Parental involvement and its impact on literacy development - Teacher Survey RESULTS
Below is a graph which shows which grades the teachers who completed our survey currently teach.
Over half of the teachers who responded were Grade 1 & Grade 2 teachers. This is not surprising as the following results indicate that parental involvement tends to slow down or cease from Grade 3 up. This factor could relate to why the Middle and Upper years teachers were not as keen to fill in the survey.
The next graph shows to what extent teachers think having parents help in the classroom affects their teaching.
We asked the teachers at each Grade level what % of their students' parents have assisted in some capacity in the classroom this year and compared this with what % of their students' parents assist in the classroom on a weekly basis.
As you can see, parental involvement in the classroom declines as the students progress from Prep to Grade 6.
The general trend as expected is that there are more parents helping in some capacity than there are on a weekly basis. I see this as a positive trend because it suggests that parents are still comfortable and encouraged to help out on random occasions, even if they can't help out on a regular basis.
The general trend as expected is that there are more parents helping in some capacity than there are on a weekly basis. I see this as a positive trend because it suggests that parents are still comfortable and encouraged to help out on random occasions, even if they can't help out on a regular basis.
In addition to the % of parents helping, we sought to find out per year level, how many hours on average per week, parent helpers assisted in the classroom.
What is interesting to note is that from Grade 3 onwards, there appears to be no parental assistance in the classroom on a regular basis. Our analysis of these findings is that this is a combination of 3 factors.
1 - Teachers at these levels no longer require the assistance.
2 - Parents are no longer able to assist in the classroom due to the fact that they have returned to work or have
younger children.
3 - Children from the age of 8 or 9 up, think it's 'Not Cool' to have Mum or Dad in the classroom.
1 - Teachers at these levels no longer require the assistance.
2 - Parents are no longer able to assist in the classroom due to the fact that they have returned to work or have
younger children.
3 - Children from the age of 8 or 9 up, think it's 'Not Cool' to have Mum or Dad in the classroom.
We then asked teachers to rate the following 2 statements.
Two-thirds of the teachers surveyed believe that parents helping in the classroom is going to have either a great deal of benefit to their child's academic performance or that it is absolutely crucial.
One teacher believes that having parents help in the classroom will have no benefit on the child.
All except one teacher surveyed believe that parents helping with homework is going to have either a great deal of benefit to their child's academic performance or that it is absolutely crucial. The one teacher that indicated it would only have a slight benefit was a Grade Four teacher.
One teacher believes that having parents help in the classroom will have no benefit on the child.
All except one teacher surveyed believe that parents helping with homework is going to have either a great deal of benefit to their child's academic performance or that it is absolutely crucial. The one teacher that indicated it would only have a slight benefit was a Grade Four teacher.
We asked teachers how they provide support for a student who gets no support at home. These were some of the answers.
* I ensure that these students read to an adult at school on a daily basis and that, like all students, they have the opportunity to
achieve their personal best.
* Careful placement in classroom. Considerate grouping.
* Be aware of who those students are (this can often be quite clear) and ensure you're meeting with them regularly to check on their
progress.
* There is little I can do for students who have no support at home besides giving strategies to parents on how to help their child. All
I can do is give my all to the student in the classroom and give that student strategies to tackle learning at home on their own.
* Ensure they get a lot of support at school and encourage them to be independent and responsible for their own learning.
* Extra reading at school. Pair with parent helper where possible.
* Community volunteers, differentiated teaching and learning groups.
* Support programs provided by parent volunteers and school-based programs.
* Ensure that homework is explained thoroughly and students are able to complete it independently.
* Regular reading group sessions at school.
* Differentiating in the classroom to ensure students are taught at their level.
* Extra reading time with an older student twice a week.
* I ensure that these students read to an adult at school on a daily basis and that, like all students, they have the opportunity to
achieve their personal best.
* Careful placement in classroom. Considerate grouping.
* Be aware of who those students are (this can often be quite clear) and ensure you're meeting with them regularly to check on their
progress.
* There is little I can do for students who have no support at home besides giving strategies to parents on how to help their child. All
I can do is give my all to the student in the classroom and give that student strategies to tackle learning at home on their own.
