Source 1

Benefits of Family Involve-ment in EducationMeaningful family involvement is a powerful predictor of high student achievement. Students at-tain more educational success when schools and families work together to motivate, socialize, and educate students (Caplan, 2000). Students whose families are involved in their education typically receive higher grades and test scores, complete more homework, have better atten-dance, and exhibit more positive attitudes and behaviors.

Children of involved families also graduate at higher rates and are more likely to enroll in postsecondary education programs. Researchers at Southwest Educational Development Labora-tory found that the academic benefits gained from family involvement with elementary school students continued through the middle and senior high school levels. These positive results oc-curred among students’ of diverse ethnic and national backgrounds, and were the most signifi-cant for students who were at risk of failure.

 When families become involved in their children’s education, they have a better under-standing of what is being taught in school and of teaching and learning in general. They gain more information about children’s knowledge and abilities, as well as the programs and services offered by the school. Research has found that when parents are involved, they become more confident that they can help their children with classroom assignments. Additionally, involved parents have more positive attitudes toward their children’s teachers

  Educators also benefit when family involvement is strong, as school staff gain an aware-ness of the ways they can build on family strengths to support students’ success. As teachers un-derstand more about students’ lives, they are able to connect learning outside of the school to classroom learning in real and meaningful ways .

Children of involved families also graduate at higher rates and are more likely to enroll in postsecondary education programs (Riggins-Newby, 2004; Norton, 2003; Caplan, 2000; Binkley et al., 1998; Funkhouse and Gonzalez, 1997). Henderson (1987) found that the academic benefits gained from family involvement with elementary school students continued through the middle and senior high school levels. Furthermore, studies have observed these positive outcomes re-gardless of students’ ethnic or racial background or socioeconomic status, noting that students at risk of failure have the most to gain when schools involve families 

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When families become involved in their children’s education, they have a better under-standing of what is being taught in school and of teaching and learning in general. They gain more information about children’s knowledge and abilities, as well as the programs and services offered by the school. Research has found that when parents are involved, their confidence in their ability to help their children with classroom assignments increases and they rate teachers higher in overall teaching ability 

Educators benefit when family involvement is strong, as school staff gain an awareness of the ways they can build on family strengths to support students’ success. As teachers under-stand more about students’ lives, they are able to connect learning outside of the school to class-room learning in real and meaningful ways

What are the best kinds of involvement?

The most positive type of involvement was when parents communicated high expecta-tions about education to their children. In homes where education was understood to be of high importance, the students were the most successful. In addition, reading with one's child had a positive effect. Thirdly, school program for parent involvement also influenced educational out-comes.

Implications for Practice

Schools should adopt strategies to enhance parental engagement in their children's schooling. Teachers, principals, and school counselors should fully appreciate the importance of parental involvement, so that they can guide parents on what steps they can take to become more involved. These steps include activities such as reading to one's children and communicating with them, and also communication the importance of education. Educators should consistently encourage parents to become more involved in their children's schooling.

Jeynes, William H., Parental involvement and student achievement. Global Family Research Journal (2005, December 4). Retrieved from http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/parental-involvement-and-student-achievement-a-meta-analysis

Source 2

Activities to promote parent involvement

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Research shows that children are more likely to succeed academically and are less likely to en-gage in negative behavior if their families are involved in their education. Many parents say, however, that they feel unwelcome or uncomfortable in their children's schools. Teachers often feel under attack by parents who are highly involved. Learn how to bridge the gap. 

Research from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that school-aged children are more likely to get mostly A's, to enjoy school, and to participate in activities if their fathers or mothers have high levels of involvement in their schools.

Additional studies have found that parental involvement is more important to student success, at every grade level, than family income or education. However, 30 years of research on family in-volvement in education shows the sad fact that in many instances parents don't feel as if we wel-come them in school.

Build a bridge

The National Parent Teacher Association offers the following suggestions for building essential bridges with the families of your students:

• Be sure the first contact with parents is a positive one.

• Communicate with parents straightforwardly and simply, avoiding technical vocabulary ("jargon.")

• Ensure that all parents have access to clear and easily readable information about their children's school and classroom.

• Ask parents to share their concerns and opinions about school, and then address those concerns.

• Accommodate parents' work schedules.

• Accommodate language and cultural differences.

• Establish regular, meaningful communication between home and school.

• Promote and support parenting skills.

• Encourage active parent participation in student learning.

• Welcome parents as volunteer partners in schools.

• Invite parents to act as full partners in making school decisions that affect children and families.

• Reach out to the community for resources to strengthen schools.

The specific activities below will help you communicate to parents that they are welcome in school and help them find ways to contribute to their children's education.

