Parental Involvement Essay Example

and schools can lead to positive outcomes for children. These include improvements in self-esteem, discipline both at school and home, as well as the development of a positive attitude towards education. Moreover, this type of communication also benefits parents by allowing them to connect with the school community, share information, and gain a deeper understanding of their children's progress and needs.

Alternatively, parents can utilize school activities as an opportunity to exchange parenting skills and information with fellow parents. This sharing of knowledge can significantly enhance their proficiency in learning efficient techniques for disciplining their kids. Through active communication with their children, parents not only develop a better comprehension of their learning process but also contribute to establishing a superior educational atmosphere within the household. Consequently, this boosts self-esteem and confidence in the effectiveness of parental teaching.

Parental involvement in the school is crucial as it not only enhances understanding and relationships with the school but also improves support for parents when they seek assistance from teachers. This ultimately has a positive impact on the school by promoting better communication and relationships between teachers and parents, boosting teacher morale, and resulting in more favorable ratings from parents. Moreover, parental involvement makes teachers feel valued, cultivating a positive attitude towards teaching.

By enhancing parental involvement programs, schools can improve children's learning and gain parental support, ultimately enhancing the overall quality of these programs. This will also boost children's self-esteem and confidence, leading to better academic performance and attendance rates. These positive outcomes will further influence teachers' teaching methods and monitoring practices in the classroom. Ultimately, as parents prioritize their children's education, the kindergarten will gain a stronger reputation within

the community.

Community members naturally value and support schools that achieve high levels of success. Ming Ming Kindergarten, located in the Northern District of the New Territories, serves predominantly new-arrival parents from Mainland China. These parents face personal challenges that impact their parenting styles and ability to discipline their children. Many of them work long hours to support their families, with only one parent present while the other remains in Mainland China. Consequently, the sole parent often serves as the family's breadwinner.

Everyday, busy parents may enroll their children in all-day kindergarten classes as they are too busy to work. This leads to kids spending almost ten hours a day at school. However, limited spare time prevents many parents from participating in the parental involvement program.

Mainland Chinese parents usually have lower levels of education and a distinct cultural background compared to the local population, resulting in differences in customs and beliefs. Consequently, they may lack confidence in social interactions and hesitate to discuss their children's issues. Moreover, they may feel uncertain about their abilities to effectively teach and discipline their children. As a result, many parents resort to authoritarian or neglectful parenting styles.

To effectively design parental involvement programs, it is essential to prioritize and tailor them according to the needs of parents. Understanding the requirements of Mainland Chinese parents, who face challenges in teaching their children due to work commitments and sometimes resort to harsh discipline methods, is particularly important. Providing guidelines and support by the school can greatly benefit these parents.

Parents may feel stressed because of their long work hours and lack of social support. Teachers can help by offering support and reassurance. Parental involvement programs

provide a chance for parents to meet and connect with others, fostering new friendships within the school community. Some Mainland Chinese parents may struggle with adapting to Hong Kong's culture and language, as they primarily speak Putonghua and use simplified writing forms.

Kindergarten should be aware that children take longer to learn Cantonese, as well as how to write and read in traditional form. It is important to make sure that all distributed notices or leaflets are suitable for all parents. Thus, we could consider inviting a translator to assist parents from Mainland China in understanding their children's activities. This is necessary because if these parents cannot understand the language used by the school, they may feel disrespected. Moreover, Ming Ming Kindergarten teachers can only meet with parents twice a year to discuss their children's performance.

There are no other parental involvement activities or a parent-teacher association, meaning that teachers have limited opportunities to engage in lengthy discussions with parents. This poses a significant challenge for teachers as they are unable to constantly address the issues affecting the children. Given that children's development progresses daily, it is crucial for both teachers and parents to regularly discuss and communicate about their development across various areas. In order to offer assistance and guidance to the children, teachers should be aware of their family background and daily life.

Teachers in this school have limited opportunities to meet with parents, only twice a year, resulting in brief discussions about students' academic performance. As a result, teachers lack motivation and experience in organizing parental involvement programs, as these programs are not included in their yearly plans. Additionally, teachers struggle with effectively managing these

programs due to a lack of communication and close relationships with parents. They also lack a thorough understanding of parents' needs and interests. In order to address these challenges, the management should offer training to the teachers.

It is crucial to prioritize Putonghua training. To begin with, it is essential to conduct talks or meetings to provide information about new arrivals from Mainland China. This enables teachers to understand the current challenges faced by parents. Additionally, management should promote the establishment of a stronger bond between teachers and parents. By gathering more information about the families, teachers can offer appropriate support when issues arise. Furthermore, when discussing academic progress of students, teachers can also impart parenting techniques and other valuable skills.

It is important for teachers to promote parent involvement in school events such as family picnics and Mother's Day celebrations. This will help build a stronger bond between parents and the school, making them feel like an integral part of the kindergarten community. Once a good relationship has been established, it may be beneficial for the kindergarten to create a parent-teacher association after two years. Additionally, there will be a special talk before each new school year starts to warmly welcome new students.

