How to Help Your Child Achieve Their Best in School
If there is one thing that provides reassurance as a parent or carer giver it is that engagement in your child’s learning is major factor in contributing to their long term success both in school and in life. Research shows there are keys ways that you can build engagement and help your child develop their learning capabilities, foster their confidence, craft their resilience and make the most of their potential.
Engagement or involvement in learning?
The focus of this article is on what parents, carers or families can do to foster a positive learning environment and experience through engagement. This is about family-guided learning, the learning that happens outside of school in the home, in the car, or within the community. The focus is on delivering positive home school experiences such as modelling educational values and aspirations, creating a cognitively stimulating home environment, creating a positive environment for homework, or fostering parent-child communication.
This is different to involvement in or with the school. Family-school partnerships are the interactions that take place within the school environment. The focus is on developing positive parent-teacher relationships and involvement within the school community. Quite simply, it is families and schools working together to support the child by promoting interactions that nurture learning.
Although both are important, the research supports the notion that it is family-guided learning and engagement strategies that have the greatest positive impact on student achievement.
Why parental engagement is important - the research!
Over five decades of research consistently tells us that when parents or carers and families can engage in a child’s learning the impact on academic attainment and wellbeing is overwhelmingly positive. The parental role in supporting learning from early childhood onwards underpins cognitive, social and emotional development. Engagement makes a difference! And the greatest impact takes place outside of the school gates by:
positively impacting the experience of schooling by strengthening emotional and social wellbeing
providing a significant point of influence on enhancing academic attainment
attendance increases
homework return rates improve
overall achievement increases
It doesn’t matter who you are, it matters what you do.
Parental and family engagement is the single most influential factor in how and what a child learns making it a powerful predictor of educational attainment and success in school and in life. What is important to note is that the research demonstrates that it matters what parents or families do with their children, not how much money they have, what occupation they hold or what level of education they have. A child will thrive in a confident and supportive home learning environment.
What are the most effective strategies?
Studies demonstrate which are the most effective approaches or strategies for engagement, those that matter the most for positive outcomes. When you look at the list below, you may be heartened to realise that you are already guiding your child’s learning through daily interactions. In fact, a lot of what you do with your child happens incidentally. You are already enhancing language skills when you engage in conversation, or building literacy skills when you read them a bed-time story. And although the ‘how’ of parental or carer engagement may change as they progress through the school years the underlying principle remains the same, and that is your willingness to provide a supportive home environment. We’ll take a look at how things change over the years in this article.
Parental aspirations and high expectations
Parental aspirations and high expectations for academic achievement and participation in further education is identified as the most influential factor in engagement impacting outcomes. Researchers put forward the theory that when a parent or carer articulates expectations around academic achievement they are shaping a child’s beliefs in three ways:
the value their child places on education,
their sense of their own academic capabilities, and
their belief in their academic potential.
This does not mean having expectations that are inflexible or unrealistic. It would unreasonable to expect your child to always be top of the class or to excel in every subject. No child can achieve 100% all the time. Holding unrealistic expectations misses the nuances of learning, that being the understanding that progress and change can be seen over time.
Articulating aspirations and expectations is about sharing your belief in the importance of education and sowing the seeds that will influence the value they place on their education. This is about helping your child understand that their talent or smarts are not fixed but they will continue to learn and grow. By doing so, you encourage persistence in the face of difficulty. Their willingness to keep building their capabilities through effort may well be their greatest learning asset.
2. Reading with your child
Sharing reading time with your child, particularly in the early childhood years, is shown to have a substantial impact on your child’s developing literacy skills. However, reading with your child is not just for the younger years but continues to positively impact outcomes well into the elementary grades. It helps:
build your child’s confidence in their own reading abilities
significantly increases their vocabulary
opens up a world of information and resources building knowledge
makes learning in the classroom easier as their develop sound comprehension skills
inspires a love of reading and the motivation to read supporting the ongoing development of cognitive skills
A child raised in a literacy-rich environment is better prepared to read and more likely to pick up reading skills quickly and easily. You can find out more in our blog post that addresses 9 Reasons Why Reading to Your Kid is Important.
