Parental Involvement and School

¶ … Adolescence)

The Issue of Students of Arab Descent

Scope for Advisory Participation groups

Role of Involvement from Parents as External Stakeholders

Barriers and Facilitators to Parent Involvement

Advisory Participation and Policy Implications

Relation between Parental Involvement and Child Growth

The Role of Native Americans in Interventions

Traditional Parenting Practices

Considerations

Middle Eastern Students: Effect of Advisory Participation in the Adolescent Years - Grades 8-9

It is believed that when children and adolescents take part in group activities, they experience better social and psychological health. Indeed, it has also been documented that participating in team sports leads to positive health outcomes. Analysts observe that such eventuality accrues from the social dimension that team sports provide. The positive involvement by adults and peers enhances such gains (Rochelle M. Eime, Janet A Young, Jack T. Harvey, Melanie J. Charity, & Warren R. Payne, 2013). Reader advisory techniques; applied with youthful patrons present an effective model for encouraging the development of better intrinsic motivation and inspires discussion about reading materials. The new digital advisory tools for readers are exposing new channels beyond the library. It helps when librarians share such tools with teenagers and children (Janet L. Capps, Laura M. Justice, Stephanie Levitt Shaulskiy, & Lynley H. Anderman, 2014). When such a shift in addressing readership is attained, there will be an inclusive programming that has input from the youths in contexts of humanitarian nature.

Although the important role of interpersonal activity for better health has global recognition, there is still little formal information or research in this area in the Arab world. Statistical data indicates that youth aged between 10 and 19 years constitute over 30% of the population in the region. Although such data points to the fact that they are growing in number and that the potential for risky behavior is ever rising, there is little available information with regard to their practices or knowledge. The reason for lack of information and even research in Arab countries emanates possibly from their cultural inclinations. The subject of sexuality is largely taboo or a purely private, guarded affair in the region (Abdul Tawab, Saher, & Nawawi, 2013).

Problem Statement

If there are to be any effective policies developed to improve the health of the youth and attain similar desirable changes, there must be sufficient knowledge that informs such policies. There is need to search for information regarding the reproductive, social and psychological health.

The guide carefully steers away from the scientific debate on the role of nature versus nurture. It shows that development is influenced by both individual and the formal and informal environments where it occurs. There is a constant movement of young people from a range of settings on daily basis. These settings may be family, institution, virtual or informal. Indeed, the range of change in terms of settings increases with the increase in adolescent autonomy. Such movement could go either way. The settings could be a chance for development. Yet, they could also be an opportunity for derailment. It should be noted that cognitive growth does not halt at the ring of the bell at the end of the school day. Similarly, social learning and development is not restricted to the teen center. If society is serious about changing the fortunes of the youth, then opinion shapers in the society must take the lead to allocate more resources and revise the traditional practice (Mcneely & Blanchard, 2014) with an aim of standardizing the advisory participation.

Advisory participation that focuses on adolescents is a research orientation that that ascribes value to equitable collaborations between the youth and researchers. There is a reflection of shared decision-making through the process. It is clear that this approach is now common-place. However, it is unlikely that the youth will be enthusiastic to align themselves as partners.

Purpose of the Study

The practice of adolescent participation has become popular over the years. Although it holds the potential for promoting the development of the youth, enhanced engagement by civil society and encourages change in the community, it has remained, largely, unfamiliar. There is insufficient scholarly information, particularly on community practice and developmental theory. This research is an attempt to fill the gaps by collecting data and insightful input from historical bases of advisory participation, research with a community focus and case study. This paper suggests that the method is a unifying idea. It is distinct from other types of the relationship between the youth and adults. It has four core areas, i.e. natural mentors, authentic decision-making, community connection and reciprocity. There are guidelines, provided, for research in future too.

