Importance and Types of Parental Involvement in Education

Abstract

Studies indicate that parental participation and involvement in education has a positive influence on a child's academic outcomes. This article, thus, explores the significance, types and components of parental involvement in education in an effort to enlighten stakeholders on the role of parents in their children’s education. Accordingly, the benefits of parental involvement in education include: fewer behavioral problems amongst learners, better school attendance, increased academic achievement, better adaptation at school, better acquisition and demonstration of social skills, development of a strong feeling of self-worth and the development of a lifelong love for learning. Additionally, parental involvement helps build suitable school environments for children to thrive in and also helps cultivate good relations between teachers and parents. Consequently, the components and types of parental involvement in education include: volunteering at school, guiding home-based learning, constant communication with the school, participating in school decision-making processes, provision of learning resources, creation of safe home environments for children (environments that encourage learning at home) and modelling/encouraging good behavior. This article paid close attention to these components in an attempt to enlighten parental participation in education with reference to Joyce Epsteins’s parental involvement framework.