Introduction
Child successes during studying are fundamental as one of the guarantees of positive career building. However, there are multiple factors that impact this aspect and should be considered by educators whose pivotal task is the creation of an environment that cultivates an interest in acquiring information, critical thinking, and skills. Among these, parent involvement in the elementary school setting remains the fundamental topic.
Significance of Parent Involvement
The fundamental role of the discussed factor cannot be denied and should be accepted by all educators. Existing reports state that there is a direct correlation between parent involvement in elementary school and future success in high school and even career (Park, Stone, & Holloway, 2017). It helps to reduce the dropout rates, achieve higher academic success levels, decrease stress levels, and increase the effectiveness of socialization processes (Sheridan et al., 2019).
For this reason, the majority of relevant studies revolving around the topic consider parent involvement a vital component in early childhood education that should be given the highest level of attention by educators with the primary goal to achieve acceptable grades (Berkowitz et al., 2017). However, there are many problematic questions associated with this aspect that might deteriorate outcomes and deprive young learners of the opportunity to enjoy the most favorable environment.
Problem
The problem that should be discussed regarding parent involvement is the low level of their participation and the lack of understanding of how to assist children in their studying. At the moment, educators report that adults have a vague or poor understanding of their role in academic success and do not realize a need for their participation (Park et al., 2017). As a result, teachers become actors who have to accept parent functions and try to help young learners. However, this situation is dangerous as a school cannot substitute family and offer the same level of support. Children start to suffer from a lack of parental attention, emotional support, and guidance (Park et al., 2017). The problem is even more complicated because of its systemic character and adults’ belief that a school is an institution that should solve all challenges children might face during their studies.
Solution
Considering the nature of the problem, which is the low level of parent involvement and the lack of understanding of how to assist children in their studying, and its fundamental role in the modern educational sphere, there is a critical need for an effective solution that will combine multiple benefits. In this regard, the proposed intervention is the specialized education courses for parents who do not realize the importance of their involvement and do not provide the demanded support to their children (Sheridan et al., 2019).
The seminars should be created by experienced educators working at school in cooperation with a psychologist to consider all problematic elements that should be covered and provide vital information (Kim, Fletcher, & Bryan, 2017). The courses will be led by school counselors and take place at school after classes, using available rooms (Kim et al., 2017). Alternatively, Skype or similar tools can be used to organize online meetings. Groups should be formed regarding time convenient for adults and their schedules. To ensure that adults will attend offered training, they should be explained lessons’ necessity, benefits, and complications that might emerge if parents do not cooperate with children during their studies.
The given approach is understandable for broad populations and can help to eliminate the gap in knowledge. Second, its efficiency is combined with comparatively low costs demanded to organize it. Finally, it does not require too much time, which is important for working people. That is why it seems the preferable option is to speak about the problem.
Benefits
As it has already been stated, the main benefit of the proposed courses is their understandable character, which is vital in terms of the current situation. In accordance with the statistics, parents disregard this aspect not intentionally; however, they do not have a clear understanding of their role in children’s development and school life (Sheridan et al., 2019). In other words, the existing gap in knowledge prevents them from creating a beneficial environment for their children.
The main idea of the proposed courses is that educators will explain to parents that involvement is critical for academic success as it preconditions the emotional stability of a child and helps to resolve the majority of appearing problems more effectively (Park et al., 2017). For completing the courses, parents will acquire several advantages including better interaction with their children, the ability to inform other parents about the vital character of this aspect, form their own groups, and enjoy a positive atmosphere within a family.
Another aspect is that it can be organized in simple and effective ways. A school could be used as the platform for teaching parents the basic elements of involvement. For instance, adults who have the most problematic children can be offered these special courses and invited to schools to communicate with educators and be explained the most important aspects of their relations with young learners (Sheridan et al., 2019). At the same time, there is another possible approach that can be utilized. Educational materials can be prepared by responsible teachers using schools’ resources and distributed among problematic families for parents to study at home.
Costs
Discussing the specialized education courses for parents, it is also critical to mention costs that are associated with it. First of all, the financial aspect should be analyzed. The proposed intervention does not demand any additional place or additional resources such as equipment, software, or hardware.
The only associated costs are the price of distributed materials and payment for teachers who will agree to work with parents and explain the importance of parent involvement and its critical influence on outcomes (Park et al., 2017). That is why, from this perspective, the offered method is an advantageous solution that can satisfy all parties and ensure that significant improvement will be achieved in the future. Low costs also serve as an important factor for various agencies or governmental bodies that will help to gather their support.
Moreover, there are social-emotional costs that should also be considered. The fact is that both teachers and parents should engage in a special sort of relations characterized by a high level of trust and mutual support to achieve the desired goal. Educators should be ready to share their personal and professional experiences, spend their time, and explain to adults the critical importance of their participation in the lives of their children.
This task might demand serious emotional resources and social support. Parents should also be ready to spend their time and resources to attend courses or learn provided materials as it will help them to understand their children better. In such a way, the social-emotional costs of the given method should be taken into account and considered an essential factor that can impact outcomes.
Recommendations
Finally, there are two recommendations related to the intervention discussed in the given proposal. First of all, it can be recommended to evaluate the state of the problem by talking to both children and their parents during individual meetings. It will help to determine families that demand the discussed intervention first of all. Second, it is critically recommended to improve parents’ understanding of the importance of their roles in studies by engaging them in designed training and outlining the benefits of their participation.
Conclusion
Altogether, the problem of parent involvement in the elementary school setting remains a topical question for the modern educational system. The given factor impacts young learners significantly and preconditions their academic successes. That is why parents should be explained how to help their children to study. The proposed intervention is the educational courses that eliminate the gap in knowledge and show the fundamental role of family support for the future success of children and their achievements. The method combines some benefits such as understandable character, convenience, low costs, and expected effectiveness. For this reason, it can be recommended as a possible intervention to improve results.
References
Berkowitz, R., Astor, R. A., Pineda, D., DePedro, K. T., Weiss, E. L., & Benbenishty, R. (2017). Parental involvement and perceptions of school climate in California. Urban Education. Web.
Kim, J., Fletcher, K., & Bryan, J. (2017). Empowering marginalized parents: An emerging parent empowerment model for school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 21(1), 1-9. Web.
Park, S., Stone, S., & Holloway, S. (2017). School-based parental involvement as a predictor of achievement and school learning environment: An elementary school-level analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 82, 195-206. Web.
Sheridan, S. M., Smith, T. E., Moorman, E., Beretvas, S. N., & Park, S. (2019). A meta-analysis of family-school interventions and children’s social-emotional functioning: Moderators and components of efficacy. Review of Educational Research, 89(2), 296–332. Web.