WHY PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN NUMERACY



Why Parental Involvement in Numeracy?

The process of Parental Involvement in Numeracy (PIN) can ultimately be applied to any area of the curriculum. All school improvement research highlights the benefits of parental involvement for children, teachers and parents. The Northern Ireland Programme for School Improvement also supports this view.

The Strategy Document for the Promotion of Literacy and Numeracy in Primary and Secondary Schools in Northern Ireland states:

‘The Government shares the widely-held view that partnership with parents can be highly effective in supporting and complementing the work done in school….. All primary schools should include in their literacy and numeracy policies their plan for the involvement of parents in the way their child learns…’ (Pg 21 Para 2.43)

The CASS Numeracy Team has produced the accompanying guidance to facilitate the successful implementation of the Parental Involvement in Numeracy (PIN) process in WELB schools.

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‘Remember, when you are talking to a parent, you are talking to the world’s greatest expert on this child.’ (Bill Laar)

AIMS OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN NUMERACY

• To provide parents with knowledge about the content and delivery of mathematics within the school.

• To make parents more aware of the key role they must play in helping their child to realise his/her full potential in mathematics.

• To raise and develop the confidence, interest and ability of parents to complement the teaching and learning process at home.

• To utilise in full the expertise and willingness of parents to act as an effective learning resource for their children.

• To develop the skills of those parents who are keen to be involved, and are willing to support the school with their child’s learning.

• To develop knowledge and skills in those parents who would like to be involved with their child’s learning but lack the confidence or skills to do so.

• To offer strategies to parents to support their child’s learning in keeping with the school practices.

RESEARCH

WHY SCHOOL-HOME PARTNERSHIPS?

Evidence from school effectiveness research emphasises the importance of School-Home Partnerships. Certainly, one of the key characteristics of an effective school is the existence of ‘real School-Home Partnerships’.

Firstly, parents do matter and already involve themselves anyway. Parents are and always have been the most important influence on attitudes and attainment. For example, by the age of three, children have already acquired more than half the language they will use throughout their lives. Eighty-five percent of the language used by adults is in place by the age of five (White 1987). Research has consistently shown a correlation between home-background and in-school attainment (eg Coleman et al, 1966; Jencks et al 1972). Furthermore, more recent American research has demonstrated that families continue to be an important influence beyond the early years. As John Bastiani (1987) has suggested, parents possess crucially important knowledge and experience which not only complements that of professionals but is also valuable in its own right.

Secondly, schools also make a difference. School effectiveness researchers recognised from the outset the importance of home background factors. However, they were also concerned to tease out the relative contributions of home and school to educational achievement. This research demonstrated that when fair and even-handed comparisons were made between schools (eg when factors such as social background and pupil prior-attainment were statistically controlled) some schools were better than others at getting the best out of children and young people (see eg Mortimore al 1988; Rutter et al 1979). In the schools that did better - effective work with parents was a key characteristic (Sammons et al 1995).

There is clear and extensive evidence, which cannot be ignored, of the tangible and lasting benefits to children when parents, teachers and pupils work together towards shared goals (Bastiani, 1993). Michael Fullan (1991) suggested that educational reform required the ‘conjoint’ efforts of families and schools where parents and teachers recognised the critical ‘complementary’ importance of each other. Otherwise, he remarked, severe limitations would be placed on school improvement efforts, which would be impossible to overcome (Fullan 1991). A number of leading educationalists and academics have highlighted the particularly important role that ‘curricular partnerships’ play in effective schools and school improvement efforts. For example, Peter Mortimore (1993) speculated that participation at home with school-learning was a key feature of effective home-school work. Likewise, Alexander et al (1995) described the following as critical factors:

1. good communications;

2. providing a range of opportunities for parents and teachers to discuss pupil progress;

3. the ability to build some form of shared purpose; and

4. the ability to persuade parents that they were ‘co-educators’.

Finally, Fullan (1991) distinguished between ‘instructionally related’ and ‘non-instructionally related’ forms of involvement. This latter, such as parental involvement with learning activities at home, were thought to have a more direct impact and much greater influence on student learning.

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Bastiani (1993) suggested that schools would require help towards developing thoughtful whole-school policies on home-school partnerships based on careful analysis of current practice. A survey of 35 schools; 23 primary and 12 post-primary schools, in the WELB area involving attitude questionnaires for parents, teachers and pupils was conducted in 1996 and again in 1998. Evidence from this research suggests that parents perceive schools in a very positive light, more so than teachers and pupils.

Parents feel welcome in schools, feel that teachers believe that all children can learn and encourage them to do so, feel staff are approachable and communication is good; though some parents felt that they needed more information on how they can help their child's learning at home.

Teachers involved in the survey felt that parent clarity about behaviour standards expected in the school needed to be developed and felt that it was crucial that the school promoted good relations with the community. Pupils reported that at home they are encouraged to do well at school.

The results from this survey suggest that parents and teachers are aware of the importance of School-Home Partnerships and it seems that such partnerships would be approved and supported by the parties involved.

John Bastiani (1993) suggested School-Home Partnerships could not be left to individual schools, teachers and parents to foster on their own without help. It was a major task which called for imagination and commitment, initiative and direction; it also needed management, understanding and support. The recommendations included in this material, and based on the results of WELB and other research, will probably demand many of the above qualities if they are to be implemented. However, in their implementation, the results will surely be reflected in better schools and raised pupil achievement.

