Family & Community  Adult Education Family Literacy
Massachusetts Family Literacy Consortium
Our vision is successful families. Our mission is successful partnershps.
Family Involvement Fact Sheet
(Source: Strong Families, Strong Schools, U.S. Department of
Education)
Benefits of Family Involvement:
Three decades of research have shown that parental participation improves
students' learning. This is true whether the child is in preschool or the
upper grades, whether the family is rich or poor, whether the parents finished
high school (Coleman, et. al., 1966; Epstein, 1991a; Stevenson & Baker,
1987; de Kanter, Ginsburg, & Milne, 1986; Henderson & Berla, 1994;
Keith & Keith, 1993; Liontos, 1992; Walberg, n.d.). When families are involved in their children's education in positive ways,
children achieve higher grades and test scores, have better attendance at
school, complete more homework, demonstrate more positive attitudes and
behavior, graduate at higher rates, and have greater enrollment in higher
education (Henderson & Berla, 1994; Becher, 1984). A national study of 8th grade students and their parents shows that parental
involvement in students' academic lives is indeed a powerful influence on
students' achievement across all academic areas (Keith & Keith, 1993). By the age of three, children have acquired more than half the language they
will use throughout their lives (White, 1987). The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for
eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children (Anderson et al.,
1985). International comparisons show the high academic success of students from
Asian countries, which many attribute to the priority their families give to
education (Stevenson, 1993).
Public Support for Greater Family Involvement in Learning:
Teachers ranked strengthening parents' roles in their children's learning as
the issue that should receive the highest priority in public education policy
over the next few years (Louis Harris and Associates, 1993). Forty percent of parents across the country believe that they are not
devoting enough time to their children's education (Finney, 1993). Among students aged 10 to 13, 72 percent said they would like to talk to
their parents more about schoolwork. Forty-eight percent of older adolescents
(14-17 years old) agreed (National Commission on Children, 1991). Eighty-nine percent of company executives identified the biggest obstacle to
school reform as lack of parental involvement (Perry, 1993).
Parents Want to Become More Involved:
Many parents today are unsure how to help their children learn (National
Commission on Children, 1991). Many parents say they would be willing to spend more time on homework or
other learning activities with their children if teachers gave them more
guidance (Epstein, 1987; Henderson, Marburger, & Ooms, 1986).
Teachers Need to Involve Families:
Very few states require extensive coursework or in-service training in
working with families (Radcliffe, Malone, & Nathan, 1994). Teachers need to be given the time and training to work with families (U.S.
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 1994b).
Barriers to Family Involvement:
According to the U.S. Department of Education (Strong Families, Strong Schools,
1994), the barriers to family involvement include:
Compiled by Melanie Swartz (1995)
last updated: November 27, 2000
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