Parent Involvement in Elementary Language Arts: A Program Model.

Parent Involvement in Elementary Language Arts: A Program Model. Get those parents involved!



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"Parent involvement" is fast becoming a hot topic. Teaching periodicals, parent magazines, newspapers, and even television talk shows and special broadcasts are emphasizing the impact parents make in educating their children. Topics include hints on effective communication at conference time, tips for establishing study skills and habits at home, and information on how to use parents effectively as volunteers in the classroom (Vukelich, 1984).



A potential limitation with the teacher-parents involvement suggestions described in some articles is that even though they may be worthwhile, they often lack an overall organization that allows teachers to plan and develop principled programs for parents (Becher, 1986; Becher, 1984; Vukelich, 1984). Many well-meaning, dedicated teachers approach parent involvement as an "afterthought" that may lack purposeful implementation. Parent involvement, in this sense, is not seen as part of the curriculum. A general format may help to eliminate wasted effort and guide the development of an organized approach to parent involvement--a parent involvement program that is integrated into the language arts curriculum.



DIMENSIONS OF INVOLVEMENT



Petit (1980) attempts to organize the various dimensions of parent involvement. Petit specifies three levels or degrees of increasing parent involvement: (1) monitoring, (2) informing, and (3) participation.