“The literature suggests that among the non-school factors of school achievement like socioeconomic background, parent’s educational attainment, family structure, ethnicity and parental involvement, it is the latter which is the most strongly connected to attainment.” It has long been known that parental involvement is a powerful tool for enhancing pupil achievement and most schools here and elsewhere try to devise ways of involving parents. (See “Engaging Parents in Raising Achievement: Do Parents know they Matter?” Department for Education, United Kingdom for a detailed discourse.)
Recently, the Ministry of Education initiated a pilot programme that focuses on improving passes at the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Education (CXC) in English and mathematics. The ministry recognises that parental involvement in its pilot process will be as crucial to its success as it is for learning in general. Education is the most important avenue out of poverty and the principal factor in the making