Parental Involvement in The Educational Process of Their Children

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Introduction
Parent’s active involvement in the educational process of their child is priceless. Together, parents and teachers can share knowledge and resources that will make certain the individual needs of the student are being met within the best learning environment. Collaborative efforts from parents, educators and the school ensure a positive and rewarding experience for the student. Parents should in no way feel that they are being left out of the educational decisions; therefore, educators have an obligation that encourages parental participation. Furthermore, promoting a collaborated working relationship between school and parents has shown to reduce the achievement gap, especially among diverse learners. Parental participation has shown to be positively related to student’s educational performance (McWayne, Hampton, Fantuzzo, Cohen, & Sekino, 2004) and according to Eamon (2002), may mediate the effects of poverty, parents’ educational attainment, and race/ethnicity on achievement.
As educators begin to understand the various culturally diverse backgrounds that make up the public school system within the United States, they are gaining knowledge on individual perceptions and effective ways to develop relationships while meeting the diverse needs of each student and their families. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the importance of including parents, families, and caregivers of culturally diverse backgrounds in the educational process of their child. I will include successful practices myself and administrators have implemented to promote the parent and school partnership, and discuss some reasons why I believe some parents still do not feel comfortable participating in the school environment. Also, ...

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...n, M. K. (2002). Effects of poverty on mathematics and reading achievement of young adolescents. Journal of Early Adolescence, 22, 49–74.

Hoover-Dempsey, K., Walker, J., Sandler, H., Whetsel, D., Green, C., Wilkins, A., & Closson, K. (2005). Why do parents become involved? Research findings and implications. The Elementary School Journal, 106(2), 105–130.

Manning, L. & Baruth. L. (2009). Multicultural education of children and adolescents (5th Ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

McWayne, C., Hampton, V., Fantuzzo, J., Cohen, H. L., & Sekino, Y. (2004). A multi-variate examination of parent involvement and the social and academic competencies of urban kindergarten children. Psychology in the Schools, 41, 363–377.

Wright, K., Stegelin, D.A., & Hartle, L. (2007). Building family, school, and community partnerships (3rd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

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