How Parental Involvement Benefits the Entire Educational Process

Jane Dee Hull, the first female governor of Arizona, once said, “At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.” Perhaps Governor Hull was merely opining at the time, but we now have a mountain of empirical research that substantiates her assertion.

Recent research on the best practices in education suggests that parental involvement, not income or social status, is the most accurate predictor of scholastic achievement. Read on to find out how parental involvement benefits every facet of the educational process.

The Effect of Parent Involvement on Students

Families are the keystone that holds the educational framework together. In a research report, Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) concluded: “When schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more.” The synergy of these forces is infinitely more beneficial to students when parents do their part. Consider the following benefits to students who have involved parents, according to SEDL:

  • Higher grades and test scores, enrollment in more advanced programs
  • Grade promotions, earn more credits
  • Better school attendance and homework completion rates
  • Improved social skills and behavior allows students to acclimate better to school environments
  • Higher self-esteem
  • High school graduation and advancement to post-secondary education

Benefits to Parents

Even parents themselves benefit when they are involved in their children’s education. By involving themselves at the school and community levels, parents:

  • Interact with their children more and are thus more sensitive to their emotional and intellectual needs
  • Have more confidence in their parenting abilities
  • Have a better understanding of the teacher’s role and the curriculum
  • Use more positive reinforcement the more they know about developmental stages
  • Are more likely to respond to teachers’ requests for help at home when they stay apprised of what their children are learning
  • Have higher opinions of and feel more committed to their children’s schools
  • Become more active in policy-making at school and in the community

Benefits to Teachers and Schools

Educators have difficult jobs that are all too often thankless, but parent involvement helps ease their burden to some degree. When parents get involved, they join forces with teachers to make a formidable educational team characterized by mutual respect. Here are a few of the benefits to educators and schools when parents take an active role in their children’s education:

  • Teachers and administrators experience higher morale and job satisfaction
  • Parents have more respect the teaching profession
  • Communication improves among educators, parents, and administrators
  • Communities have higher opinions of schools with involved parents
  • School programs that involve parents perform better and offer higher quality

With all the potential benefits of parental involvement, spending time and attention to a child’s education should be a top priority for all parents. When parents foster an atmosphere of learning and collaborate with educators, the entire educational system benefits, from students to teachers to parents themselves.

Parents who take the role of Learning Coach for their children who attend online schools can become much more involved in their children’s education. To receive more information on how to maximize your child’s academic achievement, visit K12 today to request additional information at no cost.

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