The school hall will hold a welcome speech for parents of Kindergarten 1 students, as well as new students from Kindergarten 2 and Kindergarten 3.

The purpose of this meeting is to introduce parents to key members of the school staff, including the Principle, Vice Principle, and teachers. The Principle will discuss important matters before the new school year, such as teaching goals, policies, and the school's vision. The presentation will last approximately one hour

and parents are encouraged to ask any questions or voice concerns they may have.

Following the talk, parents will be requested to fill out the evaluation form. Additionally, parents and children are encouraged to remain and discover the kindergarten as well as enjoy the playground. Teachers have specific procedures they must adhere to: conducting a weekly "Sunshine call" to discuss academics, school events, and any concerns regarding the children; as well as inquiring about the children's well-being at home from their parents.

Our goal is to enhance our relationship with parents by arranging individual parent meetings for new students in September. These meetings are extremely important and will have a duration of ten minutes each. It is vital that parents attend, but if they cannot, the class teacher will communicate with them via phone. The objective of these individual parent meetings is for the class teachers to discuss the students' performance in the classroom.

At the kindergarten, children undergo a process of adapting to their new school life, with each child's adjustment period varying in duration. They face various challenges and obstacles but manage to overcome them. Teachers assess the success of their adaptation while also inquiring about their behavior at home.

The purpose of these individual parent meetings is to foster a stronger bond with parents and gain a deeper understanding of the children. During these meetings, teachers actively encourage parents to discuss aspects such as their families, cultural backgrounds, daily routines, and hobbies. After the meeting, another teacher will provide parents with a written memo.

Parents are encouraged to provide comments for the individual parent meeting, kindergarten, and class teachers (Appendix 3). Our school will be hosting two

professional talks: "The Psychological Development of Young Children" and "A Good Family Background Enhances Moral Development." These talks are open to all parents. We have invited two professional educators to conduct these talks separately. The goals of the talks include enhancing understanding of children's psychological development through behavior observation, assisting parents in managing parenting resources, teaching skills for establishing a healthy relationship with their children, as well as helping parents build trusting, respectful, and considerate relationships with their children.

The objective of these two discussions is to assist parents in effectively fulfilling their role, comprehending the psychological development and behaviors of their children, and establishing a positive family environment that fosters their learning and development. After the talks, parents will be divided into small groups for workshops. In these workshops, teachers will encourage parents to share their perspectives on the talks, discuss their family backgrounds, and explore the parenting challenges they encounter. Both teachers and other parents are encouraged to offer solutions and suggestions. Teachers will also continue to provide support in addressing any ongoing difficulties. Furthermore, there will be a mid-year outing for both parents and children to enjoy together.

The purpose of this activity is to visit the elderly at the Mong Kong Kai Fong Association Ltd. Chan Hing Social Service Centre and contribute to the community voluntarily, thereby fostering a sense of community participation and helping others among the children.

Before the outing, parents and children will need to make a consolatory card at home. Parents who attend the activity can also talk with the school about arrangements, performances, and souvenirs. It is important for parents to participate in making decisions for this event.

Afterward, parents will receive an evaluation form (Appendix 4) to gather their feedback and suggestions. Lastly, towards the end of the academic year, there will be an event called "I am a good child."

All students and parents are welcome to take part in this event, aiming to promote positive behavior and strengthen the parent-child bond. Teachers will distribute assessment sheets for parents to evaluate their children's conduct at home and assist them in developing appropriate habits. Following the assessment stage, a sharing meeting will be arranged for parents to discuss their insights on the activity.

Understanding the aspirations and strengths of each parent makes it easier for the school management to organize various events and invite parents to participate as helpers. However, there may be difficulties in reaching out to all parents on a single day for the "Sunshine call". Some class teachers may face challenges contacting specific parents if they are unable to answer the phone due to work commitments.

In this situation, the class teacher has the option to speak with the parent in person when they come to pick up their child after school. If the parent cannot come in person, the class teacher can leave a voice message or write a memo and place it in front of the handbook, requesting the parent to return the call. Regarding discussions about new students, I believe it is advantageous for them. The majority of parents are willing to dedicate time to visit the school on their first visit.

Parents are often hesitant to ask questions during the talk, so teachers pay attention to those who appear confused or puzzled and encourage them to take the

opportunity to ask. If parents are unable to attend the individual meetings during school hours, we will communicate with them over the phone.

Alternatively, we can adjust the meeting time to accommodate busy parents, either before or after school hours. While the last three functions prove to be challenging for the school, they offer valuable benefits as they provide an opportunity for regular parents to learn effective teaching techniques for their children. However, the majority of our parents are recent immigrants from Mainland China, and their parenting style tends to be either authoritarian or neglectful. These functions would require a significant time commitment from them, which they may be reluctant to make while taking leave from work or sacrificing leisure time.

Evaluation is crucial, so we will provide an evaluation form after every activity. Our school will consider the suggestions and opinions to tailor the functions based on the parents' needs and demands.