A Beginners Guide to Parental Engagement: 5 Top Tips for Success

“To create the kinds of school-family partnerships that raise student achievement, improve local communities, and increase public support, we need to understand the difference between family involvement and family engagement. One of the dictionary definitions of involve is "to enfold or envelope," whereas one of the meanings of engage is "to come together and interlock." Thus, involvement implies doing to; in contrast, engagement implies doing with.”​ (Larry Ferlazzo 2011)​

It’s important for us to understand the definition of the two words, engagement and involvement. As Feralazzo states above, “involve is to enfold or envelope," and “engage is to come together and interlock." Parental engagement is the act of working together with parents to help children achieve their potential.

What is Parental Engagement?

Schools with good parental engagement encourage parents to play an active role in their child’s education. The term ‘parental engagement’ is often mistaken for parent’s involvement with the school organisation. 

Parental engagement is the gateway to success in a child’s education. It encourages parents and teachers to work in partnership to support a child’s academic development. 

For schools to develop and maintain good parental engagement, educating parents about their engagement in their child’s education is vital. Helping parents understand their role is the first step to parental engagement, and it offers parents help and guidance to support their child’s learning and development in school and at home.

Both teachers and parents need to understand the concept of working in partnership. This concept will help to set the foundations for an empowering support system to help children reach their potential.

What is the difference between Parental Engagement?​

Parental engagement is:

• The range of activities parents undertake to support their child’s learning and development at home and school.
• The level of interest parents have in their child’s learning and education.

Parental engagement does not mean:

• Having parents in school all the time for meetings, events, PTA, etc.
• Parents teaching their children the curriculum at home.

When we mention parental engagement, having parents on PTAs, as volunteers, and in school for meetings is often the first thing teachers will think of.

Whilst these things are important and have their place, it’s a common misconception that this is what parental engagement is about. Lots of research (Desforges and Abouchaar, 2003; Jeynes, 2016) shows that the ‘subtle’ engagement factors (high levels of parental expectation, consistent encouragement and actions to enhance learning opportunities in the home) rather than parents attending school events or being part of a PTA had the greatest impact.

Overview

Parents provide the foundations for their child’s education, which schools build on. However, once children start school, parents then take a step back to let the ‘professionals’ take over when the reality is that parents are the prime educators in their child’s life.

Parents frequently ask teachers how they can help their child with learning at home. When teachers model the teaching and learning happening in the classroom to parents, it allows the parents to understand better the objectives and how to support the child at home.

“Parental Engagement is the  golden key that can unlock the door to pupils reaching their potential.”​  (Goodall and Weston 2018)

It is vital to offer a range of methods to support and encourage parents to get more involved when their child starts school. Parents may be reluctant to get involved for many reasons, which we will look into later. However, if teachers begin the parental engagement strategies in the Early Years, this will give parents the head start they need to maintain that level of engagement throughout their child’s education.

What does the Research show?

A well-established body of evidence illustrates the powerful impact parent engagement has on a child’s education, aspirations and, ultimately, on their outcomes. The effect is greater than schooling itself; very few other factors have more impact and are open to our influence. 

Parental engagement has a huge impact on student outcomes. The research shows that schools that engage parents produce more successful, well-rounded young people.

Harris and Goodhall (2008) found that while parents, teachers and pupils tend to agree that parental engagement is a ‘good thing’, they also hold very different views about the purpose of engaging parents. It is also clear that there is a significant difference between involving parents in schooling and engaging parents in learning. While involving parents in school activities has an important social and community function, it is only the engagement of parents in learning in the home that is most likely to result in a positive difference on learning outcomes.

This research shows it’s not enough to involve the parents through PTAs, counsels, etc. In order to obtain positive outcomes for students, The school must engage parents in what the school is delivering. This knowledge empowers parents to effectively support their child's learning by talking positively about school, asking them about their studying, creating a peaceful and productive atmosphere for homework/revision, etc.

“Teachers felt that the children who had taken part in family literacy programmes had better classroom behaviour and better support from their families compared to their peers. They were rated equal to their peers in their motivation and achievement. Communications between parents and children were also found to improve markedly, and parents also reported being more confident in helping their child at home and communicating with the teacher at school.”