3. Parent-child conversation
The simple act of talking to your child can have a strong influence on their cognitive development and their overall enjoyment of learning. The studies suggest that the content or themes and types of communication does matter. It’s about extending beyond simple instruction (brush your teeth) or closed questions (did you have a good day?) and considering expanding vocabulary, knowledge and critical thinking skills. Consider conversations around:
what your child is learning, what are they interested in, problem-solve around any challenges they may be having
social expectations and navigating relationships
social issues such as what is happening in the news, in science, in culture and don’t be afraid to touch on ‘big ideas’ such as philosophy or ethics as it provides your child a chance to form a logical argument and to articulate and refine an opinion
tell stories, talk about the family history, share your culture, talk about family members and share their stories.
4. Positive homework environment
Engagement in homework does not mean doing homework for your child, it simply means providing the resources that are conducive for completing homework. This may seem challenging in a busy household with limited space and competing distractions but there are things you can do:
Ensure they have an appropriate space for homework with good lighting, an area clearly defined for study that has room for a computer and workbooks. This may be a separate room or it may be a corner of the dinning room table. If they are sharing a general living space or more than one person will require the area for study, you may need to consider a timetable and an element of compromise. You can read more about this here.
Establish clearly defined rules around homework that are consistent with the expectations of the school. Reach out to the school to ensure you understand what is expected for their age level and what is expected for each subject.
Create a positive interaction around homework. Negative interactions linked to punishments, anger, or frustration can diminish motivation, confidence or the important sense of self-efficacy. Homework time can be challenging particularly if your child is tired, feels overwhelmed or is struggling to understand the material. Your child’s teacher is a fabulous resource, reach out if you are not sure how to support your child or you are experiencing homework resistance, or you are concerned about their struggles.
As they age, increasingly support their autonomy and development as independent learners. Enable them to take control of scheduling or meeting deadlines. This will be easier for some children than for others. If you feel confident in facilitating their organisational skills give them a hand. If you are not sure how best to support this essential skill, ask for help, and touch base with their teacher.
5. Cognitively stimulating environment
Research identifies the presence of a cognitively stimulating environment has having a positive impact on outcomes. It enhances self-efficacy around learning and provides the mechanisms to support their motivation to explore and learn. It means:
having a range of resources at home such access to books, music or technology. If it’s not possible to provide this at home, make use of the local library and the school library.
encourage and enable learning around your child’s interests by providing access to books, movies, tv programs, and by engaging in conversations to encourage their enthusiasm
limit screen time
participate in community or cultural events
The key takeaways
How does all of the above translate into improved academic or wellbeing outcomes? The evidence suggests that your parental engagement doesn’t directly impact learning, rather it indirectly influences your child’s orientation toward learning. It influences their beliefs in the importance of education, their motivation to learn and their confidence in their ability to do so.
Belief that learning is important -
Fosters their expectations about their academic capabilities and future educational participation. It creates motivation and engagement in learning which are strong predictors of academic achievement.
Sense of academic confidence through self-efficacy -
They can build a sense of control over their academic competencies by understanding they can influence their progress by putting in the effort. They attribute their success to their own efforts and capabilities, allowing them to persist even when things are challenging. They learn that they can reach out for help if needed.
Skills to advance learning -
Reading to your child to develop literacy, supporting the development of numeracy (read our post on the importance of early childhood numeracy), interacting with your child through considered conversation, fostering their learning strategies (being organised to independently complete homework), these points of engagement essentially builds the skills that will help your child advance their learning.
Engagement over the years
Family-guided learning will evolve to meet the needs of your growing child but it remains vital no matter the age. There are three key stages in brain development that will influence the way you engage with your child.
Birth to 3 years-old
Parental or carer engagement begins before your child attends their first day of school. The early years between birth and three are a period of rapid cognitive, linguistic, social and emotional development. This is the period where providing a language-rich, cognitively stimulating and responsive environment is vital for their development. Simple activities are your engagement strategies:
Talk with your child, listen to their growing conversation and engage as much as you can.