Research Questions

The questions covered in the area of research include broad range of topic areas. They include essential aspects for the development of adolescents. They are:

i. Competence: the perception of abilities and skills by an individual

ii. Confidence: an innate scale on which one measures their efficacy and self-growth iii. Connection: building relationships with others and institutions

iv. Character: being able to tell right from wrong; about integrity and sticking to decorum

v. Caring: sympathizing and empathizing.

All discussions are qualitative. Information from journals reviewed by peers and reports with detail have been incorporated and referenced.

Definition of Key Terms (related to adolescence)

The selected terms used in the paper are listed below (Mcneely & Blanchard, 2014).

i. Positive Youth Development: A guideline for the development of strategies and systems to enhance healthy development. It focuses on strengthening the youth with opportunity and experiences for positive to realize positive outcomes.

ii. Health Risk Factors: These are predisposing factors to negative health outcomes. One such health risk factor is unprotected sex.

iii. Puberty: According to the WHO definition, Puberty is the stage when a child experiences hormonal, social, physical and sexual changes; and becomes reproductive. The stage is associated with fast growth and appearance of secondary sexual traits.

iv. Protective Factors: they increase the chances of a positive outcome. For example, when children have a caring adult close by, it is a protective factor that increases the chances of school success.

v. Risk Factors: These factors increase the chances of negative outcome. For instance, smoking is a risk factor that could lead to the incidence of cancer or heart disease. Harsh parenting is also a known risk factor for the condition of depression.

Theoretical Framework

CBPR is a community-based participatory research orientation. The approach values the role of the members of the community and places academicians in the place of partners. Each of these partners is seen to contribute unique inputs to the research process. Unlike the traditional approach in which academicians and researchers develop hypothesis and intrude communities where they conduct their research, Community-based participatory research depend on input from both the experts and the local community at every step of the research journey. There is a whole range of research methods used in CBPR but the central underlying factor in the approach is the participation and incorporation of communities in decision-making, and in making the research relevant to the communities affected (Farrah, Vaughn, & Wagner, 2012).

The wider part of the conversation on the wellbeing of the youth in the country is focused on systems. Such questions as how the juvenile justice system can prevent crime among the youth and how the school system can be improved to increase engagement with learners. These and cross-platform conversations have gained currency? (Mcneely & Blanchard, 2014).

Literature Review

A. The Issue of Students of Arab Descent

i. The challenge of surveying children of Arab-American parentage

It would help to target children from the Middle-East with an aim of instituting prevention and treatment activities. The group mentioned poses a range of challenges. For instance, a high school focused study reveals that a generic program against tobacco did not succeed in WTS cessation among adolescents of Arab-American parentage. Thus, there is apparent need for continued research and innovative approaches in crafted interventions that apply specifically to this group (Primack, et al., 2014).

ii. Culture Shock

This is a personal or social reaction to an experience (usually in an encounter between individuals of different ethnicities) that varies widely from the accepted normative. It may involve working in unfamiliar territory/regions for extended periods or facing your long-held values questioned; yet you have always held them as absolutes. Culture shock occurs in such scenario where these realities take form but one is still expected to function optimally. On their part, international students often experience culture shock through language, the style of communication used in the new school, food or even dressing style (Heyn, 2013)..

iii. Need for Assistance related to Religion

Muslim and Arab students at UC have experienced a lot of global attention by extension because such attention is directed at certain Muslim communities across the globe. The interest in Islam has not eluded universities and their campuses. The Muslims in these institutions have become ever more visible. Many incidents of discriminatory treatment against Muslims, Arabs and those of Arab origin, Sikhs, and people of South Asian descent have been observed since the 9/11 incident. Thus, xenophobia and Islamophobia have become prevalent in American society. Such context extends beyond the universities and college campuses (Turk, Senzaki, Howard, & Rowther, 2012)..

iv. Gender Equality Issues

The journey towards getting rid of gender disparity has been winding and slow. Analysts have continued to lobby for the start of specific programs to fill the gender gaps in academics across school and college institutions and universities. According to a UNESCO report on the middle East (released in 2012), it has been a challenge for most of the Arab countries to achieve equal participation for both girls and boys in primary and secondary level education. The demand, among females, for secondary and university education in America has been on the rise. Most of these students wish to get their education in foreign destinations in America, Asia, and Europe (ICEF, 2014).

