Parental Involvement In Early Childhood Education In Ogun-State, Nigeria: Implication For Counselling

Abstract

Parental involvement has a greater impact on the academic achievement of elementary aged students than secondary students hence the need for counselling intervention for parents. This research aims to provide descriptive data on the challenges faced by parents during involvement in early childhood education and obtain empirical data on the relationship between challenges of parental involvement and its effects on early childhood education. The research utilized descriptive survey design with a sample size of 230 respondents which were randomly selected from two private and public Nursery schools in Ogun State, Nigeria. Questionnaire was used to elicit responses and pilot study revealed Cronbach’s alpha reliability of 0.95. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tools. Parents take children to places to learn special things” (mean = 3.47) ranked first among parental involvement in early childhood education. “Parents attend to their children’s assignment” (mean = 3.45) ranked first among the factors considered in parental involvement. There is no significant relationship between challenges faced during parental involvement and its effect on early childhood education. It was concluded that parental involvement in early childhood education has a great role to play in the future educational pursuit of the children. It was recommended that counselling intervention should be done on disseminating knowledge of the roles expected of parents in early childhood education through seminars, workshops, parents-teachers’ association forum, and mass media.

Keywords: ParentsinvolvementchildhoodeducationcounsellingNigeria

Introduction

Most children have two main categories of educators in their lives – their parents and their teachers. Parents are the prime educators until the child attends an early years’ setting or starts school and they remain a major influence on their children’s learning throughout school and beyond. Early learning experiences at home may be initiated by informed parents and/or may be guided by children’s preschool teachers (Van Voorhis, Maier, Epstein, & Lloyd, 2013). The school and parents have crucial roles to play in children’s early learning. There is no universal agreement on what parental involvement is. It can take many forms including potty training, feeding, reading to the children at home, teaching songs or nursery rhymes and assisting with homework. (Okonkwo, 2014)

The pre-school years represent crucial opportunities for the development of parental involvement in children’s early education (Arnold, Zeljo, Doctoroff, & Ortiz, 2008), as parents’ active involvement in their children’s learning has been shown to improve children’s academic, behavioural, and social outcomes (Chazan-Cohen, Raikes, Brooks-Gunn, Ayoub, Pan, Kisker, Roggman, & Fuligni, 2012; Powell, Son, File, San Juan, 2010). Parental involvement facilitates children’s development of pre-literacy skills such as phonological awareness and letter name knowledge (Powell et al., 2010). These skills have been shown to be essential for later school success. Moreover, the transition to preschool marks the beginning of an important relationship between home and school. A child’s first experiences in school are often parents’ first experiences as critical stakeholders in their children’s formal schooling (Powell et al., 2010).

Parental involvement during pre-school may also allow parents to develop skills in working collaboratively with school personnel. It may be particularly important for children from low-income families. The pre-school years are therefore an optimal time to establish parental involvement and to familiarize parents of children at-risk for academic difficulties with the skills children need to acquire prior to entering elementary school (Reynolds, Weissberg, & Kasprow, 1992).

Trotman (2001) opined that parent involvement was designed to create a partnership that allowed for greater collaboration between home and school for the expressed purpose of improved student outcomes. It was intended to enhance the school‘s capacity to understand and appreciate values and cultures of families and be more effective in meeting student needs. Parent involvement in education was important because it added value to the educational development of students of all ages and populations (Ascher, 1988; Hickman, Greenwood, & Miller, 1995; Wehlberg, 1996; Montesinos, 2004).

Wehlburg (1996) indicated that parent involvement programmes might require making opportunities available for some parents while having to provide knowledge and skills for other parents so they could learn how to be involved and feel comfortable taking advantage of the opportunities to be involved. Parent involvement was by definition ambiguous and was often discussed in terms of inconsistent categories or types of parent involvement. Hoover-Dempsey et al. (1987) defined parental role in the two categories of home based activities such as helping with homework and school-based activities such as tutoring and volunteering in schools.

Parental role was defined in six categories: (a) traditional (parent as audience or bystander-observer), (b) parent as a decision maker, (c) parent as a classroom volunteer, (d) parent as a paid paraprofessional or teachers’ aide, (e) parents as learners (participants in childhood development or parenting classes), and (f) parents as teachers of their own children at home (Banch, Vietze, & Morris, 1973, as cited in Wehlburg, 1996).

According to Wehlburg (1996) and Epstein (2005), parent involvement should be considered as basic obligations of the parent (health, safety, etc.), basic obligations of the schools (schools communicate to parents about programs/progress), participating in schools’ activities (volunteering and participating in extracurricular activities, sports, plays, etc.), initiating learning activities in the home (parents initiating activities with their child or children initiating help through questions), and participating in governance and advocacy (parents assume decision making roles).

