Abstract

The cognitive, social, and emotional growth of children are all improved when their parents are actively concerned in their early education. The purpose of this research is to examine how parental participation influences children's academic and social-emotional growth in public preschools. Peshawar parents who sent their kids to public school were surveyed using a quantitative methodology that have a questionnaire. The results show that children's academic achievement and social-emotional development benefit from parents' participation in early childhood education. Families in Peshawar who have children enrolled in school are the subjects of the research. Participants were chosen using a convenience sampling method, and there were a total of 476 people in the study's sample. Researchers concluded that public schools should do more to involve parents in their children's early learning.

Key Words

Parents Involvement, Early Childhood, Government Schools

Introduction

Children's school attendance and performance are strongly linked to how much their parents care about and help with their education. Parents who think school and learning are important are more likely to be involved in their kids' educations now and in the future. Effects that are bad for parents who took more attention to their children's schools. There is a consistent link between parents being touched in their children's schooling and academic success, and healthy social development By shaping their kids' early development, parents have a big impact on how well their kids do in school later. Early childhood education is the first step in getting kids ready for school and giving them the tools they need to do well. Evidence shows that children do better when their parents are concerned , like getting higher test scores in elementary school. Still, many parents aren't interested in their children's education, and those who need help figuring out how to help their child's education the most need use figuring out what to do. In this study, we looked at how having parents attachment in public early childhood education helps the kids who go there. We'll look at recent studies that looked into how important it is for parents to be concerned in preschool programs, and we'll talk about different ways to get parents interested in their child's education. We'll also talk about some of the problems parents may face when they try to help with their child's education and give some ideas for what schools can do to help.

Importance of Early Childhood Education

It is important for a child's future academic and professional success to get a good education when they are young. High-quality programs for young children have been linked to better school performance, better social skills, and long-term success for kids. Children who don't get a good early childhood education are more likely to have trouble in school, behaviour problems, and bad social outcomes.

Early childhood education programs have benefits that go beyond the classroom. For example, they help kids make friends, learn self-control, and gain confidence. You need these skills to do well in school and in your career. 

The Role of Parents in Early Childhood Education

It is very important for parents to help their kids grow up and do well in school. Parental involvement in a child's schooling has been linked to positive effects on the child's performance, such as higher test scores, a higher rate of school attendance, and a higher level of intrinsic motivation. When parents care about their young children's education, the kids do better in school and have less behavior problems.

There are many ways for parents to help with their child's education. Parents can help their kids with school in many ways, like by volunteering in the classroom, going to the school, joining extracurricular activities, or helping with homework. Parents with low incomes or who come from different cultural or linguistic backgrounds may find it harder to get involved in their children's schools.

Challenges to Parental Involvement in Early Childhood Education

Parents can have a hard time participating in their child's early childhood education in several ways. Possible barriers to participation include needing to learn more about the issue, being able to communicate well, and having to put other commitments first. Also, cultural differences may make parents less likely to be involved in their children's schooling. A general lack of knowledge about early childhood education's importance can also be a problem for parents. Even though early schooling has many long-term benefits, not all parents put a lot of importance on it. Because of this misunderstanding, some parents may be less likely to get involved in their kids' schools, making it harder for them to get the services and resources they need to grow and do well.

Objectives of the Study

? To find out how much parental participation there is in government schools' early childhood education.

? To investigate how parental participation affects children' academic achievement in public schools.

? To investigate how parental participation influences students' social and emotional growth in public schools.

Research Questions of the Study

? What is the level of parental involvement in early childhood education in government schools?

? How does parental involvement affect children's academic performance in government schools?

? How does parental participation affect children's social-emotional development in government schools?

Significance of the Study

Teachers, textbooks, and how the school is run all affect how well students can learn. Because of this, family and home have less of an effect on how well children do in school. The results of this study will help teachers, school administrators, educational planners, and policymakers in the Ministry of Education develop ways to ensure parents' involvement in their children's early education at the Peshawar Government School has the most positive effect possible. These results could help policymakers to make decisions that will affect early childhood education in Lahore in a big way.

