Research Paper on Engaging Parents With Children

Introduction

There is a significant correlation between parent's engagement in their children's education and their academic outcomes. Schools have realized the importance of engaging parents in their children's learning and have developed transition programs for parent's to be engaged in their children's learning. According to Celano & Neuman, (2015), parents should be actively involved in assessing their children's performances in school, ensuring that their children complete their homework and if possible participate in their children's homework. Parents can play an important role in reporting the difficulties their children face while outside the school. Parents can discuss with the teachers and exchange insight into their children's performance, which is an important step in improving the academic achievement of the children. Strengthened family teacher relationship can only be achieved if the parents are willing and are actively involved in their children's relationship.

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Engagement in School-Based Activities

Parents can facilitate their children's learning by participating in the school program and activities. According to Underwood, & Killoran, (2012, pp. 376-414), family-centered practices such as Best Start Programs are founded on the belief and empirical evidence that parent engagement in child education significantly affects the children's outcomes positively. Family participation leads to a higher satisfaction rate among the parent and their children. As the patent engagement in their children' education and development, there is also a significant improvement in the parent-teacher relationship as the parent and the teachers meet more often to discuss their children's development, academic work, and emotional issues.

Engaging parents with children is one of the currents aspects of concern covered in the early childhood programs. However many parents have not shown much interest in playing role in the related learning activities. This can be observed in the potential places like homes and libraries where parents are given the opportunities to participate in playing with their children or even help them read (Anyikwa &Obidike, 2012). This shows that parents have not done much in complying with the requirements and provisions of the child engagement program, which states that every child ready to read at any given early stage of growth. Celano and Neuman (2015) added that the program serves to motivate the parents to embrace activities contributing to interaction with their children of ways. On this note, some of the aspects of early literacy practices for engaging children are reading, writing, talking, and playing.

The program is set to reach out to children from the communities, which are associated with high need, based on parental attachment. Christianakis (2011) argued that the strategy is meant to prepare children to begin their early education while prepared enough to interact with their schoolteachers so that they can experience the best out of their learning. Nevertheless, Christianakis (2011) observed that some children living in the less fortunate communities produce early education school goers who are less prepared and may end up not doing well after being handed over to their teachers. Such children may end up finding learning a difficult task for them since they do not become at the same ground as the other children raised from concerned communities in which parental is highly encouraged.

The program is pushing for parent-child engagement reports that libraries are a unique place where parents can do their best in joining their children in activities (Cucchiara & Horvat, 2009). This is because it is an information center, which has, is rich in resources; the resources can be used as bases for guiding parents to maintain close contact with their children. Parents, in the library, can also understand the need to provide the parental engagement as a strategic approach to giving a strong learning foundation (Cucchiara & Horvat, 2009). Almost all communities have libraries and offer free services and this is an advantage, which encourages parental engagement to their children.

Parent Involvement in Children Education Beyond the School

While parent involvement in children's education has often been focused on parent's active participation in school activities, Stitt, & Brooks, (2014, pp. 75-101) argued that practice and scholarship do not limit parent engagement in school-based activities and need but parental involvement outside the schools. For example, the parent should be involved in their children's education outside the school. The portent's engagement in their children's education s helps in meeting the deficiencies in the school's curriculum. For example, a parent's interaction with the children on school-related issues help in meeting the children's social, emotional, spiritual as well as intellectual needs. Parent's perception of what is important to their children's education is completing assignments but this is refuted by the study conducted by Prins, & Toso (2008, pp. 555-596) who argued that n parenting for education success should be measured by the relationship between the parent and the teachers as well as the parent and their children.

Purest Provide Supplementary Labor Help and Resources.

Based on the Parent Education Profile (PEP) instrument, the parent's supplementary educational work can significantly improve their children's education irrespective of the parent's literacy level as their responsibility in the educational outcomes has a bearing on the children's outcomes. Parents can help in meeting and improving the access to resources that the school cannot meet. Parents should engage in supplementary education work by helping their children do their assignment, teach their children new ideas and influence their children's development in a way that the school cannot. For example, Landgraf, (2011) reported that parents should encourage their children not only to go the public libraries to study but also encourage them to play and engage in social actives sic summer reading and games programs. On the other hand, Christianities (2011) and Cucchiara & Horvat (2009) both support the debate on parents as help labor in schools. Parents should in invite to address children based on their areas of expertise. Parents can be counselors, motivational speakers, teachers, or doctors and these are the skills that the students can find useful as their growing up. Engaging parents as help labors can potentially improve the children's academic achievement as they find their role models in the parents or the people they already know.

The program consists of the specific components, which should be recognized by parents in the event of engaging in the children related activities. Anyikwa & Obidike (2012) proved that all the requirements provide that parents have the opportunity to design the structure of the reading programs, which is targeted to promote learning skills among the children. Besides, children are also expected to participate in and benefit from the interactive literacy activities under the management and supervision of the parents whose direct participation is also required. Celano and Neuman (2015) added that the given forms of interactive approach to the general well-being of the children covered in the participation, including their health besides a significant education foundation.

Conclusion

Both actual experiences in the society and the research data has shown that parents, besides their children, benefit from the interaction based program. Because of the emerging benefits of the program, many parents have made considerable steps to influence their peers to adopt the given form of engagement (Christianakis, 2011). Currently, child-parent engagement is on the increase as the society is beginning to recognize the need for joining children in their activities before and after they begin their actual education (Cucchiara & Horvat, 2009). Perils and Promises: Middle-Class Parental Involvement in. Communities are therefore encouraged to show interest in engaging themselves in the early childhood learning activities with their children.

References

Anyikwa, N., &Obidike, N. (2012). Mothers' Constructions of their Roles in the Literacy Education of their Children. Africa Development / Afrique Et Developpement, 37(3), 57-67. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/stable/afrdevafrdev.37.3.57

Celano, D., & Neuman, S. (2015). Libraries emerging as leaders in parent engagement. The Phi Delta Kappan, 96(7), 30-35. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/stable/24375847

Christianakis, M. (2011). Parents as "Help Labor": Inner-City Teachers' Narratives of Parent Involvement. Teacher Education Quarterly, 38(4), 157-178. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/stable/23479635

Cucchiara, M., & Horvat, E. (2009). Perils and Promises: Middle-Class Parental Involvement in Urban Schools. American Educational Research Journal, 46(4), 974-1004. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/stable/40284744

Howard, V. (2011). What Do Young Teens Think about the Public Library? The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy,81(3), 321-344. doi:10.1086/660134

Landgraf, G. (2011). Summer Reading Levels Up: How two library summer reading programs evolved into summer games. American Libraries, 42(11/12), 44-45. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/stable/41500793

Prins, E., & Toso, B. (2008). Defining and Measuring Parenting for Educational Success: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Parent Education Profile. American Educational Research Journal, 45(3), 555-596. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/stable/27667144

Stitt, N., & Brooks, N. (2014). Reconceptualizing Parent Involvement: Parent as Accomplice or Parent as Partner? Schools: Studies in Education, 11(1), 75-101. doi:10.1086/675750

Underwood, K., & Killoran, I. (2012). Parent and Family Perception of Engagement: Lessons from Early Years Programs and Supports. Canadian Journal of Education / Revue Canadienne De L'education, 35(4), 376-414. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/stable/canajeducrevucan.35.4.376