Chapter Two: Culturally Responsive and Inclusive Education

Section 2.1: Family engagement

4.6.1 Describe the advantages and importance of family or caregiver involvement in

learner development

“Hundreds of studies show that when parents get involved, children do better in school.

For example, when parents are involved in school, children go farther in school and the schools

they go to are better.” (Evidence 2.1.4) Parents and caregivers can serve many different roles in

their students' educational journey: at home teachers, advocates for their children, or sources of

encouragement and support systems. The more participation and involvement families have,

the better for student academic achievement. In order to facilitate maximum learning

opportunities for every student, we as teachers, should focus on the aspects of family

engagement and involvement and build strong relationships with parents, caregivers, and the

students to provide a positive learning environment in the classroom. There are various ways to

communicate to families and get them involved in the learning process, and all of these ways

possess various benefits. “The best predictor of student success is the extent to which families

encourage learning at home and involve themselves in their child’s education.” (Evidence 2.1.5)

Parent engagement is the process of parents and teachers collaborating together to help

students learn, grow, and meet their educational goals. Throughout this process, parents and

caregivers will need to make a commitment with the student and teacher to prioritize the

students educational goals and create a healthy and positive space to do so. Ultimately, parent

involvement increases a student's success in many positive ways. For example, children with

parents involved in their education are more likely to earn better grades, show improved

behavior, attend school regularly, graduate and continue their education, be more positive in

their attitude towards school, and have better social skills. (Evidence 2.1.4) Not only does

parent engagement benefit students, but parents can also benefit significantly. According to

PTO Today, parents who are more involved in their child’s education are more likely to: be more
confident in themselves as parents and their ability to help their children learn, be held in higher

esteem by teachers, and enroll in further education to advance their own education. When

teachers take the time to build relationships with families, the parents are more likely to confront

teachers with concerns or questions calmly and build trust in their child’s teacher. Teachers

need to encourage parent and caregiver participation because it is crucial and can make a

positive difference in the atmosphere, behavior, motivation, and success of students. Parents

should also be pushed to get involved early, as the results are more likely to last.

There are various ways for parents, caregivers, and teachers to build effective

communication amongst each other. Effective communication establishes and maintains a

positive partnership with understanding and trust to work together to support the children’s

development. Throughout my placement at Heritage Elementary School in a first grade

classroom, I have been able to experiment with my own various ways of communicating to

families. For example, I created a letter to send home with the students to their parents where I

introduced myself and provided an insight of the Teacher Academy Program and how I would be

participating in their child’s classroom. (Evidence 2.1.3) I also was able to design a sample

newsletter that I would send out to the parents of my future students. This newsletter consisted

of important dates and upcoming information for the classroom and school such as an

upcoming book fair, an overview of the curriculum in each subject area, homework assignments,

and important sight words to know for the week. (Evidence 2.1.2) The last thing I did was

generate a student-led conference plan where I sent out a letter to parents inviting them to the

conference and explaining the purpose of student-led conference, created materials for students

to prepare for the conference, and a reflection plan for the students to reflect upon themselves

and a way for me to follow-up with the student’s parents. (Evidence 2.1.1) Each classroom

teacher has their own ways of communicating to families that works best for them such as

emails, phone calls, text message apps, in person meetings, papers sent home weekly, and

award programs for parents to track their students progress.

best ways to get parents involved in their child’s education. One of the most important ways to

think about getting families involved is to counter their objections. When parents say they do not

have enough time, make it clear you do not need a lot of time or find ways they can contribute at

home. Or if a family does not feel comfortable, you work to make it welcoming. It is important to

address the don’t issues because you are able to open up your group to more people such as

those who have time and schedule issues or family members who have trouble speaking

English clearly. However, just because you work around family barriers does not mean they will

become more involved, you must work to build a stronger case with more ways to get parents

involved. Start the parent-teacher relationship right away with positive notes. Teachers can

choose one student per day and send a positive note home to parents with the backside asking

parents to send it back with a positive note about their child. As teachers, we also need to learn

to open the door for parents first. Teachers should reach out first as many parents may be

nervous to make the first move. Communicate often the importance of family involvement in the

education process. Make room for everyone by utilizing the individual strengths every parent

possesses and accommodate their needs so they feel valued and welcome. Showcase what

students are accomplishing because parents love seeing their students succeed and the hard

work they are capable of. (Evidence 2.1.6) We can also increase family involvement by giving

parents our contact information and get to know them early in the school year, provide

opportunities for parents to connect with the school, share our goals and expectations openly

and ask parents to do the same, connect with parents in-person as much as possible, and

address common challenges that restrict parent involvement. (Evidence 2.1.5)

Community members play an important role in contributing to the learning experiences of

students. People from our community can show students how what we learn is relevant and can

apply out in the real world. At a young age, we are constantly asked, “what do you want to be

when you grow up?” Allowing the exposure to students of community members can bring
students passion into the classroom and offer students opportunities to see the roles of various

jobs in the community. (Evidence 2.1.7) When families and community members are involved in

student learning, students improve their academic performance and gain advocates that

promote their success, helping them feel more confident at school and in taking more pride in

their classwork. Community involvement produces many opportunities for children to grow

emotionally, intellectually, and physically in relationships throughout their community.

Community involvement makes children have a sense of belonging, feel important, and has the

opportunity to empower every child. “The creation of a local community in early childhood

becomes the supportive, positive, uplifting foundation of a child’s life. It helps them to learn

about themselves. It helps them learn how to tackle challenges, build knowledge, and thrive.”

(Evidence 2.1.8)

Family involvement is a very important factor with many benefits in students academic

success. When parents and teachers work together in a healthy and positive way, they are able

to meet the common goal of facilitating the best educational experiences and opportunities for

their children. It all begins with effective communication and building strong partnerships and

then working to engage and involve families throughout their child’s learning process. As a

teacher, you need to recognize the type of parent you are dealing with and work to accomodate

in the best possible ways for each family. These important partnerships allow benefits for

everyone: parents expand their horizons by sharpening their own skills, their children achieve

and seem to like learning, teachers seem to affect children's learning with less difficulty and

behavior problems, and the entire community improves. “Coming together is a beginning,

staying together is progress, and working together is success.” (Henry Ford)