Parental Involvement in Schools

During my training in the faculty of education I have been exposed to a significant number of influences and experiences which I feel have had a great impact of my view of teaching. There are far too many to mention but in this essay I will focus on parental relationships with schools as a means for enhancing children’s education.

The rationale behind choosing this issue is that on my school experience and nursery placement I have had very contrasting experiences which convinced me just how influential a parent’s input can be to further the education of our children.

It is no wonder that parent involvement with schools has become a major educational issue. This is an area of increasing concern about the quality of education in this country. When reflecting on my personal experiences in school it is perfectly clear that parents heavily influence their children’s education.

One of the simplest things which parents can have an affect on is absenteeism and tardiness. Something as simple as ensuring their children are ready on time for school is often not done. In my primary 7 placement and my primary 2 placement in particular the amount of time children were late or absent from school really shocked me.

An example was a girl who was late every day for a whole week then missed two days off the following week as she said herself her mum slept in and was too tired to take her to school. On speaking to the class teacher she informed me that the mother had been approached about the issue but was not very co-operative. This then, meant that the child has missed out on some important work which is not always that easy to catch up on. The girl was in the top group in the class but the teacher said that her absenteeism and tardiness would result in her not achieving her potential.

This was in stark contrast to my nursery placement where the children’s parents could not be any more supportive and co-operative with the nursery staff. They were constantly in the nursery having a chat with the staff at the end of the day whereas in my school placements the children were often quite lucky to be picked up on time.

In nursery the parents were continuously involved with the nursery and helped with things such as the library and outings. They always appeared so willing and enthusiastic to help whenever the opportunity to arrive. I felt this really was reflected in the children’s attitudes toward school and their achievement. It is widely known that parents help can form their children’s attitudes. This then means that if a parent has a negative view of school then this could influence the child also.