* Ensure they get a lot of support at school and encourage them to be independent and responsible for their own learning.
* Extra reading at school. Pair with parent helper where possible.
* Community volunteers, differentiated teaching and learning groups.
* Support programs provided by parent volunteers and school-based programs.
* Ensure that homework is explained thoroughly and students are able to complete it independently.
* Regular reading group sessions at school.
* Differentiating in the classroom to ensure students are taught at their level.
* Extra reading time with an older student twice a week.
Parental involvement and its impact on literacy development - PARENT Survey RESULTS
The second survey received 100 responses from parents. It was created and completed online using an online survey tool. The 100 parents had 164 primary school aged children between them.
The graph below shows the distribution of students by Grade and also by Level Groupings.
The graph below shows the distribution of students by Grade and also by Level Groupings.
As you can see the majority of the parents who completed the survey have children in the Lower Grades. I have identified that this could have occurred due to the following reasons:
1 - The survey was distributed primarily via people I know on Facebook and I believe that I would know more people with children in this age group.
2 - It is parents of children in the Lower primary grades who are more likely to help out in class, therefore they are also more likely to fill in a survey about it.
1 - The survey was distributed primarily via people I know on Facebook and I believe that I would know more people with children in this age group.
2 - It is parents of children in the Lower primary grades who are more likely to help out in class, therefore they are also more likely to fill in a survey about it.
We wanted to find out how much time parents are spending per week helping their child with homework. It was important for us to compare Year levels in order to see which received the most support at home. This data is worked out on an average of all responses, therefore is not weighted by the fact that we had more responses more particular grades.
It is clear by this data that Grade 2 and 3 children receive more assistance from their parents with homework.
So what type of homework are parents helping their children with? This graph shows the responses broken down per Year level.
The above data shows us that across the board, Literacy (both Reading and Writing) are the most common curriculum areas covered during a homework session. As the school years progress, the amount of homework time dedicated to Literacy reduces and a highlight is put on other areas of the curriculum.
Before parents are able to step into the classroom to assist, they need to be given the opportunity by their children's school. It was important therefore, to identify if schools were generally willing to have parent helpers in their classrooms.
Whilst the results indicated quite a high percentage of 85%, I was still surprised that 15 parents felt their school was not offering them sufficient opportunities to help in the class. I would have expected that the result was a lot closer to 100%.
In today's society it is quite common for parents to help in the classroom. I asked my mother, who taught in the 60's, if she ever had parents help in the room and she said "No". It was never heard of back then.
So now, that parents are given the opportunity, are they embracing it?
So now, that parents are given the opportunity, are they embracing it?
The data shows us that 84% of parents have assisted in their child's classroom at some point. Less than half of those parents however are still continuing to help out in the classroom and this is due to 2 main factors:
- Going back to work full-time.
- Having to look after younger siblings.
- Helping out the school in other ways
There were 2 other minor factors indicated:
- The teacher doesn't need the help.
- Parents help out the school in other ways. ie: Parents Association, Canteen, etc.
We did have 1 parent that indicated they were not interested and another who said their child did not want them in the classroom.
- Going back to work full-time.
- Having to look after younger siblings.
- Helping out the school in other ways
There were 2 other minor factors indicated:
- The teacher doesn't need the help.
- Parents help out the school in other ways. ie: Parents Association, Canteen, etc.
We did have 1 parent that indicated they were not interested and another who said their child did not want them in the classroom.
How much time do parents spend in the classroom and does it vary depending on the Year level?
The data above clearly shows that the longer amounts of time spent in the classroom are with the Lower Years. In fact parents did not appear to spend any longer than 40 mins per week in their child's classroom from Grade 3 and above.
Finally, we wanted to find out how important parents thought their involvement in their child's education was. We asked them the same questions posed to the teachers.
The results were very similar with the majority of parents believing that their involvement in the classroom does benefit their child in some way.
In addition, almost all parents surveyed believe that their involvement with homework benefits their child's academic performance either a great deal or is absolutely crucial.
In addition, almost all parents surveyed believe that their involvement with homework benefits their child's academic performance either a great deal or is absolutely crucial.