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Put out the welcome mat

1. Provide families with a list of required skills for each subject taught at your grade level.

2. Start a classroom volunteer program. You never know what resources your students’ fam-ilies might offer. Join a class trip? Photocopying services? Ask.

3. Create a classroom Web site and include a parent page. Some current educational tech-nologies such as Edmodo have features that allow parents to join the online community of a course. Check these resources out.

4. Invite parents to present talks and/or demonstrations about their specialized knowledge or skills.

5. Send home a newsletter that contains student – written articles or artwork.

Starr, Linda. (2015, September 21). Activities to promote parent involvement. Education World. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr200.shtml

Source 3

Take Your Family to School Week Brings Families into Classrooms NationwideALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 15, 2017 / USNewswire/ -- National PTA (Parent Teacher Associa-tion) has designated Feb. 13-17 PTA Take Your Family to School Week to encourage families to visit their child's school and strengthen partnerships between parents, teachers and administra-tors.

Studies demonstrate that students with involved families attend school more often, earn higher grades, have higher graduation rates, have better social skills and show improved behavior. Fam-ily engagement also helps children navigate the challenges of growing up, such as dealing with bullying and online safety and responsibility.

Guide: How to Organize Your “Take Your Family to School Week” Step 1: Brainstorm

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Keep it simple but fun! Do you want to host a breakfast or lunch, so families can enjoy a meal with their kids? Do you want to open up the classrooms so families can listen in on lessons? The National PTA has many fun, pre-planned family education events for you to choose from. Here are some ideas.

• Family Reading Experience (Powered by Kindle): Engage the whole family in reading activities. (Grades K-5)

• The Smart Talk: Create a family agreement together outlining the ground rules for how children will use their smartphones and devices safely and responsibly. (Grades K-12)

• Safety Toolkit: Use a series of lesson plans and take-home tip sheets to teach families about poison, fire, playground and bike safety. (Grades K-5)

• Multicultural Event Guide: Plan an event where students, families and school staff are ed-ucated about the various cultures represented within your school community. (Grades K-12)

• Creative Career Fair Event Guide: Help connect a stu-dent’s current interest in the arts with tomorrow’s career potential. (Grades K-12)

• Host healthy events like a health fair, fun , healthy cook-ing class or playground clean up. (Grades K-12)

Step 2: Get Ready for Action! The Family Reading ExperienceThe Family Reading Experience is a popular series of events that many schools are using for Take Your Family to School Week in 2017. This program includes dozens of reading activities fo-cused on grades K-5 and engaging the whole family. Here’s how to do it:

• Identify a theme. Choose a favorite family book character or seasonal theme.

• Or choose one of our fun themes:o On a Safari

o Under the Sea

o Out of this World

o Around the World

• Choose the grade level(s) to focus on at your event. Our activity stations are grouped by Grades K-2 and Grades 3-5. You can host the event for families of all grades, but consider how families will navigate the event if they have more than one student at the school. Some schools host two events – one for K-2 activities and one for Grades 3-5 ac-tivities. Others have different time spans for the grade levels on the same night. Do what works best for your teachers and families.

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• Recruit volunteers. At this event, volunteers are key to welcoming families, hosting the stations and keeping families moving through the experience, and encouraging families to participate in the activities with their students. You will need:

o 2-3 event volunteers for set-up and greeters

o 1 teacher or PTA volunteer to host each activity stations (6-12 stations)

o 1 person keeping time and announcing the transition to the next station

o Add volunteers if you include refreshments or other aspects to your event, such as a book fair or exchange.

Step 3. Prepare Your Activity StationsThis may seem like a lot of work, but these activity stations will be the heart of your event. Each station focuses on a reading skill or a way to use technology for reading. A few example are given below, but see the activity guide in each stations for complete instructions.

o On a Safari:

▪ Punctuation Toss ▪ Storytelling

o Under the Sea:

▪ Word match o Out of this World:

o Around the World:

o Other – Consonant Toss

• Set-up six reading stations in an open space such as a library, gymnasium or cafeteria. Or, host each station in a different classroom. Set a time amount – at least 15 minutes – for families to visit each station. Then sound a bell or make an announcement to signal the transition to the next station. We’ve even made signs!!

Step 4: Promote Your Event Promoting your event is a lot of work, but it is a lot of fun, too! Use these promotional fliers, posters, invitation letters and social media messages to generate excitement about your Take Your Family to School Week.

• Invite families. Use this sample invitation letter to parents or customize it• Share your posters on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Snapchat to help oth-

ers find your event. You can use the images on this page, or make your own to share on your favorite social media networks.

• Use these high-quality files for printing fliers or posters.