v. Cross-culture Interaction

Al-nawar seeks to help her students understand the relationship between international terrorism and learning by quoting Fuller's study "Taking Terrorism into the Classroom." Fuller's observations are derived from the role-playing devised to examine the new stereotypes by the people from the Middle East. Such initiatives are apparently aimed at answering to the queries raised by increased coverage by the media on the subject of terrorism. According to the study, learners opened up after a couple of team activities and exercises. They could see how the media had influenced their assumptions about learners from other countries in the past (Alnawar, 2015).

vi. School Environment and Language

The culture of the Middle East demands that school aged children respect teachers. Such teachers also hold absolute authority over their learners. The learners are expected to work as hard as they can towards meeting performance standards expected. Learning is restricted to the curriculum content. Learners are usually given individual assignments as opposed to group tasks. This aspect of their culture and learning poses a challenge to students from the Middle East that seek admissions in western institutions. They often encounter communication and problem solving challenges. Despite sharing many common cultural and social aspects, there are still some differences that are observed among Middle Eastern countries with respect to teaching and learning. It has been noted that such differences are based more on socio-economic status (Aghajanian & Cong, 2012).

vii. Advisory Participation in American Schools

Keeping healthy weight involves several factors. Observing dietary advice and regular exercise ensures healthy weight. It is of concern, though, that less than 25% of adolescents get enough fruit and vegetable in their diet. Reports also reveal that 65% of secondary students cannot meet the recommended physical exercise requirements. There is an urgent need to start a School Health Council. It will help realize the health objectives of the school and promoting healthy eating and regular exercise. There is need for active participation in the implementation of the District and school programs of priority. An effective School Health program ensures organized courses, policies, services, and interventions that meet all students' needs (Centers for Diseae Control, 2013).

viii. Research on Schools Climate

Studies on school climate have increased over the past century. Evidence-based improvement programs for schools on the aspect of providing a conducive school environment have been a central drive in efforts by several government and private entities including the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Educational Sciences, education ministries of foreign countries and UNICEF. These strategies are aimed at students, school personnel, parents, and guardians. These groups are encouraged to work together to provide a supportive environment for learning (Thapa, Cohen, Guffey, & D'Allessandro, 2013).

Summary

The literature reviewed here, reveals that international students of Saudi Arabian origin studying in USA face numerous challenges. The challenges start from just being a foreign student in the U.S. Others include communication barriers of language, loneliness, homesickness, ill health, academic challenges and culture shock. Furthermore, these Saudi Arabian students encounter other problems. In particular the negative perceptions help by some Americans and propagated by media with regard to Islam are real issues that need due consideration. In addition, the numerous differences between Americans and Saudi Arabians make it worse for such foreign students. The 9/11 incident complicated matters for foreign students of Arab and Islamic origin (Heyn, 2013).

B. Scope for Advisory Participation groups

i. Co-operation with Student's Parents

In order to understand the school performances of minority children, education experts need to appreciate their literacy experiences in the early years before the start of formal schooling. Poor and young immigrant families rely on resources from public institutions to meet their needs. There is need for education experts to explore close collaboration with such families and the public institutions in order to provide quality education that considers the challenges that children from poor backgrounds and those of immigrant status encounter. Moreover, the selection of books by teachers should aim at sharing and pursuing discussions and instructional activities that are meaningful with the children. The teaching of writing and reading skills in early literacy classes should be focused and purposeful. Teachers are challenged to assist the children to develop their understanding and make use of language removed from context. This will help them to catch up with peers in subject areas of academic nature (Aghajanian & Cong, 2012).