Literature Review

Most people agree that a child's early schooling sets them up for future success in school. During this time, children's brains and bodies undergo big changes that set the stage for future learning and growth. Parents participation in their young children's education have been shown to help them do better in school, with their friends, and with overall health and happiness. This literature review will look at what happens when parents take their kids to public early childhood education programs.

Definition of Parental Involvement

"Parental engagement" means that both at home and in school, parents are concerned in their children's education. It consists of many different things, like helping kids with their schoolwork, talking to their teachers, going to extracurricular events, and making the home a good place to study.

Benefits of Parental Involvemen

Parents helping their kids in school can lead to several good things for the kids. For example, Henderson and Mapp (2002) found that students whose parents were more inolved in their schooling had better attendance, grades, and behaviour. In the same way, Epstein (1995) found that parental participation helped students' motivation, self-esteem, and graduation rates. Also, research shows that parents' participation is good for their children's social growth. Jeynes found in 2005 that kids whose parents were involved in their lives had better social skills, less worry, and did more good things for other people. As a bonus, research shows that when parents are involved, they and their children can talk to each other better. This can help build healthy family relationships.

Parental Involvement in Early Childhood Education

Research has shown that parents are most helpful when they are involved with their children when they are young. A child's future success in school depends on how much they learn and grow during this time. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) says that parents can have a big impact on their children's development and learning by making their homes a safe place, getting involved in their early education, and working with their children's early childhood educators. There is more than one way for parents to help their kids prepare for school. Parents can help their children learn in several ways, such as by reading to them, participating in play-based learning activities with them, and making the home a welcoming and interesting place to learn. Parents can also work with teachers of young children by attending parent-teacher conferences, helping at school events, and making decisions about the school.

Impact of Parental Participation on Early Childhood Education

Several studies have examined how parental involvement affects early childhood education, and they all agree it's a good thing. In a study by Fan and Chen of preschoolers, parental participation was linked to better academic performance, behaviour, and social skills. Grolnick and Slowiaczek also found in 1994 that kids had more drive and self-control when their parents were involved. Also, research has shown that having parents involved helps children learn languages. Reese and Fivush found in 1993 that young children whose parents talked to them and told them stories had better language skills.

Similarly, Sénéchal and LeFevre's research from 2002 found that preschoolers whose parents were involved in reading activities had better language and reading skills. Social growth is another area that benefits from parents being involved in their young children's education. For example, Sheridan and her colleagues (2010) research found that preschoolers with more conscious parents had better social skills and fewer behaviour problems. Better social and emotional development in children has been linked to better relationships between parents and children. But the effect of parental participation on early childhood education may differ depending on the type of participation and the family's socioeconomic status. Fantuzzo and his coworkers did research in 2004 that showed that parents more involved in their kids' schools see more benefits than those less active. So, it is very important that when teachers try to get parents involved in preschool, they consider each family's unique needs and situations.

Challenges and Barriers to Parental Involvement

Parental participation in early childhood education has a lot of benefits, but parents can run into problems that make it hard for them to be involved in their children's schooling. For example, low-income families may struggle to pay for school events and a good place for their kids to learn at home. Some parents may also find it hard to talk to early childhood educators because they speak a different language or come from a different culture. Parents may also need help to get involved in their kids' schools because of their jobs or other obligations. Parents sometimes need to learn how to help their kids with school, especially in subjects like math and science.

