Educational Learning with Alex!

Podcast Episode #14

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Alex:
Hello everyone! I hope everyone finds themselves well on this fine day. Welcome back to
“Educational Learning with Alex!”, where we discuss all things educational. From tips and tricks
for learning and studying, to important aspects in education. As always, to discuss the topic of
the day, I bring in some guests and today’s are some very highly educated people. Also, before
we begin, I just want to say thank you to all my listeners for joining us today, and if you’re a
parent, keep your ears open, as today’s podcast is for you!

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Alrighty. Here with me, I have 5 fine scholars and together, we will be discussing…

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Parental involvement!

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But more specifically, how being involved in your child’s education affects their academic
achievements. But first, let’s start off by going around and everyone introducing themselves.
Aysel, please do us the honor of starting us off.

Aysel Ates:
Okay, um, hello everyone. My name is Aysel Ates. I am a doctor of education at the ministry of
national education in Turkey. I’m very excited to be here.

Alexius Minji:
Hello to you all. I am Alexius Minji and I am a graduate student at Marquette University. Thank
you for having me here.

Faisal Al-Maamari:
Uh-hello. My name is Faisal Al-Maamari. I am an assistant lecturer and the deputy director for
Professional Development and research at the Language Centre in Sultan Qaboos University.
Fatma Ozmen:
Hi everyone! My name is Fatma Ozmen. I am a professor at Trakya University and I’m happy to
be here and discuss with you all today.

Wei-Bing Chen:
Hello. I am Wei-Bing Chen. I am a graduate assistant at the University of Virginia. My research
focuses on the cultural context of schooling which includes parental involvement.

Alex:
Alright, thank you everyone for introducing themselves. Now that we know a little about
everyone, let’s get down to business. So, as a parent, how does being involved in your child’s
education actually affect their achievements?

Aysel Ates:
Do you mind if I can start it off?

Alex:
Go right ahead!

Aysel Ates:
Well, for my research, I was determining what out-of-school factors were important for
educational success. Since most students spend the majority of their time with family, I decided
to focus primarily on the relationship between parental involvement and their students’ academic
success. In this research, I determined that the more parents are involved in their children’s
education, the more it provides a suitable environment for learning as well as a positive
relationship with education.

Alex:
Interesting. And what are ways that parents can be involved in their child’s learning? Is it just
like sitting down with them to do their homework alongside them?

Wei-Bing Chen:
If I may–

Alex:
Please do!
Wei-Bing Chen:
I found that there are three methods in which parents can show their engagement. There’s direct
parental participation, encouragement of positive good behaviors, and setting expectations for
achievements. The first is like what you said about sitting down and doing homework with your
kid. The second is…uhh… say your child got a good grade on a test. To reward them, you take
them out for ice cream and that encourages them to continue doing a good job. And the third is
like telling them they should strive for a certain GPA. That right there sets a goal for them to
work towards.

Aysel Ates:
Yes, that is an excellent point. If I could add on, very contrary to popular belief, parental
involvement does not decrease as the school level of the child increases. Usually what happens is
that the method a parent uses usually shifts. So for an elementary level child, the majority of
parents use the direct method, and as they grow into high school level, parents tend to shift to the
third method.

Wei-Bing Chen:
Yes exactly! Especially for college students, those who have communicative support from their
parents perform with higher results!

Alex:
Wow, this is so interesting! It just goes to show just how important the role of a parent is.

Alexius Minji:
If I may… In my research regarding the impact of parental involvement on children’s
achievement, it was clear that parents tend to be the most influential and important people in a
child’s education, development, and success. Considering that the majority of a student’s waking
time is normally controlled by parents – especially during their elementary school years – they
are the ones who know how to cater to their child’s needs best.

Faisal Al-Maamari:
If I could interrupt, although I agree that parents are important overall, I have to disagree with
your statement that they are the most important person.

Alex:
Oooooh and why is that?

Faisal Al-Maamari:
Well, I studied the Omani people in the Arabian Peninsula and I’ve found that the parents believe
teachers are actually the most important educators in a child's life. The way Omani people see it,
these teachers studied for this specific profession and thus, are more suitable to be guiding a
child’s education. Many parents would simply follow what the teacher would instruct – regarding
homework and such – because whatever a teacher says, goes.

Alexius Minji:
It’s actually very interesting that you say that. In my research, I was also looking at barriers of
parental involvement. And I found that, in a way, American schools are actually adopting the
same mindset. Before I go on, if you don’t mind me asking, during your time with the Omani
people, did you observe if the teachers and parents communicated on how to proceed with the
child’s learning at home?

