Family Engagement
Family Engagements Effects on Students
Rebecca Peeler
Family Engagement
Abstract
Family affects life decisions for the child, any family member can come to events. All
family members support and inspire kids. Family members are not just parents, it is everyone
that contributes to their growing up. Engagement is an essential ingredient to learning and to a
child's life. Educators need to start with the parents willing to get involved and accept your help.
Parents network with each other, they talk to each other and explain why it is okay to trust and
respect the teacher. Parents are a child’s first teacher, we need them to be a better teacher for
their child. Parents can tell us all that we need to know about the child from their first teacher.
Both teachers and parents show constant love, respect, trust, motivation, and security. It is not
always easy to get parents to get involved. We cannot fix families or force them to get involved.
We can constantly try to get them involved and constantly help them. Students and Parents will
hopefully see the effort that we care and let us become their team! All Parent Involvements should
Include the family leaving knowing more about what their child should know o be able to do at
that grade/age level. The should leave knowing how to employ a new tool or activity at home to
support that learning goal. Teachers should provide time to experience practicing that new tool at
the event so if they have questions we can be there to support
Family Engagement
Family Engagements Effects on Students
Overview
Family Involvement with their child’s education is beneficial for the student’s academic,
behavior and social skills. Family involvement is not always just the parents, but the
grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins or even neighbors. Anyone that is in the child’s life
that will support them during throughout their education journey. Families need to be involved
and attend school events, parent teacher conferences, help with homework and anything else to
do with their child’s schooling. This will help the child be accountable and strive to produce
their best work.
Theoretical Framework
The Ecological Systems Theory that was researched by a Russian psychologist, Urie
Bronfenbrenner is the theory that human development is influenced by the five different types of
environmental systems around us. Originally there were only four environmental system:
Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem and Macrosystem-Chronosystem was added later. The
child is exposed to the Microsystem first which is their immediate environment that they live in.
This is where the child spends most of their lives and has the most interactions. The Mesosystem
is a step further that is the connections that they child would then make, whether it is with the
people within their Microsystem or people within the environment. Exosystem is the indirect
environment that the child can be exposed too throughout their life. The world around the child
doesn't always include them, but their exposure to it can affect their development. The
Macrosystem is the social and cultural values they can develop from their parents as well as
through society. The culture and lifestyle that the child lives in. The environmental system that
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was added later was Chronosystem which is the child changes over time. The child’s experiences
and the timing of their experiences over time can change their development.
This helps explain how some of the students generated their weaknesses. Students
experiences provide them with their development: academically, emotionally and socially. If a
child has gone through negative experiences, such as death, poverty, hunger or abuse then their
Microsystem isn’t developed correctly, and they struggle in all the other areas. These families
need help finding resources to help not only their life, but their children’s development. As an
educator, it is important to build a good relationship with each student, so they can have a
different Mesosystem. That may create a domino effect and the child can strive for a better
future then they were first introduced to as a child.
Review of the Literature
Family Involvement has been researched and determined that it is essential in a child’s
education. Family Involvement isn’t always as easy as it seems for parents with language or
financial barriers. When a parent doesn’t speak English and interpreters aren’t available they
struggle to know what is going on at events or how to help their child. Some families are single
parents, may lack transportation, cannot afford to take time off work or to get daycare for
younger siblings. Schools aren’t always welcoming for these families, especially immigrants that
are concerned about their citizenship status in a government building. If families do come into
the school for events, teachers aren’t prepared to facilitate a parent event. College preparation for
educators doesn’t include creating engaging and effective parent involvements.
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Family Language Barriers-from the Adults
Families that have a different home language other than English struggle participating at
school events. Most cultures support and recognize that school is extremely important in the
United States. These families usually attend family engagement opportunities and parent
conferences, but they do not fully comprehend what is happening or how they can support their
child at school. They have their child speaking their native language at home and english at
school. They may also suffer from financial hardship. They can also be of immigrant status and
in constant fear of deportation. These families that have a language barrier struggle with more
than just their English and require patience and outside resources for them and their students.
