PARENT INVOLVEMENT IN EDUCATION.   Term Paper ID:20998 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Roles of home environment, parental skills & parent partnership with school in developing child's ideas, values, pereformance, self-esteem.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Roles of home environment, parental skills & parent partnership with school in developing child's ideas, values, pereformance, self-esteem. Paper Introduction: Introduction Because of disruptive home environments, schools have turned into behavioral management camps, rather than centers of learning. Teachers spend more time disciplining children than educating them (Ryan and Stiller, 1991, p. 133). Therefore, enlisting the support of parents in a partnership with the school and their child has become necessary. The ultimate aim of parent involvement is to nurture the child's ability to become a well-functioning, positively-contributing member of society. The first model of parent involvement began in the 1960s with a program known as Headstart. The program was based on the concept that parents are the child's first and primary teachers. Headstart educated parents in all areas related to being a good parent (Flaxman and Inger, 1992, p. 4). Many schools followed Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Academic test scores have shown that childrenfrom authoritative homes score higher academically, are competent, and lesslikely to become behavioral problems, hence self-regulated. From thepsychological perspective, the parent(s) must be psychologically healthy.S/he must have a positive self-image and good communication skills and beflexible, self-directed, and able and willing to reach out for whateverassistance s/he needs (whether it be food stamps or a single-mother or-father support group). Teachersspend more time disciplining children than educating them (Ryan andStiller, 1991, p. Partnership Between the School and the Parent There are several ways that parents can become involved in theirchild's schooling. Therefore, schools which create parentpartnerships can expect that their students will be able and willing toserve the next generation. In summary, the home environment is responsible for thesuccess of a child's education and overall lifestyle. 4).Many schools followed suit. According to Ryan and Stiller, assisting a child in buildingautonomy will "promote a sense of competence, relatedness, and mutuality"(Ryan and Stiller, 1991, p. In Advances in Motivation and Achievement 7, ed. Martin L.Maehr and Paul R. This sense of mastery may be aspersonal as impulse control or as complex as joining with others to createa school agenda that best serves the child's needs. . Hence, learning is a process by whichcognitive growth is either fostered or inhibited according to the socialcontext: "Social context . The success of parent involvement has beendocumented in higher academic test scores, healthy parent-child relations,better school programs, and improved personal qualities necessary for achild's optimal learning. . Introduction Because of disruptive home environments, schools have turned intobehavioral management camps, rather than centers of learning. These factors result inpoor nutrition, single-parent homes, fatherless children, working mothers,chemically dependent parents, antisocial behavior, and angry people. 1 -12. 86-99. self-worth) through the direct and indirect actions of theparents (or primary care-givers). Accepting the importanceof the distinct roles the parent and teacher play in the child's life andinteracting as partners to improve the quality of the child's education andlife will ultimately shape the child's perception of herself or himselfwithin community. 119). 118). The child first learns what her or hisvalue is (i.e. Parent educationteaches all the necessary skills associated with self and family care.Schools who encourage partnerships between the school and the parentsultimately serve the needs of the community by educating the parents,teachers, and school personnel in problem-solving from the most mundane(providing school lunches) to the more abstract (creating a creative,autonomous-supportive academic education). In Education and the Family, ed. Greenwhich: JAI Press, pp. Second, the home environment must be structured or have rules thatwill in the long run inculcate in the child a sense of perseverance andself-discipline. Theultimate aim of parent involvement is to nurture the child's ability tobecome a well-functioning, positively-contributing member of society. 13-15. The conceptual foundation of a family-centered curriculum will alsoextend into the community. They guide, provide structure, yet remainflexible to what the child needs, and encourage choice and participation.Children whose parents are too permissive tend to have poor impulsecontrol, are not self-reliant, and score low in cognitive skills (p. The social contextsof internalization: Parent and teacher influences on autonomy, motivation,and learning. In order to insure asuccessfully oriented environment, children need to be able to trust thatsignificant others will respond consistently and lovingly, rather thanabusively. Washington D.C.: NationalEducation Association.