I’m doing a case analysis about families and community influence in learning the

information will be gathered from multiple researches findings that will assist me completing

full informed case analysis. This is for my course building learning community the code of

this subject is ECE 3703; the article that I chose is about ‘’The Influence Of Parent And

Community Involvement On Local School Councils In Massachusetts’’ this research has

been done in Massachusetts that is located in New England region of the northeastern United

States in Feb-2009. The study was implemented for moreover nine months in three different

schools and communities, the research article purpose was to provide understanding of

parent’s role and their relationship with enhancing student achievements through building

effective relationship with the school community and the data was collected for University of

Massachusetts – Amherst. The main idea is about showing the strong bound between family

and community involvement that school council is responsible for and higher achievements

with positive outcomes of the students. Although, the aim of the study is provide

opportunities to educate the parents about their importance role in involving through school

community in varies methods such as, parents meeting and volunteer for classroom activities

or school activity and more other forms of involvement that builds effective communication

between the family of the student and the school environment and that is the role of the

school council (Stein, 2014).

The research questions for this article is based on ecological system theory that

consist of setting that affect developing the individuals, Bronfenbrenner describe the

connection that include the child, and the microsystem describe the family and the school,

and mesosystem is the connection between the family and school that have indirect effects on
child’s development, while the exosystem refers to the community that influence the child

either directly or through the parents (Stein, 2014). Which means the theory describes the

factors and relationships that influence the child development and learning. Each aspect of

the student surrounding is important and has a great effect on his developing and learning.

The social influence and culture difference take a huge responsibility. There are three

questions consider to be important to my case analysis the first question is, ‘’what is the

influence of parent and community membership on the goal of the school council? The

second question is what types of parent involvement are evident in each school? While the

last question is what the major challenges are for school councils? For further information

about the first question, the school council is ring connection between teachers and parents or

other teachers to exchange developed and helpful methods that aims to enrich student

knowledge in the school and encourage parents to socialize with other parents to extend their

knowledge about their experience for example they can discuss the difficulties with other

parents and share goals for children social and cognitive development, so that indicates of the

importance of the school council. Also it will give parents and teachers opportunity to

identify each other point of view in the end they will collaborate on a goal that serves the

pupils developing. According to Parental School Involvement and Children’s Academic

Achievement article emphasizes that parental involvement promotes positive academic

experience for children and enhance self-development in parenting skills. In addition the

article include two main major mechanisms, the first one is increasing social capital which

define the parents social interaction with each other and the second mechanisms is social

control which define the school members with tutors reaching and developing their goal of

enhancing children academic behaviour (Nancy E. Hill1 and Lorraine C. Taylor2, 1989).

The second research question is about the types of parent involvement in each school, during

children’s development stages the studies of my article found that parents tend to focus just
on early years childhood and they lose involvement in school community over years because,

they think their children became more responsible about their own actions and mature

enough, there are many forms of involvement that parents can contributes in school

community. The article conclude three main types of parent involvement evident in each and

every school; behaviour, cognitive-intellectual and personal involvement. The behaviour

involvement refers to parents activities by attending parent-teacher conference, join to school

events and helping their children with their homework’s, cognitive involvement is providing

a real experience outside the school building such as taking them to museum. While the

personal involvement refers to the ability of the parents keeping up with their children

updates in school (Stein, 2014). And the last research questions is identify the major

challenges in school council, that depends on parents financial state and their circumstances,

According to Parent Involvement article there are Epstein's six major types of involvement

that consider to be challenge for school member such as parenting, communicating,

volunteering, learning at home, decision making and collaboration with the community. The

real struggle is not finding time for planning and implementing in addition lack of money and

poor administrator support, other struggles were in addressing the workshop information to

parents who could not attend because of their circumstances, finding ways to improve

communication (Stein, 2014), (Kathleen Cotton and Karen Reed Wikelund , 1989).

The article that I have chosen is deeply related in few findings to the U.A.E, for

example According to Dubai American Academy they provide a parental engagement

program, the purpose of this program is extend student progress through events that combines

parents such as sports or cultural fairs, educate the parents about the value of their role and

engagement with providing opportunity to join classes anytime for further knowledge about

the modern teaching and learning and attend workshops and meetings. Which means parents

with special circumstances can attend anytime to involve in school classes (Education, 2016).
 Moreover, according to Parent Involvement In Education article finding ‘’All the

research studies which address these areas found that parent involvement has positive effects

on student attitudes and social behavior’’ (Kathleen Cotton and Karen Reed Wikelund ,

1989). But the main struggle in the U.A.E kind of different because the parents with special

circumstances are few although they have no time for attending school events or meetings

and that is because several factors, According to The National newspaper ‘’ Modern parents

face many distractions in their daily lives and are too often caught up with their work, friends,

the internet and social media’’ (Almazroui, 2014). All of these distractions effect on children

development in their attitude social behaviour and for sure their academic achievements in

their future academic success through life. In general, according to Importance of Early

Childhood Education most working families need to understand how family involvement is

very beneficial for the child at first place, the family and the school community, for example

the child will get higher grads and better presence and more positive behaviour and attitudes.

And the family benefit as they increasing the confidence in themselves. And the teachers with

school community will benefit from the appreciation that will be given from the parents that

shows their value, all of the parents in U.A.E must be aware of their role in school

community involving because it determines the fate of their children (About parent

Involvement,n.d.)
 References

About Parent Involvement. (n.d.). Retrieved from hct:

https://mylearn.hct.ac.ae/bbcswebdav/pid-10596046-dt-content-rid-
16612874_1/courses/201810_13692/AboutParentInvolvement_Epstein.pdf

Almazroui, A. (2014). The National . Parents must be more involved in their children's lives, 6

Education, G. (2016, November 20). Parent Engagment Program Dubai American Academy .
Retrieved September 19, 2018, from GEMS Parental Engagment programme:
https://mylearn.hct.ac.ae/bbcswebdav/pid-10645104-dt-content-rid-
16669697_1/courses/201810_13692/3%29%20Articles%202%20to%205%20-
%20Building%20Learning%20Communities%20Articles%20on%20Parental%20Engag
ement.pdf

Kathleen Cotton and Karen Reed Wikelund . (1989). multiculturaleducole. Parent

Involvement in Education, 1-4.

Nancy E. Hill1 and Lorraine C. Taylor2. (1989). Parental School Involvement and Children’s
Academic Achievement. Pragmatics and Issues, 1-10.

Stein, L. B. (2014). University of Massachusetts Amherst. The Influence Of Parent And

Community Involvement On Local School Councils In Massachusetts, 1-126.