Analysis
The article ‘Barriers to Parental Involvement in Education: An Explanatory Model’ covers the issue of the parental involvement and characteristic features. Nowadays more and more schools establish a program of the parent involvement. Though, the influence of the established relationship between parents and teacher, on the one hand, and parents and children, on the other hand, produces more and more positives outcomes, there are still barriers, which serve as a negative impact in this process.
What part(s) of the article do you agree with and disagree with the most? Why?
I totally agree with the statement that the parental involvement in the teaching-learning process may vary depending on different factors. It is too generalized that the parental involvement plays only positive and improving role in the teaching-learning process. The parental involvement may differ according to the various factors, which are presented in the article. However, the authors mention that the model, which they have created, is doing to help the educators and methodologists to improve the level of the parental involvement. The model covers different spheres, which play a crucial role in the establishment of a link between parent and schools.
I disagree with the article in a part, where the authors include ‘gender’ in the first factor. Hence, it has been already discovered that the gender of the parent, who is involved in the process, is not as important as the presence of the parent in the teaching-learning process (Epstein, 1986). Moreover, it is very controversial since different children react to the father’s side and mother’s side in a different way. It is a personal aspect, and it is hard to accumulate its relation to the teaching-learning process and the parental involvement in it.
Pretend you are to write a letter to the author(s). What would you tell him/her/them about what he/she/they forgot to include/mention in the article that would make it better? Why?
If I were an author of the given article on the issue of the parental involvement, I would not forget to include the materials, which are connected to the psychological factors. The fifth factor, which I would describe, would cover the psychological characteristics of the students’ quality of character and types of personality. These aspects are relevant since every child is unique in their beliefs and preferences because of the differences in the personalities and qualities of character. Therefore, the examination of this information should be provided in the article in order to get acquainted with the fact how different children react to the parental involvement.
References
Epstein, J. (1986). Parents' Reactions to Teacher Practices of Parent Involvement. The Elementary School Journal, 86(3), 277-294. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/461449
Girden, E. & Kabacoff, R. (2011). Evaluating research articles from start to finish. (1st ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Publications.
Hornby, G. & Lafaele, R. (2011). Barriers to parental involvement in education: an explanatory model. Educational Review, 63(1), 37-52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2010.488049
