Family
Involvement in Children's
Education
October
1997
Summary
Thirty
years of research confirms that family involvement is a powerful
influence on children's achievement in school (Eagle, 1989; Henderson
& Berla, 1994; U.S. Department of Education, 1994; Ziegler,
1987). When families are involved in their children's education,
children earn higher grades and receive higher scores on tests,
attend school more regularly, complete more homework, demonstrate
more positive attitudes and behaviors, graduate from high school at
higher rates, and are more likely to enroll in higher education than
students with less involved families. For these reasons, increasing
family involvement in the education of their children is an important
goal for schools, particularly those serving low-income and other
students at risk of failure. Increasing family involvement in
children's education is also an important goal of Title I of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which is designed to
enable schools to provide opportunities for low-income and
low-achieving children to acquire knowledge and skills contained in
challenging standards developed for all children. Title I is the
largest federal program supporting elementary and secondary
education.
Families
and Schools as Partners
If
families are to work with schools as partners in the education of
their children, schools must provide them with the opportunities and
support they need to become involved. Too often schools expect
families to do it all alone. Developing effective partnerships with
families requires that all school staff (administrators, teachers,
and support staff) create a school environment that welcomes parents
and encourages them to raise questions and voice their concerns as
well as to participate appropriately in decision making. Developing
partnerships also requires that school staff provide parents with the
information and training they need to become involved and that they
reach out to parents with invitations to participate in their
children's learning.
Schools that
are most successful in engaging parents and other family members in
support of their children's learning look beyond traditional
definitions of parent involvement--participating in a parent teacher
organization or signing quarterly report cards--to a broader
conception of parents as full partners in the education of their
children. Rather than striving only to increase parent participation
in school-based activities, successful schools seek to support
families in their activities outside of school that can encourage
their children's learning. Schools that have developed successful
partnerships with parents view student achievement as a shared
responsibility, and all stakeholders--including parents,
administrators, teachers, and community leaders--play important roles
in supporting children's learning.
Successful
school-family partnerships require the sustained mutual
collaboration, support, and participation of school staffs and
families at home and at school in activities that can directly affect
the success of children's learning. If families are to work with
schools as full partners in the education of their children, schools
must provide them with the opportunities and support they need for
success.
Sabrina Cal
Gabriela Garrido
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