Abstract
Parental involvement in a young child’s education can make a tremendous difference. A parent who is actively involved in a child’s education can help improve the child’s moral and drive to learn. An actively involved parent also informs the child that the parent cares and has taken a strong interest in the child’s accomplishments and endeavors. Parental involvement is important throughout a child’s educational life. Although the outward appearance of involvement should be adjusted depending on the child’s age, parental involvement is important throughout a child’s life. There is ample evidence to show that students who have involved parents perform better in school than students who do not have involved parents. Parental involvement is especially significant in the case of a special needs student. Because the special needs child will require different levels of support and assistance both in the classroom and at home, it is particularly crucial that parents are onboard with the student’s teachers and staff and collaborate a plan to best enrich the student’s educational environment.
Reflection #1
I had a relatively unique elementary school experience. I attended Montessori School from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade and was homeschooled for the year of third grade. During these foremost years, my mother in particular was extremely involved and active in my education. In accordance with Montessori philosophy, I never had homework during my elementary school years. In the year I was home-schooled, however, my mother stuck to a set schedule of when I had lessons and what assignments I needed to complete. After elementary school, I went on to become a top student in middle school and high school and owe a great deal of credit to my mother for her involvement in my early educational years.
I definitely noticed that my mother’s involvement in my education became less and less as I grew older. Jeynes (2014) notes that evident parental involvement is associated with higher academic results among elementary school students, but not high school students (p. 86). By high school, neither of my parents ever helped me with homework or assignments. Throughout elementary school, however, my parents remained extremely active in my educational pursuits. In my elementary school years, my mother and I would read together almost every night. This was just something we did since I was very young and continued until I reached middle-school age. I firmly believe this was the reason I fell in love with reading from such an early age. Even after I was able to read on my own, we continued to read stories out loud and this helped foster and develop my affinity for reading, which has served me well throughout life. Topper, Keane, Shelton, and Calkins (2010) write that research demonstrates that the parent-child interaction is the leading influence on a child’s academic performance (p. 2). As reading is a highly interactive activity and my mother read to me well-before school taught me how to read, I believe my mother’s interaction had a significant impact on shaping my academic performance and drive.
One thing my mother always gave me throughout my childhood was positive reinforcement and feedback. Although I knew my parents had high expectations of me, they never made me feel like I was not good enough or that I had failed in any way. Jeynes (2014) writes that such positive communication and praise are particularly effective on younger students, while the same communications may be counterproductive for older teenagers (p. 87). In my own experience, the positive feedback and communication continued throughout my educational career, and persists to this day. My parents were never shy about letting me know that they had high expectations of me. Although on some students this may have a deleterious effect, it never phased me. Instead, it made me feel like my parents were proud of me and that they believed in my abilities.
My mother was actively involved in my elementary school education. She was on the parent-teacher board and volunteered every class trip and school function. Nokali, Bachman, and Votruba-Drzal (2010) explain that parental involvement in school functions and activities is an integral part of supporting a child’s educational progress (p. 2). My mother was definitely a very involved parent. She maintained a consistent line of communication between my teachers to monitor my progress. I was always a bright student, so I never had any learning difficulties or problems in school. But this communication and support was equally important to encourage me to strive for excellence in my formidable elementary school years and instilled in me the work ethic and academic curiosity that I still have today.
Another relationship dynamic between my parents and me that I feel worked very effectively was mutual trust. My parents always treated me like an adult, and considered my opinion to be important. Perhaps this is because I am an only child, but my parents never delegated me to the typical “child” role. As Jeynes (2014) discussed the more active role of parents in a child’s primary years and a move towards passivity in adolescent years, it made me think of the trust between my parents and I. For example, many parents are skeptical when their child tells them that they do not have any homework, or that they have finished a particular assignment. Parents will often second-guess these assertions or take them with a grain of salt. Although my elementary schools years were unusual in that I did not have homework, I did have various school-related topics that frequently came up. I always felt like I could open up to my parents about school. I believe that my parents and I have such an effective line of communication, continuing into middle school and high school, because of the mutual trust we had established early on.
On a final note, I completely agree with Jeynes (2014) that parental involvement should be less open and obvious as children grow older. Teenage years are difficult enough without parents prying into teenagers’ academic lives with a fine tooth comb. Many parents simply resign to give up during these tumultuous years. Adolescents will necessarily push back if parents become too involved in the teenager’s mind. But adolescents still need their parents help and guidance, probably more so than elementary school students. It is therefore important that parents of older teenagers remain involved in their children’s education, albeit in a more subtle way.
Reflection #2
The success or failure of a child’s education can often largely depend on what the child’s family life and structure at home is like. One approach that Moll, Amanti, Neff, and Gonzalez (1992) support is taking a holistic view of the child to improve the educational quality delivered to the child and to better hand-tailor the education to meet the child’s particular needs (p. 133). These authors suggest that the traditional teacher-student role in the classroom is altogether different in the household setting, as teachers can assume many different roles (p. 133). The authors support the idea that a student’s household and family life can be a tremendous asset to traditional classroom instruction (p. 134). Although the working class family is traditionally viewed as unintelligent and far-removed from serving as an educational asset for a child, the authors question this underlying assumption and argue that the cultural diversity of working class families can be successfully integrated into bolstering a child’s educational experience (p. 134).
The value of providing a culturally and ethnically diverse educational environment for young students cannot be overstated. It is always enriching to be exposed to people who are different, whether it be racial, religious, ethnic, cultural, because it teaches one to have an open mind and how to interact and get alone with various groups of people. I attended a Montessori School, which believes in multi-age classrooms. While not overly diverse, I was given a different educational experience than the traditional public ed. classroom setting being in the same classroom with students of various ages and abilities.
In the special education context, an inclusive philosophy is even more important for these students. As Kaczmarek (2006) writes, the needs of special education students often require different or additional types of classroom student than that of the average student (p. 1). To provide the best possible education for special needs students, it is crucial that teachers, parents, and support staff collaborate to give these students the support and services they need to succeed (p. 2). It is especially important that an open-line of communication develop early on between teachers and home (p. 4). Steady and consistent communication between teachers and parents is essential to discuss progress, talk about concerns or issues that may come up, ask questions, or seek information (p. 4). The parents of special needs children play an especially critical role in keeping up-to-speed with their child’s progress and serve as the special needs child’s primary support system (p. 5).
The parents of special needs students will need to remain active and involved in their child’s education throughout the child’s educational career. Although Jeynes (2014) recommended that parental involvement become more subtle as students grow older, the same does not necessarily apply for special needs students. Throughout elementary school, middle school, and high school, special needs students will need the continued support of teachers and parents. Parents of special needs students must stay actively involved in their child’s education and consistently inquire about homework and offer help and assistance. Whereas the typical adolescent will probably rebel and rebuff these offerings of involvement, the parents of special needs students must remain actively engaged in their child’s education throughout teenage hood.
References
Jeynes, W.H. (2004). Parental involvement that worksBecause it’s age-appropriate.
Kappa Delta Pi Record 50, 85-88.
Kaczmarek, L.A. (2006). A team approach: Supporting families of children with
disabilities in inclusive programs. Young Children on the Web.
Moll, L.C., Amanti, C., Neff, D., and Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for
teaching: Suing a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory
Into Practice 31(2).
Nokali, N.E., Bachman, H.J., and Votruba-Drzal, E. (2010). Parent involvement and child’s
academic and social development in elementary school. Child Development, 81(3): 988-
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Topper, D.R., Keane, S.P., Shelton, T.L., and Calkins, S.D. (2010). Parent involvement and
& Intervention, 38(3): 183-197.