Faisal Al-Maamari:
Yes actually. The teachers would frequently communicate with student’s parents to share what
they should be doing at home to continue their education outside of the classroom.

Alexius Minji:
I see… Well, that right there is a very big difference between them and how it’s being
formulated here in the US. Rather than seeing it as respect towards the teacher's input, American
parents are starting to believe that the job of education has been delegated to schools. So, many
parents are starting to not get involved as much. What’s even worse is that educators see parent
involvement as an interference with their job. Because of this, parents and teachers do not
communicate. If they do, it’s only done when absolutely necessary.

Alex:
Wow… that’s very shocking to hear. I used to think that my parents were like what you just
described Alexius: not playing a big part because they thought it was the teacher's job. But now
I’m realizing my parents actually had a similar mindset to the Omani’s. They just assumed that
since there were no complaints in report cards or at parent teacher conferences that the teachers
knew what they were doing.

Fatma Ozmen:
If I could speak on this, that is actually another big factor in a child’s education. The
communication between teachers and parents is often overlooked as well because many people
tend to focus on either one or the other. In your case Alex, may I assume that your parents got
along with your teachers overall?

Alex:
Yes actually! I would always get good grades so my parents figured that my teachers were doing
something right. And in parent-teacher conferences, there wasn’t a single instance where they
disagreed on something or clashed at all!
Fatma Ozmen:
Exactly! Because your parents and your teachers would see eye to eye on your education and
progress, you didn’t have opposing forces telling you to do something in different ways – which
for a developing child may cause stress – and thus, you and your education were able to thrive!

Alex:
Wow! It’s very intriguing to know how my parent’s involvement really did affect my schooling.
This discussion is really opening my eyes to so many things! Before we go, I just wanted to ask
one last question. Going back to something that was mentioned in the beginning, how is having
your parents being involved create a more suitable environment for learning?

Wei-Bing Chen:
That’s actually a very interesting topic Alex. In my study, I found that students who reported
having involved parents would feel that their teachers cared about them more. It would lead them
to care more about their education overall because they would feel supported at home and at
school. It also caused them to have a more positive relationship with school in general.

Alexius Minji:
To add on, it’s especially important for parents to be involved during a child’s years in
elementary school. In a survey I conducted, I found that fifth grade students who had greater
parental involvement in homework reported a more positive attitude towards school. And this
early on view is what usually influences how they feel about school in their teen years.

Aysel Ates:
Yes and also, students who have parental support are more likely to attend school daily and
aspire to higher lengths when it comes to their education.

Wei-Bing Chen:
Exactly!

Alex:
This was all so interesting to hear and learn! So, from my understanding of today’s discussion,
being involved as a parent positively affects your child’s relationship with their education
overall. It encourages them to attend school more frequently and have a better relationship with
their teachers. There are also some factors that contribute to it such as the method of involvement
practiced by parents and the relationship between teacher and parents. But, these factors are
mostly reliant and build off of the support system at home. Sounds about right to everyone?
Wei-Bing Chen:
Yup!

Alexius Minji:
Right!

Faisal Al-Maamari:
Mhm!

Aysel Ates:
Exactly!

Fatma Ozmen:
You got it!

Alex:
Well we’re about up on time, so let’s wrap this up.

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Thank you all so much for taking the time to join us here today and discuss this very interesting
topic. And a very big thank you to all my supporters out there who tuned in with us on
“Educational Learning with Alex!”. Stay tuned for next week’s episode, where we’re going to
find out if studying while working out actually works. I hope you all enjoyed today’s discussion
and learned something new. Until next time!

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Al-Maamari, F. (n.d.). Omani parents’ involvement in their children’s English education.

Aysel Ates:, A. (2020, November 30). The relationship between parental involvement in
education and academic achievement: A meta-analysis study. Pegem Journal of Education
and Instruction. Retrieved March 5, 2023, from
https://eric.ed.gov/?q=parental%2Binvolvement&ff1=dtyIn_2021&id=EJ1305014

Chen, W.-bing. (n.d.). Parental Involvement as a ProtectiveFactor During the Transition to

Minji, A. (n.d.). Marquette University // be the difference. Retrieved March 6, 2023, from
https://www.marquette.edu/library/theses/already_uploaded_to_IR/minj_a_1999.pdf

Ozmen, F. (n.d.). The communication barriers between teachers and parents in primary ... -
ed. Retrieved March 6, 2023, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1149130.pdf