Step 5: Welcome!! On the Day of Your Event• Tell your whole school community. See our website for example image and messages to

post on social media:6

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• Welcome all families with a table for sharing school and community library resources on reading, as well as information about how to join PTA.

• Start your event by introducing and thanking your volunteers. Explain their role in assisting families through each of the six station activities.

• Show an inspirational videos that describes the memories made and love that grows when families read together.

• Encourage families to play together at each activity station. Don’t let mom, dad or grandpa stand back and watch the kids! Get them engaged in the fun! Ask station leaders to talk about the literacy domain at the station and share some simple ways to practice the reading skill at home. Ask your teachers for suggestions in advance, or use the parent take-home guide for ideas.

• Send families home with inspiration for more reading fun. Gain a bunch of ideas for how to encourage students and parents to create their own family reading experiences at home or on the go.

*********************************SAMPLE LETTER TO PARENTS [translate into students’ native language]

Greetings parents,

You are invited to attend [Insert PTA Name]’s Family Reading Experience, Powered by Kindle

at [Insert Time] on [Insert Date]! PTA Family Reading Experience, Powered by Kindle is a

fun, family event where parents and their children play games that build reading skills. Each of

the games highlight one of the key domains of literacy and one area is devoted to how you can

use technology when you read with your children at home.

PTA Family Reading Experience, Powered by Kindle will give you engaging strategies to use at

home to build on what your children are learning at school and to foster your children’s skills

and love of reading. When you attend, you will get the chance to connect with other families

while you and your children learn and play together.

Research shows that family engagement leads to greater student success. Students with engaged

parents are more likely to earn higher grades, attend school regularly, have better social skills,

and go on to college. Family engagement and family-school partnerships are integral parts of

PTA’s mission. We are very excited to see these priorities come alive in our PTA Family Read-

ing Experience, Powered by Kindle and we hope to see you there!

Please read more about the event in the attached flier.7

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Sincerely,

Your name

***********************

National PTA (Parent Teacher Association). (2017. February 15). Retrieved from http://www.p-

ta.org/tyftsw

Source 4Barriers to Family Involvement in EducationFamily mattersIt is now well-known that family involve-ment in their children’s education is benefi-cial for all concerned. However, barriers to this essential participation exist for both schools and families. Some of these obsta-cles are created by a lack of resources, while others originate from the beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes of families and school staff. 

Biggest barriers

The most common barriers to family in-volvement include:

• Teachers’ misperceptions of par-ents’ abilities. Some teachers believe par-

ents can’t help their children because they have limited educational backgrounds them-selves; however, many poorly educated fam-ilies support learning by talking with their children about school, monitoring home-work, and making it clear that education is important and that they expect their children to do well in school.• Limited family resources. Lack of time is the major reason given by family members for why they don’t get more in-volved. Lack of transportation and may also keep families from participating.• Lack of trust. Some parents feel in-timidated and unwelcome at school. Some parents had negative school experiences themselves or feel unsure about the value of their contributions. Parents may not trust the school.

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• Parents felt that teachers waited too long before telling them about a prob-lem and that they only heard from teachers when there was bad

news. Most parents felt they didn’t have convenient access to their children’s teachers and they thought that teachers blamed parents when children had prob-lems in school.

• Some parents believed schools didn’t re-ally want their input, and they thought communication was a one-way system, with schools sending out infor-mation and parents having very few op-portunities to share ideas with the school.

• Lack of teacher time. Teachers of-ten see working on family involvement as a task added to an already long list of responsi-bilities  • Cultural differences. Some efforts at increasing involvement fail because there is a mismatch in the communication styles of families and teachers, often due to cultural and language differences.• Teachers did not believe in par-ents’ abilities. Some teachers believe that parents are not educated themselves. Actual-lly, many poorly educated families support learning by talking with their children about school, monitoring homework, and making it clear that education is important and that

they expect their children to do well in school.• Teachers believed parents didn’t respect them. They believed parents encour-

aged students to disrespect teachers. Teach-ers resented that some children were not en-couraged to learn.• Lack of vested interest. Many fami-lies don’t believe their involvement will re-sult in any meaningful change

Problems with programsRecent studies have shown that school pro-grams can be very effective in improving family involvement. However, programs were sometimes not completely successful for the following reasons:• School staffwere not trained to work with families.• Administrators and teachers worried that increased family involvement would add to their already busy schedules.• Educators believed that if they had closer relationships with families, they would lose power and decision-making abil-ity.• Families worried that their children would be punished if their suggestions an-noyed a teacher or principal.

Epstein, J. L. (2011). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Improving Schools (Second Edition). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

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