Dr Janet Goodall

1. Dr Janet Goodall Research Fellow in the Institute of EducationUniversity of Warwick

2. What research tells us about parental engagement Janet Goodall

3. What is parental engagement?

4. Parental Involvement with the school Parental engagement- involvement continuum Parents’ evenings Reading in class Going on trips Parental involvement with children’s schooling Helping with homework Keeping track of coursework Parental engagement with children’s learning Moral support Attitude toward learning Model, Guide Discussion

5. What is parental engagement and why does it matter? • Research findings... • Main sources: • EPPE • Desforges • EPRA • Save the Children • Best Practice Literature Review

6. EPPE (1997-2008) Findings • The importance of home learning. • “For all children, the quality of the home learning environment is more important for intellectual and social development than parental occupation, education or income”. • “What parents do is more important than who parents are”

7. Desforges – what matters: • Good parenting in the home: • Intellectual stimulation, parent-child discussion • Good models of constructive social and educational values and high aspirations relating to personal fulfilment and good citizenship • Contact and participation with schools

8. EPRA Staff Learning Students Parents

9. Parental engagement in ‘supporting learning in the home’ is the single most important changeable factor in student achievement.Report just published by the Family and Parenting Institute found 54% of young people in the Midlands wished they could spend more time with their parents

10. Parents’ influence on student learning outcomes is greater than the school influence “Your parents are your main influence, really – if they don’t care about it, you don’t take as much of an interest in it” Student

11. Parental engagement positively affects student behaviour. “If your parents had nothing to do with school you could skip your lessons and nobody will be bothered…” Student “It’s great when my teacher is pleased with me, Miss, but ... Your dad’s your DAD!” Student “I’ll never forget me dad was proud of me” Student

12. “You need your independence at this age but you also need your parents’ guidance.” Student

13. REVIEW OF BEST PRACTICE IN PARENTAL ENGAGEMENT • Reviews research-based interventions – what has been proved to work, where, when, how and with whom

14. Has three main themes • Home school links • Support and training for parents • Family and Community based interventions • Includes parental engagement strategy • Includes practitioner-aimed “pull out” section • Doesn’t cite the research • Just says what works

15. Increasing Parental Engagement in the home Is different for every school, every EY setting, and every cohort of parents These are the basic principles Adapt, adapt, adapt!

16. Where can we find out more?

17. Do Parents Know They Matter? DCSF ReportEPPEDesforgesReview of Best Practice DfE website

18. Helping families support their children’s success at school http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/54_10006.htm

19. Intended for schools and parents Available as an ebook: http://ebooks.continuumbooks.com/BookStore/pagedisplay.do?genre=book&pub=continuum&id=9781855395831&page=S-17&expTOC=Y

20. Final comment....

21. Consequently, schools need to place parental engagement at the centre rather than the periphery of all that they do. Parental engagement in children’s learning makes a difference- it is the most powerful school improvement lever that we have. Do Parents Know They Matter? p. 70