Parental involvement in the academic realm is a holistic process where parents participate in two-way and meaningful communication with teachers on student performance, homework, and other school-related activities. Parents may be involved in school activities in numerous ways, such as parenting, volunteering, collaborating and decision-making (Muller & Kerbow, 2018). Teachers must incorporate creative ideas in their curriculum to ensure parents are involved in students’ affairs and school curriculum for a better outcome. A student’s development cycle can only be complete when all stakeholders are involved; therefore, parental involvement is quintessential for student success.
Teachers can involve parents by designing assignments requiring students to get parents’ assistance in interpreting the questions. Parents can therefore work with their children, and in case they do not understand what is required of them, they call the teachers for clarification. Teachers can also organize parent-teacher conferences where they regularly share ideas on the progress of students and brainstorm better ways of improving performance. Social media is an important tool that can be used by teachers to maintain two-way communication. Teachers may sensitize parents to volunteer as coordinators to work closely with teachers in assessing and monitoring students’ behaviour and performance (Epstein et al., 2018). Online video services are key to having teachers and parents come together when handling student affairs.
Parent involvement is important in improving academic performance as students have to prove to teachers and parents that they are working hard at school. The involvement has a significant impact on improving students’ academic performance. Involvement further leads to better classroom behaviour because as the students interact with parents when handling assignments, they are challenged to be more attentive in class (Barger et al., 2019). When parents clearly understand the school’s curriculum, they help students appreciate it, and the quality of education improves in the long run. Students and teachers’ morale increases when parents are involved, making learning more interesting. Teachers must therefore strive to involve parents for better academic performance and improved classroom behaviour.
References
Barger, M. M., Kim, E. M., Kuncel, N. R., & Pomerantz, E. M. (2019). The relation between parents’ involvement in children’s schooling and children’s adjustment: A meta-analysis.Psychological Bulletin, 145(9), 855. Web.
Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Sheldon, S. B., Simon, B. S., Salinas, K. C., Janson, N. R. & Williams, K. J. (2018). School, family, and community partnerships: Your action handbook. Corwin Press. [PDF document]. Web.
Muller, C., & Kerbow, D. (2018). Parent involvement in the home, school, and community. In Parents, their children, and schools (pp. 13-42). Routledge.