Expert reiterates importance of parental involvement in education

There is evidence that parental involvement in their children’s learning and school from birth through high school increases the children’s chances of earning higher grades, attend school regularly and graduate to go on to post secondary education.

Delivering the keynote address at the Supreme Education Council Annual Symposium entitled “Parents: Partners in Education” Dr. Heather Weiss, Founder and Director of Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) said, “You need great schools and hardworking teachers but you also need strong parental involvement for best academic performance of children.”

Dr. Weiss went on to stress that there are three important aspects of parent involvement from birth through high school: Parenting – attitudes, values, interactions and practices of child rearing; Home-school relationships: formal and informal connections, and partnerships with the child’s school and teachers and; Shared parent-school responsibility for the child’s learning and education.

During her opening speech HE Sheikha Al Mahmoud, the Minister of Education and Secretary General of the Supreme Education Council said “parents are the most important element of society and they constitute the key stakeholders because they are the fathers and mothers of the most important aspect and main focus in the educational process - its students.” She added that family, school and community must work hand-in-hand for better student achievement outcomes.

While going through the different levels of parental involvement, Dr. Weiss said that children tend to require less support from their parents as they become teenagers for need of self-reliance and less outreach from the schools themselves.

Mr. Ajlan Al Enazi, a member of the board of trustees at Qatar Educational Complex for Girls shared his experience as a board member and a parent that is helping influence the operation and ensuring quality at the school. Boards of trustees are advisory and quality assurance bodies comprising elected representatives of the school’s stakeholders and local community.

Following the event, Dr. Weiss met with members of the independent school Boards of Trustees to continue the dialogue and discuss the role boards could play in engaging parents.

Parents: Partners in Education is the fifth symposium held by the Supreme Education Council since Education for a New Era was launched. The annual symposium brings together leading international experts from around the world, with Qatari experts, to address the most important, timely and cutting-edge education issues. Previous symposiums have focused on creativity, technology in education and international assessments.

As part of the symposium, HE Sheikha Al Mahmoud inaugurated an exhibition of all 72 independent schools held outside Al Majlis Ballroom at the Sheraton.