Should Parents be Encouraged to Participate in the Academic Activities of the Children by School Management?
- 1. Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development, Pakistan
Abstract
School management should encourage parents to participate in the academic activities of the children because it will lead to achieving academic success and improving social and emotional skills. Schools that encourage parents to participate in academic activities have high performance rates in terms of achieving academic goals. Parental participation in the learning process of their children results in improved attitude, behaviour, and social adjustment. However, children whose parents are overprotective feel difficulty in developing problem-solving and decision-making skills so are unable to face their future challenges independently. But children perceive it positively and become more responsible in achieving their academic goals when parents frequently visit schools and want to get informed about the routine of their children. In brief, parental involvement by school management is very vital to raising propitious individuals of society having great emotional and social skills.
Citation
Zafar M (2023) Should Parents be Encouraged to Participate in the Academic Activities of the Children by School Management? J Behav 6(1): 1021.
INTRODUCTION
Children are a valuable asset and the future of a nation depends upon their capabilities. Therefore, great efforts are being made since the birth of the child to prepare a useful workforce for the future. Children’s surrounding environment has a key role in their personality development [1]. This environment comprises school and home; where teachers and parents are responsible for social and emotional growth and academic excellence. Therefore, only school authorities and teachers can’t maximize the potential of this new generation to deliver great results. This is the reason that school management should encourage parents to participate in the academic activities of the children because it will lead to achieving academic success and improving social and emotional skills.
A family’s interest in the academic activities of the child motivates him and enhances his school performance. Schools that involve parents more in academic activities have a higher performance rate for their learners including both academic and non-academic activities [2]. These parental involvements may be in the form of assisting their children to complete homework, taking them to a museum to learn history, or discussing studyrelated issues [3]. Likewise, it has been observed that having school-related conversations with children at home has a major impact on their achievement. The process of learning starts at home when children are inquisitive about their surroundings and to satisfy these quests for knowledge, parents assist their child to explore his surroundings. Thus, the active participation of parents in academic activities enables children to gain more confidence which leads to the accomplishment of their desired goals.
In addition to academic success, parental involvement in study-related matters also improves the overall personality of the child in terms of their social & emotional skills. Parental participation in the learning process of their children results in improved attitude, behavior & social adjustment [4]. It is further claimed that academic achievement to a great extent depends upon academic socialization [5]. Also, the mother’s active participation in the academic activities of the child accelerates his social skills and reduces incidences of negative behavior in school [6]. Hence, the support system that parents provide to their children will help them understand and manage emotions, set goals, embody empathy for others, and make responsible decisions. When a person possesses such emotional and social skills, he or she can face all the challenges life may throw at them with confidence. Being social is of vital importance for successful adaptation to the environment. Social adjustment of a child will be easy when he perceives that school and family are collaborating to promote his general well-being. In sum, when parents take interest in their children, they help them become aware of their strengths and weaknesses and promote civilized behavior inside and outside of the classroom leading to the development of balanced social behavior.
On the other hand, opponents of the above view give the concept of helicopter parenting; when parents are overprotective of their children and become authoritative in all the study matters concerning to child. Children have their distinct personalities, thus overprotecting them without allowing them to experience the world on their own would impair their development, leading to behavioral and psychological problems [7].
This statement to some extent is agreeable because if children are continually provided with support from their parents, they do not learn problem-solving and decision-making skills. However, parents who visit schools on regular basis their children perceive it positively and built the concept of one unit about school and home working together in coaction [8]. When parents ask the children about their school routine regularly it makes them feel more responsible and organized as they don’t want to disappoint their family. This sense of responsibility then becomes part of their personality leading to improved behavior in school with less suspension due to ill-disciplined behavior.
CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, the participation of parents in the academic activities of their children is playing the role of a catalyst to accelerate the learning process and socialization. Thus, there is a need for school management to encourage parental participation in planning the curricular activities of students for achieving higher performance levels. While doing so, the mutual efforts of parents and schools to raise propitious individuals in society will be successful and will give birth to a productive generation.