Play together as often as you can. Encourage them to explore, to sing, to share or to problem-solve through play.
Read and count with your child daily.
Involve them in everyday activities from shopping to cooking to getting ready to leave the house.
8 - 11 years
This is yet another time of rapid brain growth and development. Around now your child will start the shift from concrete to abstract thinking. This is also the time when metacognition starts to develop, the monitoring and regulation of their thinking processes. Executive functioning skills emerge such as critical thinking, the ability to plan, problem-solving and impulse control (emerging but not all the way there!). Your engagement strategies will change:
Empower your child to lead their learning. Encourage them to explore interests or to take increased responsibility for completing their homework.
Encourage interests outside of school.
Continue to support literacy and numeracy. You can continue to read to them or perhaps have them read to you. Keep talking numbers.
Support structured routines such as ensuring a regular bedtime for a good night of sleep, or a regular homework time.
Build their independence and sense of responsibility. Encourage them to take responsibility for certain actions such as ensuring their school bag is packed, or their school clothes are ready for the next day.
Show an interest in what they are doing at school, not just academically but socially.
The teenage years - adolescence
Understanding how a teenager’s brain develops will help you support them through all the changes they are experiencing and adjust your engagement strategies.
Adults think with the rational part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex. This is the part of the brain that responds to what is going on around them with an awareness of long-term consequences so that they hopefully employ good judgment.
Teenagers use the amygdala to process information. Put simply, this is the emotional part. Their rational part is not quite fully developed. That won’t happen until around 25 or so. Hence the adolescent brain permits environmental influences to exert effect.
Now that your child is a teen, you’ll have adjusted expectations around their learning. You probably expect your teen to take greater responsibility around their time management and learning outcomes. At this stage, involvement with the school is weaker. The balancing act requires you to remain engaged with their learning, connected to their school while supporting and encouraging their growing autonomy.
Research by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth found that adolescents still desired the unconditional support of their parents and families. They wanted them to understand the pressures they felt. Parents and families can support their teenager through encouragement rather than involvement. At this point:
recognise effort not just achievement
provide practical assistance - maybe reduce expectations around chores during periods of high stress, provide support with time management or help with planning projects
show an interest in what they are learning
show an interest in what they are doing outside of their academic requirements
engage in conversation around school, possible work or career paths
Final practical tips for helping your child achieve at school
Learning matters: A powerful way to promote the value of learning is to demonstrate your willingness to continue to learn. This doesn’t mean you need to enrol in costly courses or invest significant amounts of your time to attain a certificate. It means be interested in gaining knowledge. Read, learn a new skill, or join a club but demonstrate that learning never stops.
Encourage not criticise: As noted, high aspirations and expectations are demonstrated to have a significant influence on outcomes. However, showing frustration or criticising your child if aspirations and expectations are not met can have a detrimental effect by diminishing confidence, reducing motivation and removing persistence in the face of challenge. Remember, the nuances of learning include the capacity for progress and change over time. Focus on effort, contribution and improvement. Work with the school to support your child’s continuous development. Encourage them to aim high, recognise their effort and acknowledge their gains.
Anywhere and any time: Your child can learn anywhere and any time. Support and encourage this through conversation, allow them to explore and give them access to a variety of resources.
Ride the bumps: Your child will develop at their own pace. Some children are early bloomers and some are more ‘steady-as-you-go’ and yet others may mature a little later. Academic improvement is not always straight and steady but sometimes a little bumpy. You will need to ride the bumps and keep the encouragement flowing when things are not quite so easy.
Final word
Helping your child achieve their best in school centers around your engagement in their learning. Providing them with a positive and supportive home learning environment sets the foundations upon which they will continue to build. Provide a continuity of engagement from the early years through to young adulthood. And know that it doesn’t matter who you are but what you do. Engage with your child’s learning and they will reap the benefits.