The Importance of Parental Involvement in Education

• What is parental involvement
• Difference between involvement and engagement
• How does it influence a child’s behavior
• When is it not good for kids
• Quantity vs quality
• Controlling
• Autonomous supportive

In recent years, parent involvement has been widely accepted as the key to improving children’s academic performance and expected in good parenting. Teachers often engage parents through the school curriculum. It is common to see “parents’ help needed” in school projects.

However, not all research comes to the same conclusion.

Let’s find out if parental involvement is the magic bullet in improving students’ performance and closing the achievement gap.

What is Parental Involvement

Parent involvement refers to the collaboration between the parents and the school to improve children’s education experience and academic performance. Countless studies have found that the involvement of parents in education is vital to a child’s success in school.

Parents can become involved in school work in many ways.

Parent involvement in schools can include discussions after school, helping with homework assignments, engaging in extracurricular activities, keeping abreast of academic progress, imparting parental values, participating in parent meetings, attending school activities, and volunteering in the classroom.^​1​

Difference Between Parental Involvement And Engagement

In the past, parent involvement was the focus of building successful partnerships between parents and teachers. Family involvement is an extended form of parent involvement.

The switch from emphasis on parent involvement to family engagement started when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002.

The new terminology emphasizes the importance of engagement from the entire family, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even the community, to form school, family, and community partnerships.

In addition to including other family members, reframing parent involvement to family engagement redefines how family members are more active in kids’ education. They are not just passively being present anymore.^​2​

The National Association for the Education of Young Children NAEYC defines parent involvement and family engagement.^​3​

• create and sustain student learning activities at home to enhance the child’s strength
• family and school collaborate through effective communication^​4​
• ongoing parental participation to build genuine relationships and shared responsibility
• engage families and community by building upon interests and skills^​5​

How does parental involvement influence a child’s behavior

A meta-analysis of 66 studies shows that the most accurate predictors of student success are not family income or social status but the extent to which parents and teachers work together to facilitate the child’s education.^​6​

Extensive research shows that family-school partnerships in education matter because they correlate with better academic success in children​7​. In elementary school, students with involved parents attend school regularly​8​, have better social skills​9​ , and have improved classroom behavior.^​7​

Research has also shown that students earn higher grades when parental support enhances their self-efficacy and self-esteem and when they feel that their parents pay attention and care about their education.^​8​

When Is Parent Involvement Not Good For Kids

According to growing research, parents’ involvement in their children’s academic life positively affects their performance.

However, not all research results are consistent.^​9​ Some studies find mixed or contradictory conclusions regarding parental involvement.

Most studies measured the quantity or frequency of parental involvement without considering the student’s prior achievement, family background, or the quality of parental involvement.^​10​

Quantity vs. Quality In Parent Involvement

Not every type of parent involvement is associated with good outcomes. The effects of parental involvement in education are not always positive.

When parents; involvement is controlling, the student outcomes tend to be negative.

As one of the closest points of convergence between school and home, homework is where parents can be most involved.^​11​

By distinguishing the quantity and quality of parental homework involvement, some studies show different conclusions.

For example, when parents are negative or controlling, their frequent involvement decreases the child’s achievement. However, homework help that is perceived as supportive positively affects academic performance.^​12​

Controlling Parent Involvement

Controlling parents feel they need tight control over their children to ensure their success. They pressure their children to achieve and solve problems for them without being asked to. They often take the parental perspective and ignore the child’s wishes.

One example of controlling parental involvement is homework supervision.

Researchers define controlling involvement as excessive pressure on the child to complete assignments, check if the child has completed their homework, get involved in homework without being asked, and punish the child if homework is not complete.^​13​

Controlling parent behavior decreases a child’s intrinsic motivation. Such engagement undermines children’s learning motivation and the child’s sense of personal value and responsibility.^​14​

Parental pressure also correlates with worse test scores.^​15​

The more controlling the parent and behavior, the worse the child performs in school.^​16​

Examples of controlling parent involvement include:^​17​

• Parents work with their children to complete homework unrequested
• Check on homework and force completion
• Direct instructions that undermine intrinsic motivation
• Give privileges because of good grades
• Limit privileges because of poor grades
• Demand student work or chores at home
• Limit time watching TV or video games
• Limit time out with friends on school nights

Autonomous Supportive Parent Involvement

Parents’ involvement is helpful when their action shows that they value their child’s education and are not trying to be controlling.

A child who receives autonomous support from an involved parent tends to perform better academically. These parents allow their children to initiate learning instead of pushing them to do so.

Autonomous supportive parents focus on the learning, not the grades. They assist and only engage as determined by their kids. They are sensitive to their children’s needs and are available to help with homework when requested.^​13​

Children with autonomous support are in control of their own activities. They are intrinsically motivated to learn and perform better academically.^​18​

Other examples of autonomous support parent involvement ideas include:

• attend parent-teacher conferences
• attend school events in which the student participates
• volunteer at the school
• encourage parent participation in activities the student is interested in

Final Thoughts on Parent Involvement in Education

When schools encourage parents to get involved, it is essential to guide parents support their kids positively. Autonomous supportive parents are not only good for the child’s academic success, but they also positively impact the child’s physical and mental well-being.

When schools engage parents in the learning process, children tend to have more health-promoting behaviors, such as physical activity. Connectedness to family is also associated with fewer reported suicidal ideation in children. Working together, schools and parents can become invaluable support networks for children and adolescents.^​19​

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