QUOTES

Evaluating Schools

P4 1. Ethos

‘The school’s ethos can be seen to contribute effectively to the full development of all the pupils when …. The staff and the Board of Governors demonstrate commitment to the parents’ involvement in and contribution to the work of the school; parents are given information on aspects of work; they are given and accept regular opportunities to participate in the life of the school.’

P16 3.4 The Development of Links Between the School and the Community.

‘Links between the school and community can be considered good when parents are provided with regular opportunities to discuss the progress of their children and to become familiar with and involved in the work of the school.’

Target Setting Guidance for Primary Schools (DENI 1998)

P11 Features of effective target setting.

‘A primary school may set out an appropriate but generalised aim: “To increase parental interest.” In order to decide what action will be taken the staff will need to consider some further questions such as:

• Which parents will we focus on?

• What do we want them to do?

• What effect do we see this having on the children’s learning?

• When do we want this to happen?

• How will we know if we have been successful…?.’

Target Setting Guidance for Post Primary Schools (DENI 1998)

P13 Case Study – Dominican College, Portstewart

‘The school focused on raising GCSE achievement by identifying those pupils considered to be most ‘at risk’ and using agreed intervention strategies…..

The key features included:

• Writing to the parents of these pupils to tell them the concerns of the teachers, the school’s proposed support programme and inviting them to assist their children by helping them to improve their standards of work.’

School Development Planning (DENI 1998)

P9 ‘Identifying in a systematic manner, the school’s strengths, weaknesses,

challenges and opportunities, to determine priorities for development, across a wide range of aspects, including ……

• Links with parents;

• Links with the wider community …’

P10 ‘There is, however, a need for schools to monitor and evaluate the teaching,

learning and other processes which contribute to enabling the pupils to achieve on a broad range of fronts. A review of such processes might include:

• The expectation held by the teachers, the pupils and their parents, and how these influence the nature and quality of teaching and learning in the school;

• The use made of homework as a means of reinforcing concepts and monitoring the quality of learning and teaching;

• The extent to which the school engages the parents in supporting their children’s learning.’

See also case studies P20, P21, P22, and P27

Promoting and Sustaining Good Behaviour (DENI 1998)

P6 3.1 ‘Schools which are successful in promoting and sustaining good behaviour

are characterised by:

• A discipline policy which is based on a whole-school approach, is widely disseminated to and readily understood by staff, pupils and parents, has clear stepped procedures for dealing with breaches of discipline, and is consistently and fairly applied;

• Arrangements which acknowledge the formative influence of parents on children’s behaviour and engage parents’ support in promoting good behaviour at school’.

See also P14 Parents: Sections 3.27 to 3.32.

The School Support Programme

P4 Lessons learnt from RSSI

12. ‘A great many of the most effective and long term improvements which resulted did not, however, rely on funding, but emanated, for example, from:

• More successful involvement of parents.’…

CCEA – School Improvement: Focus on Boys (CCEA 1999)

P14 Partnership with parents

‘Fostering a partnership with parents is extremely important, particularly in the primary years, but also throughout a young person’s career. Parental support is crucial to motivation and their daily involvement in children’s reading, and learning in general is crucial to maintaining progress.’

DENI – Assessment in Secondary Schools

P8 Homework

‘The quality of policies and procedures on the setting, marking and monitoring of homework varied amongst schools, but in one-fifth of the schools where best practice was reported, some of the good features noted were:

• A homework information pack had been prepared and sent out to parents;

• the pupils’ homework planners were effectively monitored, there were examples of positive and swift responses by the pupils and/or their parents to this monitoring which, in turn, promoted improvements in the standards being achieved.’

The following DENI publications discuss parental involvement at such length that it is not possible to do them justice by simply quoting parts of them:

• Children First: The Northern Ireland Childcare Strategy

• Drug Education

• Evaluating Pastoral Care

The ‘School Curriculum Award’ also gives indication of what constitutes good partnership between schools and homes.

Literacy and Numeracy

P21 Parental Involvement

‘The government shares the widely held view that partnership with parents can be highly effective in supporting and complementing the work done in school.’

The document outlines a number of valuable initiatives involving parents and stresses the importance for schools to make plans for involving parents as part of their strategy.

CHILDREN ORDER

The Order (1995) states that:

• The welfare of the child is the paramount consideration.

• Parents should be kept informed about their children and participate when decisions are made about their children’s future.

• Parents with children in need should be helped to bring up their children …… such help should be provided in partnership with parents.

More detailed information in relation to the Children Order can be found using the A-Z Directory at .uk

U N CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

• Children have a right to a wide range of information especially any which would make life better for them.

• Children have a right to the best possible chance to develop fully.

• Parents have a right to have their work at home valued and appreciated by the significant people in their lives as well as by government and state bodies.

• Parents have a right to proper support in providing their children with due rights and respect.

More detailed information in relation to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child can be found by following links at a number of websites for example:

• .uk

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• .uk

CODE OF PRACTICE

Partnership with Parents

2:21 Children’s progress will be diminished if their parents are not seen as partners

in the educational process with unique knowledge and information to impart. Professional help can seldom be wholly effective unless it builds upon parental involvement and provides reassurance that account is taken of what parents say and that their views and anxieties are treated as intrinsically important.

2:22 … schools should seek at all times to foster the active participation and

involvement of parents, offering encouragement to recognise their own responsibilities towards their child and emphasising the benefits of working in partnership with the school and others involved.

More detailed information in relation to the Code of Practice can be found by searching the Department of Education website .uk

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