The idea of parental participation in school activities is to learn about their children’s learning development progress. It also gives them an insight into their kids’ abilities which helps them to understand the approach to take to promote their development of those abilities that are school related (Chairatchatakul et al., 2012). At the same time, they also become familiar with the goals and functions of the school and can offer their support with such an understanding. Besides, teachers are able to understand the goals of the parents and how they view their children as well as their outlook for the school.
Parental involvement in school is mainly attached to the academic performance of their children (Robinson, 2013). To facilitate this, schools are now using social media to get parents involved more considering the efficiency involved. Technology is facilitating this as schools use software that allows parents to monitor the progress of their children from any location. With such technological advancements, parents can get involved in the academic lives of their children by linking to the software and learning everything that their child has been up to in the class as well as other school activities.
As opposed to the traditional system where schools have to reach parents most of the time to discuss academic issues, social media now allows parents to become actively involved in the matters of the school and contribute directly towards making them a better place for their children (Hughes and Burke, 2014). By this, parents can communicate with the school administration and get the necessary feedback from the social media which helps them to know what the school management is thinking and the plans it has in store for their kids. This means that social media can help parents greatly in their involvement in school as they get to participate actively in both their children’s development (Parsons, and Schroder, 2015). They also get to understand the school management and the plans they have for their students.
- Chairatchatakul, A., Jantaburom, P., & Kanarkard, W. (August, 2012). Using Social Media to Improve a Parent-School Relationship. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, Vol. 2, No. 4. Retrieved from http://www.ijiet.org/papers/157-T072.pdf
- Hughes, J. & Burke, A. (2014). The digital principal: how to encourage a technology-rich learning environment that meets the needs of teachers and students. Markham, Ontario, Canada: Pembroke Publishers.
- Parsons, J. & Schroder, M. (2015). Tools for teaching social studies: a how-to handbook of useful ideas and practical solutions. Edmonton, Alberta: Brush Education Inc.
- Robinson, H. (2013). Let’s Get Social: Using Social Media to Increase Parent Involvement. Bloomington, IN: Booktango