Parental Involvement in the Schools
Parental Involvement in the SchoolsSimic, Marge. (1991). Parental Involvement in the Schools. ERIC Digest. 52 EDO-CS-91-52
[Online], Available: http://www.indiana.edu/~eric_par/ieo/digests/d52.html
The purpose of this article is to investigate the way that parent involvement has evolved in the past few years. There are many resources now available for parents who wish to be truly involved in their child’s learning experiences. There are even some teachers who attempt to have parent involvement as part of their curriculum.
Parent involvement is fast becoming a hot topic. Teaching periodicals, parent magazines, newspapers, and television talk shows and special broadcasts are emphasizing the impact parents make in educating their children. Topics include hints on effective communication at conference time, tips for establishing study skills and habits at home, and information on how to use parents effectively as volunteers in the classroom. A potential limitation with the teacher-parents involvement is that, though they may be worthwhile, they often lack an overall organization that allows teachers to plan and develop solid programs for parents. Many well-meaning, teachers approach parent involvement as an “afterthought” that may lack purposeful implementation. A general format may help to eliminate wasted effort and guide the development of an organized approach to parent involvement such as a language arts or a math program.
There are several dimensions of increasing parental involvement: 1). Monitoring, 2.) informing, and 3.) participation. At the monitoring level, schools make parents aware of the school situation. This is done through informal conversations (e.g., open houses, school programs), announcements regarding the school’s activities, and questionnaires. This type of contact helps to establish parental feelings of assurance, confidence, and acceptance. Parents feel more comfortable sharing with the teacher their child’s positive, as well as negative, attitudes about school that the child may be experiencing at home. Many schools are effective and active at this level
of parent involvement with weekly bulletins, annual open houses in the fall, and public invitations to special school programs and activities. Informing means keeping parents informed about the policies, procedures, aims, and expectations that exist in the school, but particularly in the classroom. The contact is more formal and direct. Communication at this level is more specifically between the classroom teacher and the parent rather than between the...
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