By Request.... | March 1999

How Does Parent Involvement Help Kids?

In the more than 30 years of research on parent involvement, researchers have consistently found that parent involvement produces positive results for children (Decker et al., 1996). In its 1994 publication, Parents and Schools: Partners in Education, the Manitoba Department of Education and Training notes that "parents are more significant than either teachers or peers in influencing educational aspirations for the majority of children." The following list includes a few of the many benefits associated with parent involvement in children's education (Manitoba Department of Education and Training [MDET], 1994).

Benefits for students include:

Improved academic performance

Improved school behavior

Greater academic motivation

Lower dropout rates

Benefits for parents include:

Enhanced sense of adequacy, self-worth, and self-confidence
New ideas for helping their children learn as a result of working in the school environment
Increased knowledge of child development
Strengthened social networks
Expanded community-involvement opportunities and networks
Increased feelings of control over their environment
Positive rapport with school

The benefits of parent involvement are not limited to students and parents. Parent participation can have a lasting impact on teachers and schools as well. Detailed below are a few of the potential benefits:

Schools experience better parent and community relationships, as well as greater support and respect from the community (Cotton & Wikelund, 1989)
Schools can provide teachers with better work environments (MDET, 1994)
Schools receive extra help in implementing everyday programs, from one-on-one tutoring to schoolwide fund-raising efforts (Cotton & Wikelund, 1989)
Schools can experience more effective academic and social programs (MDET, 1994)
Schools can save money with increased parental involvement (money can be saved on materials, resources, and personnel)

Despite the abundance of research that exists on parent involvement, and the countless experts who agree on its importance, schools often struggle to engage a significant number of parents (MDET, 1994). In many schools, it is not uncommon for the same small group of parents to be the only ones to show up to volunteer or participate in school activities. On the other hand, it is also not uncommon for parents to find themselves wanting to be involved, but feeling unwelcome in the school and unsure how they fit in (Shartrand et al., 1997). Parents also may become frustrated if they volunteer their limited time (many parents take precious vacation time to volunteer at school) only to be assigned basic tasks such as making photocopies or stapling worksheets; they end up feeling underutilized and unappreciated. Helping parents understand the needs of schools, and helping schools understand how to optimize parents as resources, are key. Bringing the two sides together to form a strong partnership can be challenging, but when achieved, immeasurable benefits result.

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Date of Last Update: 09/19/2001
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