Role of Community Engagement in Education

This paper is written from multiple perspectives after taking part in a community engagement activity. The three perspectives are all unique in their own way and each is important to the student. The first is from the teacher’s perspective so it will cover things from a more academic point of view. The next is from the parent’s and it will cover things from an adult’s point of view outside of the school. The last perspective is from the leader’s perspective where it will reflect on everything as a whole from a point of view that is outside of the classroom and outside of the house.

A Teacher’s Perspective

Learning to read is one of the most important skills that a student will learn. It is a teacher’s hope that they will learn the skill at home, but due to many different circumstances most students do not. Reading is taught at school and grows in to something more for students who read at home either by themselves or with their families. This skill is important because it aids in a student’s writing ability by enhancing their vocabulary. Students who read more know and understand more words.

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Parents and families can help play a key role in fostering student learning. Communication is one of the ways for them to do so. It will also impact our school and students in a way that it will improve the overall academic achievement levels (Cheema and Kitsantas, 2014). They need to openly communicate with school administrators, teachers, and their student about their school work and what is happening in the school with their student. Parents also need to be aware of how to access or provide learning materials for their child that is appropriate to their grade level and school work.

Parent’s Perspective

 In today’s time students are pushed to think about and work towards their life after high school. They can further their education at different levels such as a four-year university, specific career focused institution, or a technical college. Parents expect for their student to be prepared throughout their middle and high school experiences so that they are best prepared. Technology drives the world today and the job market, parents want their students to have access to that technology so they can prepare themselves for using it in their future. Most parents also want to be actively involved in their student’s life and to help when possible. In today’s time though this is hard because parents have too much pressure and obligations that they are responsible for. Hornby and Lafaele (2011) researched and says that parents are often over-committed with work and their duties at home making it difficult to spare time for teachers. At the high school level this is especially true, time constraints keep them out of the classroom.  At the high school level, the biggest way that a student is involved is electronically through emails, or on the telephone. It is important to work towards trying to get parents in the classroom. Parent partnership and team work in the classroom increases community involvement.

Leader’s Perspective

 At my school I have noticed that parents do not always connect with the curriculum that their child is learning. I teach at a low in come school, in a poverty-stricken part of the county. The parents of the students are not as educated and feel overwhelmed by the curriculum that they student is learning. They do not understand the information, so they are unable to help with the work. As a leader I have to embrace this problem and work harder to communicate with parents and get them involved with the school. Community help and partnership is important to fostering a good school community. In order to get the community involved I have to reach out to small businesses and ask for them to sponsor or donate to clubs and organizations. These can be done different ways such as internship for students, monetary donations, or seminars where their personnel will lead activities for students on campus. Parents can serve on committees that help with policy making at the school. An increased level or parent and community involvement means that the students will be more successful.

 These perspectives all talk about the importance of parent and community involvement and the role that each play on student’s lives at school. The school environment can be drastically changed by parents and community members being involved. It shows students that they are loved, and people want them to succeed and be prepared for life after school.

References

Cheema, J. & Kitsantas, A. (2014). Influences of disciplinary classroom climate on high school student self-efficacy and mathematics achievement: A look at gender and racial-ethnic differences. International Journal of Science & Mathematics Education, 12(5), 1261-1279.

Hornby, G. & Lafaele, R. (2011). Barriers to Parental Involvement in Education. EducationalReview, 63 (1), 37-52