Methodology

Most of the information for the study came from a questionnaire, which made it possible to measure the results. Parents of government school students in different parts of Peshawar were given a questionnaire to fill out. In the first part of the survey, general questions are asked about parents and their interest in their children's education. In the second part, the questions are more about the students and their school performance. The second part of the survey asks about the child's school growth and social and emotional skills. The survey results were looked at with descriptive and inferential statistical methods. This study is mostly about parents whose kids are in school. The sample size was a convenient 476 parents of school-aged children.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Table 1

	Frequency	Percentage
Male	215	45%
Female	261	55%
Primary School	97	20%
High School	209	44%
College/University	170	36%

 The data showed 215 male students and 261 female students (45% and 55%) in the sample. There were more female students in the group than male students. Ninety-seven students, or 20% of the total population, were in elementary school, twenty-nine students, or 44% of the full sample, were in high school, and 170 students, or 36% of the total sample, were in some postsecondary institution. Most people in the selection were in high school.

Table 2

Involvement Activities	Frequency	Percentage
Attending parent-teacher meetings	361	76%
Volunteering in school activities	242	51
Helping with homework	301	63%
Participating in school decision-making	98	21%

 
The numbers showed that 361 parents, or 76% of all parents, regularly attended student-led conferences with the school's teaching staff. This indicates that most parents think it's important to keep lines of communication open with their children's teachers and work with them to track their progress and give them extra academic help. Help with homework came in second, with a frequency of 301 and a percentage of 63%. This shows that parents play a big role in their children's education by advising them and helping them with their homework.
Volunteering for school-related events came in third, with a frequency of 242 and a percentage of 51%. This shows that some parents are eager to get involved in their kids' schools through different events and activities. In the end, the frequency of 98 and the percentage of 21% pointed to student participation in school decision-making as the least common activity. Likely, parents don't feel as welcome or able to have a say in how their children's schools run.
 

Table 3

Parental Involvement	Mean Score	Standard Deviation
High	87.5	7.2
Moderate	78.2	8.1
Low	9.3	9.3

  The data showed that the average score of parents in the "high involvement" group was 87.5%. With a standard deviation of only 7.2, the parents in this sample were all about the same level of involvement. The middle number for parents considered to be moderately engaged was 78.2. When we look at the standard deviation for this group, we can see that the amount of parental involvement varies quite a bit, in this case by a factor of 8.1. Ultimately, the least involved parents' mean score of 9.3 shows they could be more active. With a standard deviation of 9.3, we can see that how parents were involved in this group was very different.

Table 4

Parental Involvement	Mean Score	Standard Deviation
High	4.5	0.6
Moderate	3.8	3.8
Low	2.9	0.9

 Researchers found that "highly involved" parents had an average score of 4.5. With a standard deviation of only 0.6, it's clear that the parents in this sample share a similar degree of engagement. A mean score of 3.8 means that parents need to be more involved or more involved. With a standard deviation of 3.8, we can see that this group's amount of parental participation is very different. Lastly, parents who scored in the low involvement range had an average score of 2.9, which means they were not very involved. The standard deviation of the group was 0.9, which shows that parents in this set were involved in different ways.

Conclusion

This study shows that parents need more understanding of how parental engagement affects how they help out at their kids' schools. Administrators and teachers couldn't persuade the author of the study that parents were involved in their children's education. The results also showed that administrators and teachers need to learn more about how parents can be applied. It was clear that a development program should be implemented, even though only a small number of parents showed their appreciation by suggesting ways they could help. Principals and teachers saw that most parents didn't attend school-sponsored events, but they still thought parents should ensure their kids went to class. Parents involved in their young children's education can do a lot to help their children's mental, social, and emotional development. Researchers have found that everyone benefits when parents help their kids with their schoolwork. But low-income families and those who need to speak English better face different problems that can make it hard for them to be involved in their children's schools. The best way for teachers to get parents involved in the early education of their students in a useful method is to work with parents and families to get rid of these problems. Every family has different needs and situations, so it's important to tailor strategies for parental participation to fit those specifics. Parents and teachers can set their kids up for future success in school and life if they work together to create a safe and interesting learning place.

