Importance of Family Involvement, Essay Example

Family involvement is a component of successful education. According to the authors of “Importance of Family Involvement”, family involvement contributes to an increase in the development of social skills, academic understanding, good behavior, and self-esteem (Adams &Baronberg, 2014). In many communities, family involvement is assumed, but this is not always the case. It is important for the educator to consider the fact that many families wish to be involved with their child’s school life, but are unsure of how they would be able to participate. The article suggests that, to bridge this involvement gap, early childhood providers should reach out to parents to help provide them with the tools they need to build a lasting relationship as a child’s “education partner”.

It is important for the educator, therefore, to work towards incorporating family involvement in many different aspects of their classroom activities. In some instances, this could simply mean making a positive or negative phone call home to update parents about how their children are performing academically and behaviorally in school. This is a beneficial practice because it is time efficient. Many teachers worry about being unable to communicate with parents who work long or conflicting hours. In this manner, the educator is able to quickly check in with his or her student’s parents, which will allow them to have an enhanced understanding of their child’s day-to-day actions in school.

Effective teachers are aware of how to adequately incorporate parents into classroom activities. Furthermore, these individuals are aware of which methods of communication will benefit students from different backgrounds. The article suggests a variety of communication options for teachers to choose from, including “newsletters, informal notes, bulletin boards, workshops, and regular face-to-face communication”. However, many expert teachers believe that it is important to meet with parents face-to-face at least three times in the school year; once at the beginning of the year so the parent and teacher could meet, and at least twice during a parent teacher conference. These meetings allow the parent to develop expectations regarding expectations and allow for the teacher to provide them with guidance. Furthermore, the visits that occur during the year will allow parents to remain up-to-date regarding their child’s performance, which will allow the parent to gain a greater understanding of how they could support their child’s changing needs.

The article provides educators with a reasonable understanding of how communication between parents and students could be enhanced, independently of communication preference or frequency. The authors state that it is essential to consider the cultural background of the students and their families in order to ensure that all communication is constructive. By implementing this practice, teachers will be able to communicate effectively and efficiently. They will be able to gain mutual trust with families, which will allow them to become allies in the education of their children. It is important to ensure that their beliefs and wishes are met whenever possible, and to consider the different needs that each set of parents may have regarding the support of their child’s education.

Furthermore, the article explains that understanding the diversity of the families our students will become more and more necessary in the future due to the multicultural setting that is now represented by our schools. Through this understanding, families will be given the tools they need to help their children succeed. The parent-teacher relationship can be made strong by the educator communicating effectively with parents. It is the responsibility of educators to ensure that this is the case so that their students will be able to flourish on all fronts.

References

Adams SK, Baronberg J. (2014). Importance of Family Involvement. Education.com. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/importance-family-involvement/