Parent experiences of their parental engagement in the early grades

Abstract

This qualitative research study explores and describes parents’ experiences of their engagement in their children’s formal education within the early grades by looking to understand the importance of developing accountable partnership relationships between the school and the parent. The importance of parental engagement in a child’s life has been well documented in the literature and has been linked to positive academic achievement, self-esteem, school attendance, work performance, and improved social behaviour of children. The literature suggests that there are numerous role-players in the parental engagement process, such as the parent, the educator and the learner. Three primary schools in the Pretoria area were identified as research sites, where 19 participants took part in the study. This study relied on a qualitative interpretivist paradigm that allowed me to understand the meaning that parents assign to their experiences of parental engagement within the early grades. The theoretical framework of Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (2005) guided the research study. The data collection instruments that were used, namely semi-structured interviews, observations, and artefacts (which include collages and the biographical data profile), allowed me to gain an in-depth perspective of the parents’ experiences of their engagement within the early grades. The data were transcribed and coded to compile the themes and sub-themes that emerged from the data. These data assisted me in answering the primary and secondary research questions. From the study it became evident that the parents valued parental engagement and that they wanted to be engaged in their children’s education in the early grades through their individual motivational beliefs, their perception of invitations for involvement from others, and their perceived life context. Schools need to adapt to accommodate parents’ life contexts in order to promote their children’s achievements by providing training to parents on how to become actively engaged and by providing alternative means of communication between the school and the parent.

Afrikaans: Hierdie kwalitatiewe navorsingstudie word ouers se ervaringe van hul betrokkenheid in hul kinders se formele onderwys in die vroeë grade ondersoek en beskryf deur die belangrikheid van die ontwikkeling van verantwoordbare vennootskapsverhoudinge tussen die skool en die ouer te verstaan. Die belangrikheid van ouerbetrokkenheid in ’n kind se lewe is goed gedokumenteer in die literatuur en is gekoppel aan positiewe akademiese prestasie, selfbeeld, skoolbywoning, werksprestasie en verbeterde sosiale gedrag van kinders. Die literatuur stel voor dat daar verskeie rolspelers in die ouerbetrokkenheidsproses is, soos die ouer, die onderwyser en die leerder. Drie laerskole in die Pretoria-omgewing is geïdentifiseer as navorsingspersele, waar 19 deelnemers aan die studie deelgeneem het. Hierdie studie was afhanklik van ’n kwalitatiewe interpretatiewe paradigma wat my toegelaat het om die betekenis wat ouers aan hul ervaringe van ouerbetrokkenheid in die vroeë grade heg te verstaan. Die teoretiese raamwerk van Hoover-Dempsey en Sandler (2005) het die navorsingstudie gelei. Die data-insamelingsinstrumente wat gebruik is, naamlik semigestruktureerde onderhoude, waarnemings en artefakte (wat collages en die biografiese dataprofiel insluit), het my in staat gestel om ’n diepgaande perspektief op die ouers se ervaringe van hul betrokkenheid binne die vroeë grade te kry. Die data is verwerk om die temas en subtemas wat uit die data na vore gekom het op te stel. Hierdie data het my gehelp om die primêre en sekondêre navorsingsvrae te beantwoord.