Discussion

In academic studies, parents involved in their young child's education have been praised many times. When parents care about their kids' schooling, they help them grow intellectually, socially, and emotionally, setting them up for future success. This is very important in public schools, where kids come from various economic backgrounds. Researchers have found that it's good for kids when their parents are involved in their education. Fan and Chen did a study in 2001 that showed a link between how involved parents are and how well their children do in school. Research by Sénéchal and LeFevre found a link between parental participation in reading activities and preschoolers' better language and reading skills. Sheridan and his colleagues found that preschoolers whose parents were more involved had fewer behaviour problems and better social skills. Even though it's clear that parents involved in their kids' schooling are helpful, there are a number of things that can stop them from doing so.

For example, low-income families may struggle to pay for school events and a good place for their kids to learn at home. Some parents may also find it hard to talk to early childhood educators because they don't speak the same language or come from a different culture. Volunteering in the classroom, having parent-teacher conferences, and attending school events are great ways to get parents involved and help public schools thrive despite these problems. Parents should be encouraged to be more involved in their children's education, and schools should help and equip parents who can't participate because they don't speak the same language or need to learn more about education. Schools can do this in several ways, such as giving parents seminars, training, and other tools to help their kids with schoolwork. It's also important to make sure that strategies for getting parents involved are flexible enough to meet the needs of many different kinds of families. Government schools should make programs for getting parents involved that take into account the different ways families work. For parent participation to work, families and schools must also work together to build trust. Parents should be involved and trust government institutions. They should also be able to talk to each other and have a say in educational decisions. Lastly, it's important to check in with parents and students often to see if parental participation programs are doing their best. Ways to do this include determining how parents and students feel about parental participation programs, determining how they affect students' learning and making any necessary changes.

Recommendations

The following recommendations were made:

? Government schools should strongly support and encourage parents to be involved in their children's education. They can do this by giving parents various ways to get involved, such as volunteering in the classroom, parent-teacher conferences, and school events.

? Government schools should help parents get involved by giving them resources and help, especially if they have to work around problems like not speaking the same language, needing more knowledge and skills, or needing more money. Schools can help families by giving them seminars, training, and resources they can use at home to help their children learn.

? Government schools should consider that families come in many different shapes and sizes and deal with different situations in different ways. For families that don't speak English, schools can offer translation services, hold events at times that are good for parents who work and plan activities that will appeal to students from different cultures.

? Parents must have good relationships with their children's teachers to be involved in their children's education. Parents have a right to trust and respect public institutions that are in charge of educating the public as a whole. This can be done by having regular, open conversations with parents and including them in important policy decisions.

? Government schools should check in on the success of parental participation programs regularly to ensure they are meeting the needs of both students and parents. Ways to do this include determining how parents and students feel about parental participation programs, determining how they affect students' learning and making any necessary changes.

References

• Barnett, W. S. (2008). Preschool education and its lasting effects: Research and policy implications. National Institute for Early Education Research.
• Cabrera, N. J., & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (2013). Handbook of father involvement: Multidisciplinary perspectives. Routledge.
• Christenson, S. L., & Sheridan, S. M. (2001). Schools and families: Creating essential connections for learning. Guilford Press.
• Epstein, J. L., & Sheldon, S. B. (2002). Present and Accounted for: Improving Student Attendance Through Family and Community Involvement. Journal of Educational Research, 95(5), 308– 318.
• Epstein, J. L. (2010). School/Family/Community Partnerships: Caring for the Children We Share. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(3), 81– 96.
• Fantuzzo, J. W., Tighe, E., & Childs, S. (2000). Family Involvement Questionnaire: A multivariate assessment of family participation in early childhood education. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(2), 367– 376.
• Castro, M. A., Casas, E. E., López-Martín, E., Lizasoain, L., Asencio, E. N., & Gaviria, J. L. (2015). Parental involvement on student academic achievement: A meta- analysis. Educational Research Review, 14, 33– 46.
• Grolnick, W. S., & Slowiaczek, M. L. (1994). Parents Involvement in Childrens Schooling: A Multidimensional Conceptualization and Motivational Model. Child Development, 65(1), 237– 252.
• National Research Council. (2000). from neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development. National Academies Press.