WHY?

Family Involvement inside and outside of the Elementary Classroom Leads to Academic Success

When a parent is involved in the school, children have higher academic achievement, higher school attendance, higher motivation, and lower drop-out rates (Adamski et al., 2013). Parents provide the constant reassurance and encouragement to their child when they are involved in the classroom setting, which allows for the child to build confidence and become more interested in the learning process (Gonzalez-DeHass et al., 2005). Elementary school children have shown to put in more effort, concentration, and attention into learning when their parents engage in school-based involvement. Parental involvement encourages children to be more motivated when it comes to academics. Parental school-based involvement has shown to promote school engagement, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, perceived competence, perceived control, self-regulation, mastery goal-orientation, and motivation to read in elementary school children (Gonzalez-DeHass, 2005). To become involved, parents can attend school programs, volunteer at school events, help out in the classroom, attend parent-teacher conferences, become involved with the school’s parent-teacher association (PTAs), and communicate with the teacher and/or other school personnel (Hill & Taylor, 2004).