{"id":8051,"date":"2024-07-03T15:44:07","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T07:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teachformalaysia.org\/?p=8051"},"modified":"2024-07-04T16:00:05","modified_gmt":"2024-07-04T08:00:05","slug":"the-power-of-parents-parental-involvement-in-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachformalaysia.org\/my\/the-power-of-parents-parental-involvement-in-education\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Parents: Parental Involvement in Education"},"content":{"rendered":"

Parental involvement in a child’s education significantly contributes to their academic success and overall development. This article outlines existing policies and research which emphasise the importance of parental involvement in the educational process. <\/span><\/p>\n

What do Malaysian policy documents say about parental involvement in education?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025 is a comprehensive document developed by the Ministry of Education (MOE) based on extensive research and public engagement which outlines key strategies to transform Malaysia’s education system to achieve high-quality, equitable, and inclusive education.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source: Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2015, Ministry of Education Malaysia, 2013<\/p><\/div>\n

One of the strategic and operational shifts identified to transform the system focuses on partnerships with parents and the wider community. As Malaysian students aged 7 to 17 spend about a quarter of their time in school, they are in other environments majority of the time. Therefore, the Blueprint highlights the need to shift perspectives from “school learning” to “system learning” by involving parents, the community, and the private sector as partners in supporting the education of our students.<\/span><\/p>\n

This approach broadens the educational framework beyond the school walls and recognizes the role that various stakeholders play in the learning process to \u201ccreate a learning ecosystem that reinforces the knowledge, skills, and values taught to students at school\u201d (Ministry of Education Malaysia, 2013).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Given the critical role that parents play in a child\u2019s learning and development, the Blueprint advocates for \u201cshared responsibility between parents and teachers to ensure quality learning\u201d. Active parental involvement to improve children’s educational outcomes is also highlighted in other policy documents such as the National Key Result Areas and the 12th Malaysian Plan.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why is parental involvement important and what does it look like?
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Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n


\nThe strong emphasis on parental involvement by the Ministry of Education in a child\u2019s education is backed by research and aligned with international best practices and recommendations. The OECD (2023) reports that \u201cparental involvement, both at home and at school, can translate into long-lasting benefits for children from early childhood through adult life\u201d. Research has shown that parental involvement in children\u2019s learning is strongly associated with children\u2019s socio-emotional development, academic success, student engagement and motivation at school as well as high school completion.<\/span>
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Parental involvement can be defined as \u201cthe extent to which parents are involved in their child\u2019s education at home and the amount of communication that they have with school\u201d (Kamal et al., 2022). This can take many forms and remain beneficial to children\u2019s learning regardless of the level of involvement. Past<\/span> PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) analyses<\/span><\/a> have highlighted that parents do not need to have any specialised skills, knowledge or unlimited time to make an impact. Simple activities that involve a genuine interest and active engagement from parents are enough to make a meaningful difference. For example, students whose parents read to them in their early school years perform better at school regardless of the family\u2019s socio-economic background. PISA findings also indicate that activities such as discussing books, films, or TV shows, talking about school progress, eating meals together, and spending time conversing with children are all linked to improved student reading performance (OECD, 2011).<\/span><\/p>\n

While there are more detailed frameworks such as Epstein\u2019s <\/span>Six Types of Involvement or School-Family-Community Partnership Model<\/span><\/a> to outline different types of parental involvement, we can broadly divide it into two main categories: home-based and school-based involvement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Home-based parental involvement:<\/strong><\/p>\n