Home Language/School Language
English Language Learners have the ability to speak two languages, one at home and one
at school. The brain is an amazing thing because in most cases it knows which words are
associated with which language and which location the student needs to use them. English
Learners tend to be shy when first learning their school language because their peers around
them are so much stronger in the lanaguage then them. Parents interact with their children in
multiple ways depending on their own abilities, experiences and expectations for their family.
(Rogers, S. (2018)
Language and Financial Barriers
A child’s academic success, positive behavior and social skills involve some form of
parent involvement. This is a difficult task for families living in financial despair or struggle with
the language barrier. These families can feel disconnected from school, which may lead to
feeling a disconnect with their child, since most of their days are spent at school. Families tend to
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feel judged or a form of racism from other parents or faculty at school event because they require
additional help from the community. Most struggling families cannot take the time off of work
to be involved. This is especially true for single parents; they are the sole caregiver of the
children and cannot find or afford daycare for the other children or take off of work to attend
events. (Lechuga-Peña, S. (2018)
Immigrant Families
Immigrant numbers in the United States seem to increase every year. Mexicans in
particulary are the fastest growing culture entering in the United States, but they are also labeled
as being academic strugglers. With the language barrier and limited interpreters in most school
systems, it is difficult for the parents to actively participate while at parent events. These families
need to use home-based strategies to encourage and motivate their children academically. Home-
based strategies could include, keeping a homework routine or educating them about their
culture. When students keep their home language it helps them succeed in school as well.
Research recommends that teachers can recognize, and praise parents use of la Familia, and other
values they are teaching within the home. (Goldsmith, J. (2016)
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Encouraging and Engaging Low Income/Poverty Families
Family Engagement is crucial to a child’s academic career. Schools need to provide
access for all their student’s parents, including immigrants and non-English speakers. Resources
throughout the community are essential to our students and their family’s survival, which can
only increase their academic success as well. Parent Involvement needs to be engaging,
informing and relevant to their child’s needs.
Poverty Timing
Development in children living in poverty is all about the age that they experienced that
poverty. A child who lives in poverty within their first two year has a significant lower cognitive,
language, executive functioning, and social skills. These gaps could grow closer or disappear if
the child is removed from poverty status before three years old. When a child experiences
poverty between the age of three to five they also suffer from lower academic scores. Overall,
the poverty gaps between ages 15 months and five years are not critical. The poverty
experiences during infancy or preschool resulted in lower cogitative skills. The study is
discontinued as the child enters Kindergarten and doesn’t follow them throughout their entire
academic career. (Burchinal, M. (2016)
Rural and Urban Head Start Families
Parent involvements look different at each school and community. Surveys are
distributed at most schools to get feedback about events and what other things parents would like
to be involved in. The surveys are a good indicator on whether or not parents are comforatble
and enjoy coming to school events. Parent events are a good time for families to come in an learn
how their child is doing in school and resources that can help them succeed academically. Rural
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communities tend to have a greater number of participants than urban communities. (Keys, A.
(2015)
Access to Schools
Schools develop and practice their family engagements based on the types of students
and families they have in their community. When it comes to communities with a large
immigrant population, they do not make enough effort to sure families are invited in their home
language as well as having interpreters at the event. All immigrant or non-English speaking
families should be contacted by phone or by home visits to create that open communication and
comfortability at school events. Principals need to create a welcoming climate in their school
building. Parent involvement is crucial for student success and parents won’t go to a place they
don’t feel welcomed. (Lowenhhaupt, R. (2012)
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Family Engagement Results
Research cannot overstress the importance of family engagement and the effects it has
long term on a student. A parent is a child’s first teacher, when they become school age they
receive two teachers, parent and educator. It is important to build that trusting relationship and
open communication to help the child succeed in the classroom. Principals should be there to
help facilitate engaging and exciting family engagement opportunities for the families. Building
family partnerships is not something educators prepare for while in college. It needs to be a
priority when a teacher gets their first teaching position.
