Parental Parental Involvement and Professional Trends & Practices in Higher Education: An Islamic Module for Internship Progressiveness

Education is the most important phase in human life. It begins from teaching of parents to tutors and then institutions to society. Parents are the fore-most; oldest and ever-remaining character in learning and developmental process and modern research admitted that they have a very crucial role in human development. Capitalist behaviour camouflaged this crucial role to conceal the mistakes and emotional deficiency of educational management. Administration put a board “No parents beyond this point” to stop communication of parents with children and teachers. They invaded many practices in educational administrative circle to snub the parents so that they can draw more financial benefits in the name of modern and quality education. Modern researches and worthy teaching of Semitic religions are bluntly saying that involvement of parents is very productive and effective in not only general learning process but also in professional development. Parents, especially in Eastern countries, are sufficiently unaware with the practices of their involvement in Professional Development Process (PDP) of their children specifically in Higher education. Researches in Education developed many modules of parental involvement in educational spheres like Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Home School Project (HSP), Second Educators (SEs), Home Visiting Scheme (HVS), Home University Agreement (HUA) and Parents-Student Internship Project (P-SIP). This article discussed critically and annalistically the importance of P-SIP and its module to convey the wholesome picture of parental involvement in learning process for professional development in higher education. Resultantly, any institution can adopt this module to implement it into its system for a productive learning output.

Utilization of Financial Resources and Development of School Facilities and Services for Students and Teachers of Esperanza National High School

This study is a descriptive correlational study which determined the impact of the utilization of financial resources on the development of school facilities and services for students and teachers. Teachers, Supreme Student Council (SSG) Officers, class mayors, student athletes, Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) Officers, disbursing officer, bookkeeper and supply officer were the respondents of this study. They gave a reliable information regarding the utilization of financial resources. Findings revealed that Maintence and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), Special Education Fund (SEF) and other financial resources were well implemented and the development they have given to the school facilities and services for students and teachers was very satisfactory. Effective utilization of MOOE increased the positive perceptions of the respondents about the welfare and development of school facilities and services for students and teachers in terms of academic achievement and other school performance indicators. Thus, MOOE and SEF should be utilized according to the approved budget where the teachers, PTA officers and School Governing Council (SGC) members will be part of the budget hearing. School administrators should involve all the teachers and some stakeholders in budget planning and implementation and should follow the budget specifications in planning and implementation to avoid diversion of funds.

Parental Involvement and Pupils’ Academic Performance in the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana

Studies have shown that pupils’ academic performance is not only determined by their parents’ socio-economic status but also parental involvement in the education processes. The study, therefore, examined the socio-economic status of parents and its influence on pupils’ academic performance looking at the role of parental involvement in that relationship. With Walberg’s theory of educational productivity as a lens, the findings were based on surveys with 120 pupils selected randomly from Kwaprow Basic School and 10 and 5 interviews with parents and teachers respectively. The study found that parents’ education did not significantly affect students’ academic performance. Parents were not assisting their children in their academic activities including failure to attend Parent-Teacher Association meetings and not assisting them with homework. This was largely attributed to parental low educational level. However, with a 0.045, 0.028, 0.041 and 0.036, as p-values, the study showed that there was a statistically significant relationship between parental involvement, occupation and family size and academic performance of pupils. In order to improve students’ academic performance, the study recommended that the Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) should intensively sensitise parents on the need to involve themselves in their wards’ education so as to aid them to perform better academically.

Assessment of the Functionality of Parent-Teacher Association in Public Secondary Schools in Ondo State, Nigeria

The study assessed the functionality of the Parent-Teacher Association in Public Secondary Schools in Ondo State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was adopted. The 304 Public Secondary Schools in the state were the main population while 20 secondary schools, 220 government-employed and full-time teachers (males and females) were the targets. 4 questions were raised and 3 hypotheses formulated for the study. Samples were drawn using multi-stage, stratified, and simple-random sampling techniques. Data were collected using a 20-item questionnaire, validated and tested for reliability. Data were analyzed using tables, frequency count, and percentages while the hypotheses were tested using chi-square statistic (x2). It was found among others that there was no significant difference in the perception of principals and teachers, female and male teachers, female and male principals, on the functionality of the Parent-Teacher Association in the schools. It is recommended among others that the government should ensure that the Parent-Teacher Association is made functional and effective in all secondary schools, should be more involved in the administration and financing of schools while there should be an execution of standard projects related to an academic pursuit in schools.

The Extent of Involvement of Parent Teacher Association in the Management of Primary Schools in Gaborone Broadhurst, Botswana

This study investigated the extent of Parent Teacher Associations’(PTA) involvement in the management of Broadhurst primary schools in Gaborone. To achieve this objective three research questions were developed. The study adopted a descriptive survey type of research design. A sample of 313 was drawn from the population of 1736 out of 8 primary schools in Broadhurst, Gaborone. A random sampling technique was used to select participants from parents and teachers. A structured questionnaire titled “Extent of PTA involvement in Primary School Management” was used for data collection. The instruments were validated by a panel of experts. A reliability coefficient of .76 was obtained from trial testing of parents and teachers rating of extent of PTA involvement in the management primary school. Data collected was analysed descriptively for means and standard deviations. The study indicated that PTA involvement in school management is low on issues of maintaining desirable behaviour in schools and fund raising activities. It is however significant (mean 2.52) which is above the criterion mean of 2.50 when it comes to improvement of academic performance. The study concluded that the PTA involvement in management of schools benefits learners as Gaborone region was rated among the best performing in Botswana. It was therefore recommended that policies and guidelines governing PTA should be developed by Ministry of Basic Education and Training to maximise the benefits of this collaboration.

Parental Involvement in Secondary School Curriculum Implementation: The Case of East Wollega Zone, Ethiopia

This study assesses the practices of parental involvement in curriculum implementation in East Wollega Zone in Ethiopia. To this end, a cross-sectional survey was designed. The data were collected from randomly selected teachers, students, Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) members, school principals, parents and supervisors through questionnaires and interview. Then, the quantitative data were analyzed and interpreted through frequency and mean score and the qualitative data were coded and narrated thematically. The findings indicated that the involvement of parents in general secondary schools curriculum implementation in East Wollega Zone was found to be low. However, efforts of the PTAs in having parents for planning and decision-making of curriculum implementation was high. The major challenges were inadequate school facility, inadequate training, parent’s lack of awareness, lack of good governance, and the unwillingness of teachers. To increase parental involvement, general secondary schools, woreda and zone education offices may train stakeholders, allocate adequate budget and schools should design an income-generating mechanism to fulfil school facilities and making parents active in curriculum implementation.