Dr Janet GoodallResearch Fellow in the Institute of EducationUniversity of Warwick

What research tells us about parental engagement

Janet Goodall

What is parental engagement?

Reading in class Going on trips Parents’ evenings

Parental involvement with children’s schooling

Helping with homework Keeping track of coursework

Parental engagement with children’s learning

Moral support Attitude toward learning Model, Guide Discussion

Parental engagement- involvement continuum

What is parental engagement and why does it matter?

• Research findings...

• Main sources:– EPPE– Desforges– EPRA– Save the Children– Best Practice Literature Review

EPPE (1997-2008) Findings

• The importance of home learning.– “For all children, the quality of the home learning

environment is more important for intellectual and social development than parental occupation, education or income”.

• “What parents do is more important than who parents are”

Desforges – what matters:

• Good parenting in the home:– Intellectual stimulation, parent-child discussion– Good models of constructive social and

educational values and high aspirations relating to personal fulfilment and good citizenship

• Contact and participation with schools

Learning

Staff

ParentsStudents

EPRA

Parental engagement in ‘supporting learning in the home’ is the single most important changeable factor in student achievement.

Report just published by the Family and Parenting Institute found 54% of young people in the Midlands wished they could spend more time with their parents

Parents’ influence on student learning outcomes is greater than the school influence

“Your parents are your main influence, really – if they don’t care about it, you don’t take as much of an interest in it”

Student

Parental engagement positively affects student behaviour.

• “If your parents had nothing to do with school you could skip your lessons and nobody will be bothered…” Student

• “It’s great when my teacher is pleased with me, Miss, but ... Your dad’s your DAD!” Student

• “I’ll never forget me dad was proud of me” Student

“You need your independence at this age but you also need your parents’ guidance.”

Student

REVIEW OF BEST PRACTICE IN PARENTAL ENGAGEMENT

• Reviews research-based interventions – what has been proved to work, where, when, how and with whom

Has three main themes• Home school links

• Support and training for parents

• Family and Community based interventions

• Includes parental engagement strategy

• Includes practitioner-aimed “pull out” section – Doesn’t cite the research– Just says what works

Increasing Parental Engagement in the home

• Is different for every school, every EY setting, and every cohort of parents

• These are the basic principles

• Adapt, adapt, adapt!

Where can we find out more?

Do Parents Know They Matter? DCSF ReportEPPEDesforgesReview of Best Practice

• DfE website

Helping families support their children’s success at school• http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/54

_10006.htm

Intended for schools and parents

Available as an ebook:http://ebooks.continuumbooks.com/BookStore/pagedisplay.do?genre=book&pub=continuum&id=9781855395831&page=S-17&expTOC=Y

Final comment....

• Consequently, schools need to place parental engagement at the centre rather than the periphery of all that they do. Parental engagement in children’s learning makes a difference- it is the most powerful school improvement lever that we have.

• Do Parents Know They Matter? p. 70