Jasso (2007) indicated there were still other definitions of parent involvement; however, he pointed out that often while social factors had been blamed for children’s school failure, more in-depth examination revealed that parental intervention had a greater impact on student success than socioeconomic status and family dynamics. Further, he suggested that parental involvement extended beyond simply ensuring homework was completed successfully or attendance at Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meetings.

Problem Statement

Research has shown that parents involvement has a greater impact on the academic achievement of elementary aged students than secondary students (Jordan et al., 2001). Parental involvement during elementary, middle, and high school and later outcomes has been established (Domina, 2005; Altschul, 2011). Though, it has been found that the effectiveness of parental involvement declines as children age (Castanbis & Garland, 1997), few studies have however examined parental involvement during the pre-school years and its impact on later outcomes (Hindman & Morrison, 2012; Jeynes, 2012; St. Clair, Jackson, & Zweiback, 2012).

Many educators and researchers (Kleemans, Peeters, Segers, & Verhoeven, 2012; Arnold et al., 2008) view early childhood education as beneficial to children's cognitive and social development. These proponents base their conviction on personal observation and on studies linking early childhood programmes to desirable outcomes. The scant research available on the outcomes of parental involvement demonstrates its positive influences on children’s academic, behavioural, and social outcomes. For instance, parents’ active involvement during the pre-school years has been positively associated with children’s pre-literacy development, acquisition of mathematical skills, well-developed social skills, and positive attitudes toward school (Kleemans et al., 2012; Arnold et al., 2008; Powell et al., 2010). Children’s later reading achievement during the elementary and middle school years is an additional long-term benefit of parental involvement during pre-school stage (Landry et al., 2012; Miedel & Reynolds, 1999). Hence, the need to focus research on the parents to know if they are involved in educating their children at the early childhood period.

Research Questions

Four (4) research questions (RQ) were formulated to guide this study:

1.What are the parental involvements in early childhood education?

2.What are the factors responsible for parental involvement in early childhood education?

3.What are the challenges faced by parents during involvement in early childhood education?

4.What are the effects of parental involvement in early childhood education on the academic performances of the children?

Purpose of the Study

This research sought to provide descriptive data on parental involvement in early childhood education as well the challenges faced by parents during involvement in early childhood education. The study sought to also provide empirical data on the relationship between challenges of parental involvement and its effects on early childhood education.

Research Methods

The study was conducted in Abeokuta metropolis of Ogun State, Nigeria. The research utilized descriptive survey design. The population for this study comprised of parents of students from twenty (20) Nursery schools in Abeokuta South Local Government Area (LGA) of Ogun State.

Multi-stage sampling technique was used for the selection of respondents. At the first stage, simple random sampling technique (ballot system) was used to select two private and two public Nursery Schools for the research. At the second stage, simple random sampling technique (ballot system) was used to select two hundred and thirty (230) parents consisting of both male and female in the selected Nursery schools in Abeokuta South LGA.

A structured questionnaire was the instrument used to elicit responses from the participants. The questionnaire was content validated by expert judgment and tried out on twenty-three (23) randomly selected respondents for reliability purpose. A Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.85 was obtained.

Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical tools.

Findings

Conclusion

The study concluded that parental involvement in early childhood education must be taken with seriousness in the upbringing of the childhood because this will help the childhood to have a very good academic background to build on for a better future. The study concluded that there is no significant relationship between challenges faced during parental involvement and its effect on early childhood education. However, that there is significant difference between the fathers’ involvement and the mothers’ involvement in early childhood education of their children.

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge Prof. H.O. Owolabi for editing this manuscript prior to submission.

