A parent’s involvement in a child’s education is the single most important factor in that child’s academic success.
Decades of educational research tells us that an involved parent contributes overwhelmingly to his/her child’s grades and test scores, school attendance and quality of homework, positive attitudes and behavior at school, likelihood of graduation, and desire to enroll in higher education. In many ways, as we’ll describe, you’re the essence of your child’s education; you’ve got the power!
It’s true that many other important factors, including school funding, teacher qualification, student resources, child nutrition, and a host of others can swamp our considerations of what affects academic success. These factors do matter. A lot. But research about the family’s role, a parent’s influence, and the relationship between school and home has produced clear-as-a-bell results: nothing affects the academic outcome for a child as much as the involvement of a parent or other adult caregiver in that child’s education. This is true no matter what personal factors are at work: the number of parents raising a child; the family’s economic situation; the parent’s familiarity with English; the size of the family; the parent’s education; or a child’s own interests, talents, and abilities. The bottom line is that whatever your academic or cultural background, your family situation, or the many pulls on your time, you are in the most influential position to shape your child’s future.
Parents and other adult caregivers are their children’s first and most enduring teachers. Even the best teacher your child encounters in school will only be with your child for a year, or perhaps two; even after children enter school, they spend seventy percent of their waking hours outside of the school setting. As a parent, you have greater opportunity to make a difference, to teach, model, and guide your child’s learning, than anyone else. You have a more intimate knowledge of your child’s needs and talents. You have a keener interest in your child’s schooling and future, and deeper motivation to help your child succeed. No one is better placed or more qualified than you to make a difference in your child’s academic and lifelong education.”
Good information for parents of any age children.