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  • Essay / Addressing the Lack of Parental Involvement - 1387

    Parental involvement in children's education plays a critical role in students' success and outcomes later in life (Epstein, 1995). Much research has been done on the benefits of parental involvement in elementary and middle school. Less research has been conducted on early childhood education, that is, children from birth to eight years old. The limited research that has been conducted demonstrates that parental involvement at the preschool and elementary levels is associated with better reading achievement and less grade retention throughout eighth grade (Basile & Henry, 1996). Parent and family involvement provides comfort to children in social and cultural contexts, thereby enhancing cognitive development (Pattni-Shah, 2008). Increased parental involvement allows for a better understanding of the needs of children and families, cultural continuity, more effective teaching, a greater sense of appreciation from teachers and parents, and increased learning (Galper, Feeney, & Seefeldt, 2009 ). Parental involvement in early childhood education has many benefits, while lack of parental involvement, which can result from a variety of reasons, creates gaps (see Appendix A). Description of the educational problem Educators are faced with many more or less frequent and urgent problems. The lack of parental involvement in children's education is a trend that teachers and administrators are seeing in schools across the country (Finders & Lewis, 1994). However, before this lack of parental involvement can be addressed, it is essential to define “parental involvement” and understand the factors that contribute to it. Parental involvement encompasses many things: nurturing and being responsive to children in...... middle of article ......11, from ProQuest Education Journals. Smith, J., Wohlstetter, P., Kuzin, C. & De Pedro, K. (2011). Parent involvement in urban charter schools: New strategies to increase participation. Community School Journal, 21(1), 71-94. Retrieved October 4, 2011, from ProQuest Education Journals. Smith, J. and Wohlstetter, P. (2009). Parent Involvement in Urban Charter Schools: A New Paradigm or the Status Quo? National Center on School Choice Conference: Nashville, Tennessee. Walker, J., Shenker, S. and Hoover-Dempsey, K. (2010). Why do parents get involved in their children's education? Professional School Counseling, 14(1), 27-41.Wells, A. (2000). In Search of Uncommon Schools: Charter School Reform in Historical Perspective (Part 3) - Charter schools as rare schools. Teachers College Record. Retrieved October 15, 2011 from http://www.tcrecord.org.