Parental involvement in children’s (0–6-year-olds) EFL learning: Outlining practical proposals for improvement as part of student teachers’ training

Abstract

The increasing of parental involvement in children’s EFL learning is highlighted (Rixon, 2019), with parents preferring to start as early as possible (Fleta, 2019). In response to this socio-educational demand, EFL teaching begins in preschool (0–6-years-olds) (Cortina-Pérez & Andúgar, 2020). However, parents still need professional support regarding how to approach their involvement (Li et al., 2018). Thus, this study aims to determine the degree and type of parental involvement (n=165) in the province of Cádiz (Spain), considering three elements of analysis: Learning at home; Parenting; and Com-municating (Rokita-Jaśkow, 2019). This first phase of research contributes to outlining a catalogue of practical proposals for improvement to support parents as part of student tea-chers’ (N=10) training (University of Cádiz, 2021-22). In terms of methodology, an explo-ratory mixed-methods research was conducted: Firstly, parental involvement was measured through a questionnaire (Rokita-Jaśkow, 2019); secondly, to collect the student teachers’ opinions, weekly online discussion forums were conducted, and a focus group discussion (N=4) led to agreement on eight practical proposals. The results reveal low levels of parental involvement, despite parents’ command of EFL. Finally, practical proposals are suggested for activities involving a closer parent-child relationship, and systematic family-preschool communication.