The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
Does the workplace hinder family involvement in children's education?
Claire Smrekar from Vanderbilt University writes:
Our report, March Toward Excellence: School Success and Minority Student Achievement in Department of Defense Schools, underscores the value of a “community-wide, corporate commitment” to children's education. We believe that nonmilitary settings can gain similarly impressive levels of commitment to public education by making more visible the facets of the workplace that limit the ability of employees to participate more fully in school-based activities. Schools tend to structure school-based activities for traditional, stay-at-home mothers. At the same time, a large number of households include parents who are employed in full-time occupations that provide little flexibility and opportunity for parents to leave work during school hours. As schools begin to rethink the purpose and organization of parent involvement activities, employers should reevaluate workplace policies that hinder the kind of parental commitment to educational excellence that organized business groups are demanding in the current debate on the quality of our nation's schools.
Claire Smrekar
Associate Professor
Department of Leadership and Organizations
Peabody College
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee
peabody.vanderbilt.edu
Holly Kreider and Ellen Mayer, researchers on the School Transition Study at Harvard Family Research Project, write:
Our own research suggests that the answer is yes, but also no. We found that low-income mothers who worked full-time tended to be less involved at school than those who worked part-time. However, while work may hinder family involvement in some ways, it may also pose opportunities. Conditions such as positive workplace relationships and climate, and some jobs in the nonprofit and small business sectors, may help provide such opportunities. For example, mothers in our study described communicating with their child's teacher from their workplace—such as by phone or the office fax machine. Several moms brought their children to family friendly workplaces for child care and learning purposes—such as to access computer programs. Others drew upon supervisors and coworkers for educational advice and other supports—such as help in choosing a good school.
Holly Kreider
Project Manager
Ellen Mayer
Research Associate
Harvard Family Research Project
Cambridge, Massachusetts
www.hfrp.org