Parents main source of advice for young people [educationmatters.ie]
- Published: 17 January 2011
An in-depth study by the ESRI, involving parents of senior cycle students, reveals that 25pc of parents feel teachers are not very approachable.
The new report seeks to address the deficit of knowledge regarding the way parents themselves view their level of involvement in their children’s education.
‘Behind the Scenes?’ by Delma Byrne and Emer Smyth is the most comprehensive study to date on this subject. It draws on surveys and in-depth interviews with parents of senior cycle students, as well as insights from school personnel.
Main findings include:
- One in four parents believes their children’s teachers are not very approachable;
- One in six parents feels that the schools do not want them involved;
- Formal involvement in the parents’ council or board of management is confined to a small group of parents, usually those with higher levels of educational qualifications;
- Working class parents with lower levels of education tend to have less formal contact with the school than other social groups; where they do have contact, it is more likely to be in response to difficulties with their child’s behaviour or lack of educational progress.