----------------------- 3 These parenting styles do affect academic success andmotivation of the child. This will alsohelp the child respect the teacher, i.e. Research has shown that children whose parents who get involved intheir children's educational process will be more motivated, have greateracademic achievements, feel competent, and in general have the rightattitude toward succeeding in life because children imitate the attitudesand behavior of their parents. In asense, these people could be considered outcasts, which leads to low self-esteem. 135). Schools as socializing agents inchildren's lives. The child assimilates andresponds to both the psychological environment and the structure or rulesthat are implemented in the home. they take what theyknow and put it together in new ways to solve new and unforeseen problems"(p. (1991, November). These parents areinvolved in their child's life. The childcarries with him or her out in the world positive attitudes related toauthority figures. The teacher mustbegin to see the parent as teacher, the parent as leader, and encourage theparent to work in partnership with the teacher. Parent Skills: Parent Education Being a good parent, knowing how to raise a child in the best manner,is an ongoing process that usually requires some sort of education.Parents' beliefs about themselves, others, their place and/or value in theworld, and child-raising concepts are passed down to the child andeventually get enacted in society. Swick, Kevin J. As a form of parent involvement, parent education reorients parentstoward achievement in the broadest sense of the word. How a parent parentswill affect the motivation, autonomous behavior, and academic achievementof the child. Sam Redding claims that "child's needs are bestmet by enhancing their sense of community" (Carlson, 1991, p. 7-9. Many are incapable of providing a child with positive lifeattitudes, let alone show caring or love or provide a healthy structurethat a child needs if s/he is going to be successful. supplies both a content to be assimilatedand a set of conditions for learning and development" (Ryan and Stiller,1991, p. 95). Thisgives the greatest opportunity for children to learn essential relationshipskills, as well as being involved in community. 14). 1 ). (1992). Essentially, the underlying principles of parent education are basedon the parent gaining control over her or his life through positive meansand gaining a healthy sense of self. References Carlson, Carol Gordon. This is how child alearns from the parent the skills associated with living a good life.According to Irene Ecksel, students who believe they have control overoutcomes score better in tests, persist longer in the face of failure, andgenerally outperform those who believe they have little control overoutcomes (Ecksel, 1992, p. This is achieved by taking the child'sframe of reference and perspective into account, as well as engaging thechild in activities that build social and educational skills. Headstart educated parents in allareas related to being a good parent (Flaxman and Inger, 1992, p. These attitudes change the social behavior of theparents with their child and with others. Educators must also begin thinking in termsof education being family-centered (Carlson, 1991, p. Redding, Sam. By having a good sense of self, parents notonly communicate a positive and achievement-oriented stance toward life,but they are more willing to get involved with their child's education--particularly through creating a partnership with the school and theteachers. Twoprinciples underlie these methods. These "recipes" are assignmentsthat parents give to children, such as "What did I do right?" or "How doesit feel?" These exercises increase and improve parent-child participation,self-confidence, motivation, effort, responsibility, perseverance,initiative, caring, teamwork, common sense, and the ability to problem-solve (Rich, 1991, p. A structured homelife occurs when parents consistently implement certain structures, such asmaking sure the child goes to bed at a regular time, reading to the childat bedtime, and/or making sure a certain amount of time is set aside forhomework instead of TV viewing, and/or utilize "recipes" or learningactivities designed to develop necessary life and academic skills. One reason isthat the parent-child relationship is healthy and respectful. 