Parents want to learn

published:28 Oct 2008

First published in Teaching - GTC magazine Autumn 2008

Many parents think it is improtant to be involved in their child's learning. according to a study conducted by research firm BMRB for the GTC. But parents don't think they have the range of knowledge and skills needed to engage fully with their child's education.

In 'engagement' parents undertake to learn about learning so that they can help thier child achieve. This contrasts with 'involvement', which included activities like going to parents' evenings and helping with homework.

Most parents in the study were happy to be involved, but felt there were barriers preventing them from being fully engaged. These included practical issues, sucj as time, negative reactions from their child - particularly from secondary parents - and concern about their own skills.

Across social backgrounds, primary parents found methods used to teach maths unfamiliar - though they praised the 'open door' policies of primaries - whilst secondary parents felt it was difficult to keep up with their child's learning. Both groups were interested in sessions run by teachers that would enable them to understand the curriculum, teaching methods and how children learn.

Previous GTC research with teachers showed that they strongly agreed that parents had a positive impact on achievement and thought that teachers and parents should work in partnership. However, a notable minority of teachers reported that they had limited experience engaging parents in some of the ways that teachers value the most.