Parental Involvement in Education and its Effects on Student Academic P

Parental Involvement in Education and its Effects on Student Academic Performance Educational standards have recently become a controversial issue especially in secondary schools. One of the controversial issues surrounding educational standards is the lack of parental involvement. Various forms of parental involvement range from parental encouragement to parental partnership with the school. By examining parental involvement in secondary education, one can determine that positive parental involvement will have a profound effect on the students' academic performance. Defining parental involvement, family relationships and self-esteem, and relationships between parents and teachers can improve parental involvement. Defining Parental Involvement When dealing with the educational system and findings way to improve it, one cannot neglect that parental involvement is necessary. The question that arises from this is, what exactly is parental involvement? According to Catherine Hickmann, in "Future of High School Success: Importance of Parental Involvement," the various forms of parental involvement in secondary schools are parent as a communicator, parent as supporter of activities, parent as learner, parent as advocate, parent as decision maker, parent as volunteer/professional, and parent as home activities teacher. In the article, "Relationships between Parent Involvement and Student Achievement," Joyce Flood uses researchers to break down parental involvement into three categories; parent-child relationships at home, parent training or involvement in performance contracts, and parent-school- community partnerships. These categories can be further defined. Parent-child relationships at home allow... ...ties for students and parents to learn together, and offer community education classes to get parents to come to the school. In the article, "Promoting Parental Involvement," there are more ideas to advance the involvement of parents in education which lead children to excel academically. Conclusion This field of research covered parental involvement and its effects on student academic performance. The focus was on family relations at home and parental involvement at school. When researching this topic, a definition for parental involvement had to be established. The research was not time restricted, since the concern was the general effects of parental involvement in student academics. The research consists of several suggestions on parental involvement, rather than focusing on a specific method in which to involve parents in student education.