96). Thefirst model of parent involvement began in the 196 s with a program knownas Headstart. One reason is that the child experiences a nurturingenvironment; the other reason is that the child observes the mutual respectthe parent and outside authority figures interact with. The ABCs of home-school-communityconnection. All of the above affect the parenting style of theparent--the strict authoritarian, the guiding authoritative parent, or thelax parent. . The ultimate aim of parental involvement is to raisechildren who become well-functioning, positively-contributing members ofsociety. Authoritative parents provide the autonomy-buildingpsychological and structural climate of the home. Education Digest, 57: pp. Education Digest, 57: pp. 54-68. (1992). (1992, May). Some teachers also believe that the parentsare unwilling to get involved with their child's education (not to mentiona lack of understanding about cultural differences that may exist betweenteacher and student). Pintrich. (1991, November). NeedlhamHeights: Allyn & Bacon, pp. S/he also learns cultural values--whichinclude the parents' attitudes about education, concepts about socialrelationships and responsibilities, and adaptive behaviors to lifecircumstances (i.e., life skills). These skills changethe parent's attitudes from negative to positive--from low achievement tohigh achievement. These parentshave little faith they can make a difference in their child's life;therefore, they are not involved with their child's education, nor are theypositively oriented in responding to their child's needs (Swick, 1991, p.69). 3-7. The effects of parenting occur through time. Education Digest, 57: pp. (1991, November). Oftenthe barriers to learning are teachers who automatically think and act fromthe place that at-risk children are unmotivated to learn and cannot succeedin school (Hamby, 1992, p. Dorothy Rich claims that today "successfullearners are those who have essential life skills . Learning activities doneat home with parent and student, such as those designed by the Home andSchool Institute, are a part of the parent as teacher and parent-teacherpartnership model. Education Digest, 57: pp. In Education and the Family, ed. Hamby, John V. (1991). Therefore, enlisting the support of parents in apartnership with the school and their child has become necessary. Rich, Dorothy. . TheHome and School Institute believes that the foundation of success forchildren lies in cultivating the right attitudes and values about oneselfand oneself in relationship with others. Ecksel, Irene B. Turning these beliefs around requires that theteacher be educated in the nuances related to at-risk family systems, aswell as cultural differences. Teacher-parent partnerships to enhanceschool success in early childhood education. The paper will be divided into the three domains that influence thechild's life: the home environment; parental skills; and parent partnershipwith the school. This requires that a child learn the values of society, whichemphasizes the importance of community, or social relations andresponsibilities, in conjunction with academic skills. The Home Environment A child's education begins in the home. Many families, particularly those whoare not Caucasian, and/or come from other countries and do not speakEnglish live within a socially oppressive environment. cut down on behavioral problemsand increase academic achievement. Flaxman, Erin, and Morton Inger. 133). The purpose of this paper is to elaborate onwhat success means according to the standards of parent involvement models. The school-family link: A key to dropoutprevention. 115-149. The program was based on the concept that parents are thechild's first and primary teachers. Access to the basicnecessities of life--food, shelter, health care, and work--are limited,whereas alcohol and drugs are easily obtained. Thisrequires a shift in the thinking of teachers and school personnel. Schools, on theother hand, must encourage the parents to participate: "A partnership modelof parent involvement makes parents and school personnel part of the sameenterprise--seeing that all children succeed" (Redding, 1991, p. But the parent must first learn to care about herself orhimself. One is to choose the school the child goes to, anotheris to go in one or more days a week and work with the children, a third isto make the teachers and school accountable, and a fourth is to becomeactive in creating a school curriculum (policy-making). Children assimilatethe social values, attitudes, personal beliefs, and behaviors which they inturn imitate. Leonard Kaplan.Needlham Heights: Allyn & Bacon, pp. Generally termed at-risk, parents from impoverished backgrounds do not understand how childrendevelop, and they lack knowledge of their parental roles. Structure helps develop intention, perceived control, andpredictability, i.e., a comprehensive cause and effect. These relate to the psychologicalenvironment and the structure, limits, or rules in the home. (1991). Parents and schoolingin the 199 s. 7). 6). Getting parents involvedin their children's education. Thus, parent education aims to cover all areas of the parent'slife: self-esteem, support groups, learning to access whatever resourcesare necessary for the family, conflict resolution, perspective-taking,child development classes, caring, teamwork, impulse control, creative self-expression, and responsive and reciprocal listening. Ryan, Richard M., and Jerome Stiller. Leonard Kaplan. Creating a school community throughparent involvement. 15). Conclusion It is well accepted that parents are the first and primary teachersand that learning takes place before and after school. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.