Relationships with families
It is extremely important for teachers to build that trusting relationship with their
students’ family. Ways to collaborate with families are not usually the first thing that comes to
mind when you become a teacher. Family engagement is one of the most important and biggest
pieces of the education puzzle. Knowing what experiences, the family and student has gone
through will help you understand the student as a whole. The success from the student is more
than just academic achievement, but family engagement also proves that students feel more
motivated which can lead to grade promotions. Student with involved families also had more
social skills with other children and adults, even children from diverse families or low-income
families. (Buchanan, K. &. (2016)
Schools Role in Family Engagement
Schools should provide families with a positive and welcoming atmosphere. A parent is
not going to enter a school that they don’t feel welcome too. The leadership of the principal
should be evident and show support for the families supporting their child’s learning. If
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principals get excited for family engagements at their school, then the teachers will be more
enthused to provide families with these opportunities. Family events need to be relevant for the
parents. The parents should leave with some form of knowledge about what their child is
learning in school and ways they can help at home. Each school, depending on the parent
education level and location has their own community environment and have different struggles
to engage parents during events. (Povey, J. (2016).
Simulations on Family Engagement
When an educator goes through their training in college, they do not discuss how to do a
parent involvement event. Now educators can be put through a simulation of a family
engagement. Educators need to create successful parent, family and community engagement to
better serve their students in the classroom. Family engagements help teachers build their
partnership with the students’ parents and help the students be academically successful. Engaging
family involvement give students the readiness and success in schools. Simulations gives
teachers the tools and a better understanding of the concepts to strengthen this relationship.
(Prieto, J. P.-A. (2016)
Parent-teacher conference communication
Teachers are required to interact with each student in the classroom’s family at some
point throughout the school year. Most teachers have had little to no training or preparation in
communicating with these families. The lack of knowledge about how family engagements can
increase student achievement will not bring the student to their full potential. Parents should be
informed not only when their child has negative behavior, but also to brag on them as well.
Parents are discouraged when they know the only time they see the school’s number is when
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their child is in trouble. Promoting positive communication will open a door that will leave the
student academically growing. (Walker, J. (2017)
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Summary
We know from research that family involvement is important and the effects it has on
students’ academics, behavior and social skills. We also know that teachers are unprepared to
create involvement with the student’s families. Simulations are the only resource that was
mentioned in my review of the research as a solution to help beginning educators. What we still
need to investigate is other resources to prepare educators for family involvement and what type
of family involvement is the best approach for all families, including poverty and multicultural
families. Research needs to be conducted for educators without simulation access on how to
create a welcoming environment for families that build a trusting partnership to better educate
the child as a whole.
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References
Buchanan, K. &. (2016). Relationships with families: Have educators overlooked a critical piece
of the puzzle? SAGE.
Burchinal, M. (2016). Depth, Persistence, and Timing of Poverty and the Development of School
Readiness Skills in Rural Low-Income Regions: Results from the Family Life Project.
Science Direct.
Goldsmith, J. (2016). Sharon Kurpius. Fostering the academic success of their children: Voices
of Mexican immigrant parents.
Keys, A. (2015). Family Engagement in Rural and Urban Head Start Families: An Exploratory
Study. Early Childhood Education.
Lechuga-Peña, S. (2018). Barriers to School-Based Parent Involvement While Living in Public
Housing: A Mother's Perspective. The Qualitative Report.
Lowenhhaupt, R. (2012). School Access and Participation. SAGE.
Povey, J. (2016). Engaging parents in schools and building parent-school partnerships: The role
of school and parent organisation leadership. Science Direct.
Prieto, J. P.-A. (2016). The influence of simulations on family engagement – prospective early
childhood educators’ perceptions. Early Child Development and Care.
Rogers, S. (2018). ‘She thinks her toys don’t understand Romanian’: family engagement with
children’s learning during the transition to school. European Early Childhood Education.
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Walker, J. (2017). Parent-teacher conference communication: a guide to integrating family
engagement through simulated conversations about student academic progress. Journal
of Education for Teaching..
