Family and community play a special role in children’s lives; their influence leads to academic success and life in general. For these reasons, it is important that they be part of the children’s learning journey. They help shape children, influence their socialization, impart skills and values, as well as enhance their sense of security (usgovACF, 2015). Family, in particular, greatly influences the child’s behavioral adjustment, language, and cognition in schools. In addition, they contribute to the development of daily living skills, which help the children to cope with emerging changes as they grow (Hughes et al., 2017). These factors are critical in a children’s readiness for school life and building a robust child-parent relationship. The parents also get to understand the children’s performance, school experience, and any issues that might need to be addressed.
Schools should engage with other stakeholders to assist with the appropriate learning systems. These partnerships have a vast understanding of children’s learning needs based on the extensive research, experience, and data they have collected over time and from a wide range of sources. This kind of collaboration introduces and incorporates important aspects of children’s learning systems that are not readily available in schools (Farrell et al., 2018). In addition, regarding a child’s readiness for school, it is important to build family influence in community engagement. Families are empowered to be advocates and leaders in contributing to important changes in the community regarding their children’s education (Epstein, 2018). Bringing parents on board with the community enables them to speak as one voice that will positively influence the school system. The significant impact of involvement in child readiness for school is family well-being since they are contented with their children’s development; it also strengthens the child-parent relationships (usgovACF, 2015). Moreover, it empowers parents to champion their children’s educational needs.
References
Epstein, J. L. (2018). School, family, and Community Partnerships in teachers’ professional work. Journal of Education for Teaching, 44(3), 397–406. Web.
Farrell, C. C., Coburn, C. E., & Chong, S. (2018). Under what conditions do school districts learn from external partners? The role of Absorptive Capacity. American Educational Research Journal, 56(3), 955–994. Web.
Hughes, C., White, N., Foley, S., & Devine, R. T. (2017). Family support and gains in school readiness: A longitudinal study. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 88(2), 284–299. Web.
usgovACF. (2015). Family and Community Partnerships for School Readiness [Video]. YouTube. Web.