Teach English in Wuyang Zhen - Shaoyang Shi

Why parents are important for their children’s education? Introduction Parents are the first teachers or educators of their children. They continue to influence their children’s learning and development during the school years and afterwards. Parents involve their children’s education in many ways at home, in the community, and in the school. A number of studies indicate that most parents want to be more involved in children’s education. Sense of personal responsibility for the child’s educational outcome, sense of efficacy for helping the child success in school, and perception of invitation to involvement are considered as the major factors of involvement decision (Hoover, 2005). Importance of parent’s involvement in children’s education Research has shown that parents’ involvement in education helps their children do better in and out of school. Furthermore, when parents are involved in school, children go farther and do way better (Henderson, 1994). Another research found correlation between parent or family engagement in children’s education and schooling. According to this research; children’s school readiness is increased, retention and graduation rates are higher, cognitive development and academic achievement is higher, motivation is higher and social skills are better when their parents involve in their education. In today’s world, there is a shift to student-centered learning. This also supports the importance of parent’s involvement in education. Most of the schools acknowledge the fact that students learn more out of the school. Students are encouraged to set personalized learning goals and plans. In this case, role of parents becomes even more important in their children’s education (Weiss, Stark, 2011). There is always competition among schools. Owners of the schools (private schools) or teachers want to have the best students. That’s why, most of the schools take steps to motivate and support parents to involve in education. This helps teachers sharing the burden of education, and positively affects the educational success. On the other hand, there are some differences between parents in their level of involvement. These differences are associated with social class, poverty, health, and also with parental perception of their role and their levels of confidence (Desforges, 2003). Level of involvement and quality of involvement differ from parent to parent. It may be strongly considered that parent’s involvement should be integrated in government policy and systematically into school policies and practices. Conclusion A parent is a child’s first teacher. Parents play an important role in child’s development and learning. It is obvious that parent’s involvement in education helps their children do better in and out of school. Parental involvement not only positively affects student achievement, but it also contributes to the better performance and higher quality education the schools. School readiness, retention, graduation rates, cognitive development, academic achievement, motivation and social skills are positively affected with the parent’s involvement. References 1. Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., Walker, J. M. T., Sandler, H. M., Whetsel, D., Green, C. L., Wilkins, A.S. & Closson, K. (2005). 'Why do parents become involved? 2. Weiss, H. B., Lopez, M. E. & Stark, D. R. (2011, January). Breaking new ground: Data systems transform family engagement in education. Harvard Family Research Project 3. Henderson, A. & Berla, N. (1994). A new generation of evidence: The family is critical to student achievement, Washington DC. 4. Desforges, C. with Abouchaar, A. (2003). The impact of parental involvement, parental support and family education on pupil achievements and adjustment. London.