References

1. Altschul, I. (2011). Parental involvement and the academic achievement of Mexican American youths: What kinds of involvement in youths’ education matter most? Social Work Research, 35, 159-170. doi:
2. Arnold, D. H., Zeljo, A., Doctoroff, G. L. & Ortiz, C. (2008). Parental involvement in pre-school: Predictors and the relation of involvement to pre-literacy development. The School of Psychology Review, 37(1), 74-90.
3. Ascher, C. (1998) Improving the school home connection for poor and minority students. The Whole Review, 20, 109-123
4. Banch, P. A., Vietze, P. & Morris, V. (1973). What makes the difference in parental participation? Childhood Education, 50, 47-53.
5. Castanbis, S. & Garland, J. F. (1997). Parental involvement in students Education during Middle and High School (CRESPAR Report 18),
6. Chazan-Cohen, R., Raikes, H., Brooks-Gunn, J., Ayoub, C., Pan, B. A., Kisker, E. E., Roggman, L. A., and Fuligni, S. A. (2012). Low-income children’s school readiness: Parent contributions over the first five years. Early Education and Development, 20(6), 958-977.
7. Domina, T. (2005) Levelling the home advantage; Assessing the effectiveness of parental involvement in elementary School, Sociology of Education. 78(3), 233-249.
8. Epstein, J. L. (2005). Attainable goals? The spirit and letter of no childhood left behind act on parental involvement. Sociology of Education, 78, 179-182.
9. Gratz, J. (2006). The impact of parents’ background on their children’s education. Retrieved form www.marcalester.edu/educationreform/publicintellectualessay/gratz.pdf on 10/6/14
10. Hickman, C. W. Greenwood, G. E. & Miller, M. D. (1995). High school parent involvement; Relationship with Achievement, grade level, SEs and gender. Journal of Research and Development in Education, 28, 125-134.
11. Hill, N. E. & Taylor, L. C. (2004). Parental school involvement and children’s academic achievements. Current Directions in Psychological Science,13(4),161-164.
12. Hindman, A. H., and Morrison, F. J. (2012). Differential contributions of three parenting dimensions to preschool literacy and social skills in a middle-income sample. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 58(2), 191-223.
13. Hoover-Dempsey, K. V. & Saddle, H.M (2005 revised). Final performance report for OERI Grad #R305T010673; The social context of parental involvement: A pale to enhanced achievement. Paper presented to project mentor, Institute of Education sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved fromhttp://www.vanderbilt.edu/peabody/family-school/Scaledescription.html
14. Hornby, G. & Lafaele, R. (2011). Barriers to parental involvement in education: An explanatory model, Educational Review, 63(1), 37-52.
15. Jasso, J. (2007). African-American and non-Hispanic White parental involvement in the education of elementary school-aged childhoodren. Syracuse University, Syracuse.
16. Jeynes, W. (2012). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of different types of parental involvement programs for urban students. Urban Education, 47(4), 706-742.
17. Jordan, C., Orozco, E., & Averret, A. (2001). Emerging issues in school, family, & community connections. Austin, TX. Southwest Educational Development Laboratory NY.
18. Kgosidialwa, T.K. (2010). Parental involvement and expectations of children’s academic achievement goals in Botswana: Parent’s perceptions. Unpublished PhD dissertation Faculty of Education Studies. University of Northern Colorado, USA.
19. Kleemans, T., Peeters, M., Segers, E., and Verhoeven, L. (2012). Child and home predictors of early numeracy skills in kindergarten. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27, 471-477. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2011.12.004
20. Landry, S. H., Smith, K. E., Swank, P. R., Zucker, T., Crawford, A. D., and Solari, E. F. (2012). The effects of a responsive parenting intervention on parent-child interactions during shared book reading. Developmental Psychology, 48(4), 969-986.
21. Miedel, W. T. Reynolds, A. J. (1999). Parent involvement in Early Intervention for Disadvantaged Children; Does it matter? Journal of School Psychology, 37(4), 379-402.
22. Montesinos, L. (2004.) Educating Latino children: A Challenge for parents, educators and the Nation (Review of the book: Involving Latino families in schools: Raising student achievement through home school participation .psyc CRITIQUES-Contemporary psychology: APA Review of Books 49(3).
23. Okonkwo, S. C. (2014). Perception of parents on over-schooling of children at the pre-primary education in Onitsha educational zone of Anambra State. Unpublished Project Report for Master of Education in Childhood Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria, p.3
24. Powell, D. R, son, S. file, N. X San Juan, R.R (2010) Parent-school relationships and Children’s academic and Social outcomes in Public School Pre-Kindergarten. Journal of School Psychology, 48(4), 269-292.
25. Reynolds, A. J. Weissberg, R.P., X Kasprow (1992). Prediction of early Social and academic adjustment of childhoodren from the inner city. American Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 599-624.
26. St. Clair, L., Jackson, B., & Zweiback, R. (2012). Six years later: Effect of family involvement training on the language skills of children from migrant families. School Community Journal, 22(1), 9-19.
27. Trotman, M. F. (2001). Involving African-American parents: Recommendations to increase the level of parent involvement in African-American families. Journal of Negro Education, 70,275-285.s
28. Van Voorhis, F. L., Maier, M. F., Epstein, J. L., & Lloyd, C. M. (2013). The impact of family involvement on the education of children ages 3 to 8: A focus on literacy and math achievement outcomes and social-emotional skills. New York, NY: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) p.2
29. Vukovic, R. K., Roberts, S. O. & Wright, L. G. (2013). From Parental Involvement to Children’s Mathematical Performance: The Role of Mathematics Anxiety. Early Education and Development, 24: 446–467
30. Wehlburg, C. (1996). The future of high school: The importance of parent involvement in programs. The High School Journal, 79(2), 125-128.