul, F., McDermott, P., Hightower, D., & Minney, A. (2013). Multiple dimensions of family engagement in early childhood education: Evidence for a short form of the Family Involvement Questionnaire. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28(4), 734-742. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.07.001 Hauptman, K. (2014, February 21). Early Childhood Educator Perspective. (S. Kash-Brown, Interviewer).

Sattler, S. (2014, February 28). Preschool Educator Perspective. (S. Kash-Brown, Interviewer). Waanders, C., Mendez, J. L., & Downer, J. T. (2007) Parent characteristics, economic stress and neighborhood context as predictors of parent involvement in preschool childrens education. Journal of School Psychology, 45(6), 619-636. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2007.07.003