Parent Involvement Plan
Importance of Parent Involvement
CE-101 Introduction to Early Childhood Education
In today’s society where one must work hard to provide for their family, most parents work outside the home leaving little time to invest in their child’s education.
In our child care center greater part of the children have special needs and receive early intervention. Most of the parents work long hours and some even have two jobs making it difficult to participate in the center activities. Although the center has tried different methods to increase parent involvement such as making reminder telephone calls and sending notices home, the participation level continues to be much lower than anticipated. No matter how little time a parent may appear to have they must make the effort to be involved in their child’s center activities. I sometimes feel the pressure of being involved in my children’s education; so I can see why some parents are not. It is not easy to balance work, home life, and your child’s center activities, but it is tremendously worth it. Many of the parents that do not participate always use work as an excuse. The center has tried to accommodate these parents by holding meetings and activities in the evening after the scheduled pick up time, yet parents still fail to show up. Being involved in my child’s education allows me to communicate on a regular basis with my child’s teacher to let me know how she is progressing, and if there is anything that she may need help with. I believe that participation on the parents end also gives the child motivation to excel. The level of parental involvement depends on various factors including, culture, socio-economic standing and the parents own personal experience. Research supports that strong parent involvement in education is one of the essential factors for cognitive, socio-emotional development, and the success of children in education (Ritblat , Beatty, Cronan, & Ochoa, 2002). In my opinion,
CE-101 Introduction to Early Childhood Education
In today’s society where one must work hard to provide for their family, most parents work outside the home leaving little time to invest in their child’s education.
In our child care center greater part of the children have special needs and receive early intervention. Most of the parents work long hours and some even have two jobs making it difficult to participate in the center activities. Although the center has tried different methods to increase parent involvement such as making reminder telephone calls and sending notices home, the participation level continues to be much lower than anticipated. No matter how little time a parent may appear to have they must make the effort to be involved in their child’s center activities. I sometimes feel the pressure of being involved in my children’s education; so I can see why some parents are not. It is not easy to balance work, home life, and your child’s center activities, but it is tremendously worth it. Many of the parents that do not participate always use work as an excuse. The center has tried to accommodate these parents by holding meetings and activities in the evening after the scheduled pick up time, yet parents still fail to show up. Being involved in my child’s education allows me to communicate on a regular basis with my child’s teacher to let me know how she is progressing, and if there is anything that she may need help with. I believe that participation on the parents end also gives the child motivation to excel. The level of parental involvement depends on various factors including, culture, socio-economic standing and the parents own personal experience. Research supports that strong parent involvement in education is one of the essential factors for cognitive, socio-emotional development, and the success of children in education (Ritblat , Beatty, Cronan, & Ochoa, 2002). In my opinion,
References: Ritblatt, S.N., Beatty, J.R., Cronan, T.A., & Ochoa, A.M.(2002) Relationships Among Perceptions of Parent Involvement, Time Allocation, and Demographic Characteristics: Implication for Policy Formation. Journal of Community Psychology, 30(5),519-549