Helping parents to give their children the best chance
22 December 2009
Just having mums and dads in school is simply not enough
What parents do to help their children learn at home is much more important than involving parents in school-based activities, say academics from the Institute of Education London (IOE) and the University of Warwick.
They reviewed the research evidence on what helps close the attainment gap between children from low-income families and well-off families. "Study after study "reinforced the link between parental engagement in learning, at school and at home, with significant improvement in pupils' academic achievement, wherever they live," say Professor Alma Harris and Dr Janet Goodall
They also point out, quite controversially, that simply involving parents in general school activities confers little or no real benefit on the achievement of the individual child.
There is little evidence to support the commonplace assumption that parental involvement programmes are an effective means of raising pupil achievement, says the report, Helping Families Support Children's Success at School. Parent teacher associations and other forms of liaison are valuable and build relationships between parents, pupils and teachers. However "simply being involved with the school has little effect on individual attainment unless there are direct and explicit connections to learning."
What does raise achievement is a very clear focus on family support programmes that make a big difference. Harris and Goodall found that early, family-based support is one of the most significant contributors to children's continued success in the education system, particularly during periods of educational transition – such as transfer to secondary school – which can be very stressful for parents and children.
Research has shown that children who are born into poor families do worse in school and may have fewer opportunities in life. These disadvantages lead to poor employment prospects in adulthood and a cycle of underperformance.
But it is possible to interrupt the equation of poverty and underachievement and also promote equity in society, says the review, which was funded by Save the Children Fund.
The charity asked Harris and Goodall to recommend the best way to target spending that will make the greatest impact on improving the life chances of children from low-income families.
While the study showed that the earlier the intervention, the better and more long-lasting the outcome for the child, it also showed that help for families at times of transition can make a significant and sustainable difference.
"The lessons from this study are very clear," says Harris. "Supporting families and young people at the point of transition will ensure that they continue with their education and therefore have a much greater likelihood of remaining in school and having the best life chances and opportunities."
Save the Children is now building on lessons learnt from the review by developing a partnership with Families and Schools Together Inc to roll out a UK-wide family support programme to engage the most disadvantaged children and families in order to improve parenting skills, children's wellbeing and outcomes, to connect families to their schools and to bring together local support resources.
"By supporting parents in this way, we believe that the gap in achievement between poorer children and their richer peers can be closed and a key link in the chain between poverty and poor educational outcomes finally broken," says the charity
The study can be found at http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/54_10006.htm
Editors' notes
Contacts:
Alma Harris, Director, London Centre for Leadership in Learning, tel: 020 7612 6038 email: a.harris@ioe.ac.uk
Press office:
Diane Hofkins, interim press officer, 020 7911 5423, d.hofkins@ioe.ac.uk
James Russell, press assistant, 020 7911 5556, j.russell@ioe.ac.uk
The IOE
The Institute of Education is a college of the University of London, specialising in teaching, research and consultancy in education and related areas of social science and professional practice. Last year's Research Assessment Exercise judged almost two-thirds of the work submitted by the IOE was internationally significant, and 35 per cent was regarded as "world leading". The IOE is a member of the 1994 group.