lördag 16 mars 2013

How to Engage Parents in Child's Learning


We read and discuss the issues of education and engaging parents.

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Why Engage Parents?

 An ongoing challenge for every educator is to develop and enhance skills that will offer students the best possible learning experiences and opportunities, in school, at home, and in community settings. It is therefore essential that every effort be made to ensure that ongoing and effective communication and partnerships be established and maintained with parents. 
Key Findings about Parent-School Partnerships
Here are two studies that offer insight into the benefits of parent-school partnerships:
Researchers at the University of Oxford found that children whose parents participated in the Peers Early Education Partnership (a program geared towards supporting families of children ages 0-5) "made significantly greater progress in their learning than children whose parents did not participate." These strides where found in children ages 3-5, and included progress in vocabulary, language comprehension, understanding of books and print and number concepts. In addition, these children also exhibited higher self-esteem in comparison to children of non-participating parents (Evangelou & Sylva, 2003).


What Parents Want To Know
 In order to effectively engage parents, it is important to know their specific questions and concerns with regard to their child's learning and transition from home or day care to other educational settings. An article written by Pianta and Kraft-Sayre (1999) titled "Parents' Observations about Their Children's Transitions to Kindergarten" offers a number of insights: 
·         While two-thirds of the parents viewed their child's transition into kindergarten as generally smooth, nearly 35% of parents mentioned a disruption to family life" - marked by having difficulty adjusting to a new schedule and not having a playmate available for a younger sibling.
·         53% of parent responses contained positive feedback regarding their child's ability to adjust well, the benefits of prior experience to school setting, proactive transition planning by the school, positive qualities in the teachers, communication with the school, and the quality of the curriculum/program.
·         Negative feedback shared by parents reflected the child's emotional/behavioral difficulties during transition (e.g., "not handled well by the school,"), family adjustment difficulties (e.g., sleep/work schedule), reluctance or refusal of child to attend school, unrealistic expectations of the school (e.g., curriculum too advanced), and communication difficulties between parents and school personnel (e.g., lost notes, missing money, skipped meals, hygiene difficulties)
Understanding parents' concerns and being proactive in addressing them (or circumventing potential problems) is a positive way to engage parents and establish productive home-school relationships. 

Engaging parents

According to Webster's New World College Dictionary (4th ed.), to "engage" is "to draw into, involve, to attract and to hold." Most parents want to be engaged in their child's learning, and many are able to establish and maintain ongoing and productive communication with teachers on a regular basis. Some families, however, must deal with challenging circumstances (e.g. financial difficulties, separation/divorce, health issues, language/cultural difference) that complicate their ability to reach out or respond to school personnel.



NOW practise the words from the text:

the best opportunities
ensure that communication is established
progress in vocabulary, language comprehension
higher self-esteem
concerns with regard to their child's learning
smooth transition
ability to adjust
negative feedback
challenging circumstances


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