Omani Parents’ Involvement in Their Children’s English Education

Abstract

High levels of parental/guardian involvement in their children’s education are often associated with a number of educational, social, and even psychological benefits. These include higher rates of school attendance, greater communication with the school or education provider, better social adjustment, and higher levels of academic achievement including in the development of literacy skills. However, despite this, research from the Arab world on the relationship between parental involvement and children’s development of English language literacy skills has tended to report mixed results, with this also being the case in the Sultanate of Oman. To explore this issue within the Omani context, the current study examined the potential benefits, challenges, and practices of Omani parents as these relate to their children’s English language studies. A two-section Likert-type response scale questionnaire was administered to 391 parents of students in the country’s public school system. The first questionnaire section related to participants’ attitudes about parental involvement in their children’s English studies while the second explored the frequency with which parents engaged in activities related to their children’s English classes. Results indicate that Omani parents are generally aware of the importance of their involvement in their children’s development and believe that they should be involved in a number of home- and school-based activities. However, despite this, their actual level of involvement in their children’s English language studies was somewhat limited.

The role of reading motivation, self-efficacy, and home influence in students’ literacy achievement: a preliminary examination of fourth graders in Abu Dhabi

“…While the importance of having a reading parent to serve as a role model and building a reading culture at home was stressed (Al Kendari 2004), in practice the active involvement of parents in their children's learning is not always evident in Arab countries. Al-Mahrooqi et al (2016) noted that Omani parents' involvement in their children's English language studies remained limited despite their general awareness of the importance of their involvement. In the UAE, parents tend to heavily rely on school staff and teachers for their involvement, as they contend with the different responsibilities of parents, teachers and schools (Moussa-Inaty and De La Vega 2013).…”

Solo Parents’ Involvement in the Literacy Instruction of their Children in Modular Distance Learning: Challenges and Opportunities

“…There is a body of literature that recognized parental involvement's critical role in students' educational development (Al-Mahrooqi et al, 2016;Niehaus & Adelson, 2014;Panferov, 2010) since as mentioned by Sanders and Sheldon (2009) and Henderson and Berla (1994) that all students are more likely to experience academic success if their home environment is supportive. In fact, Erdener and Knoeppel (2018) conveyed that even the parents accept that parental involvement is an important factor influencing children's educational success.…”

“…In fact, Erdener and Knoeppel (2018) conveyed that even the parents accept that parental involvement is an important factor influencing children's educational success. Parents likewise believed their involvement had a significant influence on children's achievement (Al-Mahrooqi et al, 2016;Mahmoud, 2018) and thus, they have a positive attitude towards parental involvement (Kalayzi &Oz, 2018). Furthermore, growing studies showed and indicated the benefits of parental involvement in improving students' achievement (Epstein, 2009;Greenwood & Hickman, 1991;Henderson & Berla, 1994;Rumberger et al, 1990;Swap, 1993;Whitaker & Fiore, 2001) and an extensive research literature indicating that parental involvement is advantageous for children of all ages (Cox 2005; Desforges and Abouchaar 2003; Eccles and Harold 1993;Epstein 2001).…”

Teachers’ perceptions of the role of parental involvement in teaching English to young learners

“…There is a growing body of research on the role of parental involvement in children's academic achievement including their L2 development (see Al-Mahrooqi, Denman & Maamari, 2016;Kotaman, 2008;Niehaus & Adelson, 2014;Panferov, 2010). However, there is still a lack of consensus on a precise definition of what parental involvement is.…”