I think parental involvement is extremely important for the academic performance and success of students. As the studies in the article prove, parental involvement has a significant effect on students academically. I didn’t find this surprising at all and I think many other people wouldn’t either. I think it’s well known that parents play a huge role in their child’s education. I think parents generally rely too much on teachers to educate and support their child’s learning. They often feel it’s not necessary to get too involved in their child’s education as they may feel that it’s primarily the job of teachers and schools. I do understand that in this day and age it may be more difficult for parents to spend quality time going over their child’s schoolwork or becoming involved with their schools (PTA, meetings, etc.), especially as it is typical now for both parents to be working, but I still think parents should find some time to spend with their child and have more influence over their education. As the article mentions, “Students of all ages benefit academically, emotionally, and physically when an adult is actively involved in the day-to-day events of their lives, including school activities”, and I think this is very important especially when you consider that it is difficult for students to get quality one on one time with teachers with class sizes being so big. This is where parents come in and where they fill that void by becoming involved and offering that much needed support. It makes a significant difference.
One study that I found particularly interesting was the one on socio-economic background and teacher perceptions of parental involvement. I found it interesting how teachers value family involvement when family actions fit their ideal definition or when their contributions are visible to the teachers. I have a slight problem with that. I understand why teachers would want parents to cooperate and work with them in a sense but I think its ok for there to be some form of disagreement especially if parents have a problem with what or how their child’s teacher is teaching. It is only important to keep in mind how the child/student is affected. I don’t think it’s fair for teachers to require that parents agree with everything they do but they definitely should work together in ensuring that the student gets the best education possible and is learning and improving his/her performance. I was also surprised by the assumptions the teachers made when they determined the quality of a family’s involvement by socioeconomic or educational status. There are many parents or families that are not well off or may not be highly educated but are still heavily involved in their child’s education especially if they want their child to have a much better future for him/herself.
Is it possible for parents to become too involved in their child’s education? Would/could it be detrimental for their child’s education and academic performance if they did so?
