Parental Involvement Key to Implementation of Education Transformation Commission Report

Parental involvement will be crucial in the implementation of the recommendations outlined in the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission (JETC) report, says Chief Transformation Officer in the Ministry of Education and Youth, Dr. Faith Alexander.

The report, produced by the Professor Orlando Patterson-chaired Commission provides a blueprint for establishing a comprehensive strategy to improve student performance and educational productivity across the sector.

It is focused on transformation in seven thematic areas – governance, administration, leadership and legislation; early-childhood education; curriculum, teaching and teacher training; the tertiary sector; Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET); infrastructure and technology; and finance.

Speaking at a parent-training and information session hosted by the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC) on Thursday (August 3) at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston, Dr. Alexander said that several researchers have noted that schools with strong family engagement and parental involvement are 10 times more likely to improve student learning outcomes.

She said that parental involvement also leads to reduced absenteeism and promotes better behaviour among children.

“Simply put, absenteeism negatively affects social-emotional learning. It also causes a reduction in academic performance. Studies have proven that as students miss classes, their academic performance declines. The children being absent can also lead to them dropping out of school… . If you look at those unattached young men, most of them who are doing the crimes are teenagers; they are babies who lack parental involvement,” she pointed out.

Dr. Alexender noted, further, that parental engagement leads to increased student achievement and improved parent and teacher satisfaction.

“Communication is key. Teachers will feel respected; they will feel appreciated and, of course, it’s a win-win,” she pointed out.

She noted that “through this new paradigm in transformation, we as a collective want to educate and engage our parents in the transformation process by continuing the conversation about the importance of parental involvement, how to create a favourable learning environment and ways to track your child’s progress in the classroom.

“We also want to continue the conversation about how to guide your child to create academic goals. We also want to engage open communication and dialogue, which can only help in building trust between you as parents and their teachers,” she added.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of the NPSC, Kaysia Kerr, noted that the Commission continues its efforts to empower parents across the length and breadth of Jamaica.

She said the family is the bedrock of society, and when it fails everything else crumbles.

“We want you to be involved. We want you to know what the curriculum is asking; we want you to know what behaviours your children are displaying at school; we want you to know what their interests are because what you think they should be and what their natural gifts are may not be the same,” Miss Kerr said.