Department for Children, Schools and Families – 2008

This study shows the effectiveness of a literacy programme (one of many methods that schools could use to engage parents). It shows the broad range of positive outcomes that can be achieved by implementing such methods. Note that there are positive outcomes for the students, teachers, and parents.

Why Parents might be reluctant to engage?

There are many barriers which may prevent parents from engaging:

• Work commitments – Working parents feel like they do not have the time to get involved in their child’s school life.
• Childcare or other caring commitments – parents with other children or other caring commitments may have issues citing childcare or meeting other children’s demands.
• Language/communication barriers – EAL parents and parents with poor literacy skills may find communicating with schools difficult and avoid this where they can.
• Parents with learning difficulties – some may find it difficult to understand or access what their child is learning due to their own learning difficulties.
• Parents with childhood school trauma - some may find entering schools intimidating from their own school experience.
• Lack of confidence – some parents may not have the confidence to support their children in their learning or feel unsure about how to help.
• Parents may hesitate to participate in their child's learning for various reasons. Addressing these barriers can positively impact families overall.

Getting Parents Engaged

Being successful in engaging parents is primarily about building positive relationships and empowering parents to support their child’s learning. Most schools are already putting in lots of time and effort into parental engagement, albeit unknowingly. Parental Engagement events may include:

• Science Days
• After-school Family Clubs include activities, sports clubs, Forest School, reading groups, and maths clubs.
• Stay and Play Sessions
• Family Homework Challenges 

As mentioned above, many schools may already have good parental involvement events; however, there may be key parental engagement opportunities that teachers fail to include.

Mouse Club gives school staff a supportive framework to identify and include these opportunities and build positive and empowering relationships with parents.

Working with Parents

Modelling to parents actively engages them in learning with their child. This approach helps parents understand what is being taught at school, observe and try out techniques and methods used by the teacher, and then use them at home.

It's essential to help parents understand their role in their child's education. Providing opportunities for parents to participate in classroom activities offers numerous benefits for learning outside the classroom. It equips them with strategies and ideas they can use to support their child's learning at home.

The Big Picture

You can employ many methods to engage parents in their child’s learning. However, bear in mind that parental engagement is an ethos, a mindset, a culture, and a set of behaviours that promote partnerships for learning at all stages of education.

Though there are many tools you can use to help, there isn't one quick fix. To commit to developing excellent parental engagement, you need to invest time.

Other Factors to Consider

“Williams et al. (2002) found that 2% of parents felt the responsibility for education belonged wholly to the school, whilst 58% believed they had at least equal responsibility. Presumably, the remaining 40% were distributed somewhere between these values. (Abouchaar & Desforges 2003)

As the research suggests, some parents may not feel it is their responsibility to educate their children academically. Some parents may not feel confident getting involved or feel like they are ‘treading on the teacher's toes’ if they do. Mouse Club advocates delivering strategies universally before working with target groups. This universal approach provides parents who are least likely to engage with support and encouragement from other parents and teachers and helps them feel less isolated.

Where to start: 5 Top Tips for Helping Parents to Engage

1. Open door policy. Being available before and after school for parents to approach and ask questions. Teachers can develop their relationship with parents by communicating little and often.
2. School Terminology (keep it simple!). Parents aren’t always up to date with school terminology. Unfamiliar terms and acronyms can be confusing. Make sure you communicate in terms that are easy for your parents to understand verbally and in letters, emails, and texts. If you must use academic wording, explain what it means when using it.
3. Showing, not telling. Modelling techniques can help with language barriers, help parents understand the task further, and provide them with skills to reinforce learning at home. Attending stay-and-play sessions or watching a ‘How To” video on the school website can also help build a stronger relationship between parents and teachers.
4. Encourage two-way communication between families and the school. Schools give parents a lot of information. Ensuring parents have the chance to respond shows that the school is listening and is a key factor in building relationships for learning.
5. Get to know your school communities. Schools that build strong connections with their communities create a supportive environment that enhances student learning and well-being. Engaging with families, organisations, and businesses provides valuable resources and opportunities. This sense of belonging fosters collaboration, helping to address challenges and celebrate successes for all learners.