Parent Involvement in Schools

In his 2003 speech, the Minister of Education mentioned “by April this year… three quarters of our schools had Parent Support Groups or Parent-Teacher Associations”. He also pointed out that not only has the number of schools with parent involvement increased, the scope and quality of the involvement has improved too. I honestly feel that that this growing trend of parental involvement in schools is closely associated to parental “kiasuism” in a highly meritocratic and competitive society such as ours.

On one hand, I do agree that having parents play a more significant role in their children’s education is beneficial not only to the children but also to the school community at large.

For the children, seeing their parents take on bigger responsibility and showing greater involvement in their schooling experience can generate positive effects on their character development and attitudes towards their studies. Parents can bring about positive mental developments in their children by taking the effort to shower their children with care and concern, supervise their work frequently, continually support and spur them on. This was verified when the Minister mentioned in his speech that “If there is one thing for which the evidence is consistent and categorical, it is that effective support within the home leads to better adjusted and happier children, better motivated to achieve in school and in life.” As a future teacher, I definitely welcome this because having such disciplined, motivated students in my class will bring about a more conducive learning environment and this will benefit the class as a whole.

When the teachers and parents work together towards the common vision and goal of improving the school, they tap onto one another’s resources, complement and enhance one another’s strengths and are able to bring out the best out of the situation. Say for example, I am teaching Elements of Office Administration, a subject which deals with matters concerning the Office. If one of the parents happens to own a business of his own and is willing to offer my students a trip to his company, it will provide a valuable learning experience for the students who are be able to see for themselves the workings of an office.

Besides that, having closer associations with parents can widen my network circle and as a teacher, this is definitely beneficial and recommended because teachers are expected to be resourceful people and what better way to be that than to keep a network of resourceful persons to liaise with when the need arises. Thus, teacher-parent associations can most definitely be a win-win situation for both parties.

On the other hand, I also realize that while some parents are increasingly getting involved in matters concerning education in schools, there are also others with a different set of parenting style and who adopts the “cannot be bothered” attitude towards their child’s education. This situation is very real and such students with parents who are indifferent and unwilling to be involved in their child’s studies may feel worthless, uncared for, etc. Thus, as a teacher, the onus will be on me to ensure that no student in my class feels discriminated and left out.

Another problem I foresee is that as parents are fast enjoying greater opportunities to participate and be involved in their children’s schooling experience, their demands may slowly increase beyond control. Also, it will be impossible for the school or a teacher to meet the different demands of parents. Hence the responsibility will fall on me as a teacher to meet the demands of such parents while at the same time ensuring that these demands are kept within control.

References

http://www.moe.gov.sg/speeches/2003/sp20030913.htm

http://www.moe.gov.sg/compass/

Khong, L.Y.L. (2004) Family Matters: The Role of Parents in Singapore Education. Marshall Cavendish International (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

References: http://www.moe.gov.sg/speeches/2003/sp20030913.htm http://www.moe.gov.sg/compass/ Khong, L.Y.L. (2004) Family Matters: The Role of Parents in Singapore Education. Marshall Cavendish International (Singapore) Pte Ltd.