Getting Involved in Your Child's Education

When parents are involved in their children's education, kids do better in school (see the research). Want to learn how to help your child achieve and succeed? Read on! You'll learn why involvement is so important and suggestions for how to get involved.

Why Is Parental Involvement Important?

In study after study, researchers discover how important it is for parents to be actively involved in their child's education. Here are some of the findings of major research into parental involvement:

• When parents are involved in their children's education at home, they do better in school. And when parents are involved in school, children go farther in school — and the schools they go to are better.
• The family makes critical contributions to student achievement from preschool through high school. A home environment that encourages learning is more important to student achievement than income, education level or cultural background.
• Reading achievement is more dependent on learning activities in the home than is math or science. Reading aloud to children is the most important activity that parents can do to increase their child's chance of reading success. Talking to children about books and stories read to them also supports reading achievement.
• When children and parents talk regularly about school, children perform better academically.
• Three kinds of parental involvement at home are consistently associated with higher student achievement: actively organizing and monitoring a child's time, helping with homework and discussing school matters.
• The earlier that parent involvement begins in a child's educational process, the more powerful the effects.
• Positive results of parental involvement include improved student achievement, reduced absenteeism, improved behavior, and restored confidence among parents in their children's schooling.

How Can Parents Get Involved?

Involvement in your child's education can mean:

• Reading to your child
• Checking homework every night
• Discussing your children's progress with teachers
• Voting in school board elections
• Helping your school to set challenging academic standards
• Limiting TV viewing on school nights
• Becoming an advocate for better education in your community and state.

Or, it can be as simple as asking your children, "How was school today?" But ask every day. That will send your children the clear message that their schoolwork is important to you and you expect them to learn.

Some parents and families are able to be involved in their child's education in many ways. Others may only have time for one or two activities. Whatever your level of involvement, do it consistently and stick with it because you will make an important difference in your child's life.

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Related articles and research on parental involvement:

Parent Involvement—Current research on parent involvement and the outcomes. (National Middle School Association, 2006)

Parent Involvement in Education—Research brief addressing such questions as Is parent involvement a valuable resource for schools struggling to provide state-of-the-art instruction with diminishing funds? Does it instill pride and interest in schooling? K. Cotton & K. R. Wikelund (Northwest Regional Education Lab, 2001).

National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs—Six standards addressing what families, schools, and communities can do together to support student success, with a guide to help school communities assess current involvement practices and implement programs, practices, and policies grounded in the standards. (PTA, 2008)

What Research Says About Parent Involvement in Children's Education (, 252 KB, 4pp)—Highlights the relationship between parent involvement and academic achievement and references Joyce L. Epstein's six types of parent involvement. (Michigan Department of Education, 2002)

A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement (, 1.19 MB, 241pp) A. T. Henderson & K. L. Mapp. (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 2002) Report Conclusion. (, 87 KB, 5pp)

Summary of Research on Parent Engagement—Lists the benefits of parent engagement. The full report, A New Generation of Evidence: The Family is Critical to Student Achievement, covers 66 studies, reviews, reports, analyses, and books. Offers concrete reasons "why" and "how" educators should involve parents in their student's education. (Center for Law and Education, 1996)