Parental Involvement in Schools

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 suit. The success of parent involvement has been documented in higher academic test scores, healthy parent-child relations, better school programs, and improved personal qualities necessary for a child's optimal learning. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on what success means according to the standards of parent involvement models. The paper will be divided into the three domains that influence the child's life: the home environment; parental skills; and parent partnership with the school.

A child's education begins in the home. The child assimilates and responds to both the psychological environment and the structure or rules that a

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oblem-solve (Rich, 1991, p. 14). Dorothy Rich claims that today "successful learners are those who have essential life skills . . . they take what they know and put it together in new ways to solve new and unforeseen problems" (p. 15). 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 the world, and child-raising concepts are passed down to the child and eventually get enacted in society. Many families, particularly those who are not Caucasian, and/or come from other countries and do not speak English live within a socially oppressive environment. Access to the basic necessities of life--food, shelter, health care, and work--are limited, whereas alcohol and drugs are easily obtained. These factors result in poor nutrition, single-parent homes, fatherless children, working mothers, chemically dependent parents, antisocial behavior, and angry people. In a sense, these people could be considered outcasts, which leads to low self-esteem. Many are incapable of providing a child with positive life attitudes, let alone show caring or love or p

Category: Psychology - P