Summary: | Submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree Master of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology of the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2003. === The aim of this study was to pursue an investigation into accountable parental involvement in primary schools
From the literature study it became clear that there are many areas and
possibilities for parents to become formally and informally involved in the
schooling of their primary school children. Formal involvement of parents in
school activities is based on juridical, historical and educational grounds.
Juridically, legislation in South Africa stipulates that parents must be involved
in the school at least at the level of governance. Parents exert a lot of
influence on their child's cognitive development in the early years and thus the
contact between home and school should be maintained, especially during the
primary school years, if the child is to succeed in formal schooling.
For the purpose of the empirical investigation a self-structured questionnaire,
to be completed by primary school educators, was utilised. The completed
questionnaires were analysed using descriptive statistics.
In conclusion a summary was presented on the findings of the literature and
empirical study and the following are some of the recommendations that were
made:
• Positive attitudes must be inculcated in parents to become
actively involved in their children's formal schooling.
• Educators and parents must be trained to offer parental
involvement programmes.
Further research should be conducted concerning the
accountability of parents regarding their involvement in primary schools.
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