2.1 Family Engagement 4.6.1 Describe The Advantages and Importance of Family or Caregiver Involvement in Learner Development
2.1 Family Engagement 4.6.1 Describe The Advantages and Importance of Family or Caregiver Involvement in Learner Development
2.1 Family Engagement 4.6.1 Describe The Advantages and Importance of Family or Caregiver Involvement in Learner Development
1 Family Engagement
4.6.1 Describe the advantages and importance of family or caregiver involvement in learner
development
The NEA president Dennis Van Roekel has clear research that suggests that “Parent,
family, and community involvement in education correlates with higher academic performance”
(2.1.1). The community includes teachers and classmates, but the bigger focus here is the parent
and family involvement. As some parents are very active in their kids' school lives, many others
are not. It has been proven that parent involvement in a child’s education is extremely important
This involvement is crucial and important because of all of the benefits it provides for the
student, teacher, and the parent. Beginning to look at the student’s outcomes, if their parents are
involved in what they are learning, then the kids will be more “relaxed, motivated, willing to
take risks” and overall achieve success (2.1.2). The parents also benefit from this. According to a
seventh grade english teacher named Daniel Wood, parents should be involved because they can
“know what their child is doing, help with homework, and participate at special events” (2.1.3).
Many parents will feel more at ease knowing that they are keeping their kid on track. From this
interaction, the teachers benefit as well because they can build a relationship with the parents and
teachers “acquire a better understanding of students' culture, background, and overall diversity”
(2.1.4). The biggest issue that educators run into today is that it is sometimes difficult to get the
parents engaged.
Although some parents are very involved in their kids' lives, many parents often find
themselves too busy to keep up with every single thing their child is learning in school that week.
But, there are many techniques teachers can use to engage the parents. One example would be a
weekly newsletter that gets emailed to parents. These newsletter will contain information of what
the class is doing that week, important reminders, and maybe even a highlight of last week's
activities in the classroom to keep the parents updated on their child's learning. I have created an
example newsletter that contains all of these elements (1.2.5). The next thing a teacher could do
is create a meet the teacher document and send that out to the families as well. As I have also
created a sample of this, it allows the parents to be introduced to you and develop a sense of
respect and ease toward you and will be more likely to approach you if they have any concerns
(1.2.6). Another example a teacher can make that can directly engage the parents of the students
is holding student led conferences where the student is in charge of presenting their work to their
parents. This allows the student to share their strengths and weaknesses to their parent and allows
the parent to hear more from their child than “school was fine.” I have also created a lesson plan
Overall, students will benefit significantly if their parents are interested in their work and
help them with it, parents benefit by getting to keep up with their kids, and teachers benefit by
having a stronger connection to the parents and understanding their students' home lives as well.
Being a three way interaction, everyone benefits with no cons. Getting all parents involved may
be a struggle, but the educator can do many things to reach out to the families and get them
engaged.