There is need to establish partnerships between educators, educators and the affected children in order to communicate the needs of the children clearly. Consequently, educators will succeed as cultural brokers for the children. There is, thus need for the parents of immigrant children to become involved the education of their children both at home and at school. Spending time with children as they work on their homework, overseeing their TV watching sessions, for the educated parents is quite helpful. Further, parents can volunteer at school, take part in activities and interact more with the teachers of their children. Such involvement; although it is clearly a challenge to low income groups, with be instrumental in staving off political undercurrents that negatively affect children of immigrant and low income backgrounds (Aghajanian & Cong, 2012).

ii. Future of Community-Based Participatory Research projects

Many youth related programs are commonly called CBPR. However, many of the research studies conducted rarely involve the youth. Most of the studies partner with communities and adult people to address youth related issues. Owing to the fact that CBPR is a relatively new research approach and has yet to gain as wide acceptance among research peers at par with other conventional approaches, it is critical to maintain its definition as being, primarily, a participatory approach that involves engagement and collaboration in decision-making. Researchers that have had a chance to work with the youth have pointed out time and effort constraints; however, state that the benefits are far more than the losses/ costs in both quality of research and eventual empowerment of the youth. Research studies have demonstrated the benefits of involving the youth in every stage of the research process (Farrah, Vaughn, & Wagner, 2012).

iii. Need for Youth Centered Approaches

Many of the conversations regarding the well-being of the youth are aimed at reforming systems. The conversations touch on such issues as how the juvenile justice system and the child welfare collaborate to support the youth in transition, how the juvenile justice system can help prevent crime by the youth, how the school system can be improved to enhance engagement and similar discussions (Mcneely & Blanchard, 2014).

The efforts to work across the systems that are already in place are impressive. However, they are all focused on systems. Consequently, their configuration is restricted to assumptions and expertise on specific systems. Yet, the real focus should be the people and the needs for development. This paper is a guide anchored on the needs of the youth. Over the time, the forum for Youth Investment has changed from using such terms as youth development and adolescent development. We discovered that decision-makers are interested more in the results than in the research process; particularly on the subject of youth and teens, generally. When we pointed out that leaders needed to leverage the resources spent on such youth problems as early pregnancies, violence and school dropouts we stated one simple goal of seeking to ensure that all youth are ready for life by the age of 21 (Mcneely & Blanchard, 2014).

Role of Involvement from Parents as External Stakeholders

The involvement of parents means committing time and resources to academic pursuits of their children (Murray, et al., 2014). Parents can be involved in the six following ways:

a. Establishing environments that support learning at home

b. Effective and productive between school and home

c. Supporting students and helping the school

d. home learning

e. Taking part in decision-making at school

f. Collaborating with other stakeholders including school staff, community and students

These activities are usually grouped into two categories, i.e. home-based and school-based involvement. The home based activities are linked to the education of children outside the school environment. Such activities may have a close association with school work. They may even include assisting children with homework, talking about issues that concern them, the choices that children make and responding to the academic preferences of those children.

Barriers and Facilitators to Parent Involvement

The factors that influence parents to get involved in their children's education and life are of importance. The model by Hoover Dempsey and Sandler, which describes the process of parent involvement, points out the specific factors that influence parents to participate. It also explores how these contribute to the various forms of parent involvement. According to Hoover Dempsey and Sandler, the decision by parents to become involved is caused by three motivational factors:

a. Motivational beliefs,

b. The life context of the parents

c. The perception by parents of the invitation to be involved

Summary

The review of literature based on the barriers and facilitators of involvement by parents is organized around these three aspects. According to research, African-American parents; particularly the ones from of low socioeconomic stature are likely to experience greater barriers to involvement than the ones of higher socio-economic status. There is a salient race angle because this contrast is drawn against white parents. Thus, the salient race factor can be an important influence in shaping the involvement by parents. Further, the literature review highlights studies in which the perception of parents may play an influencing role in the involvement of parents. Such inclusion aligns to the Critical Race Theory that embraces the view that racism is endemic among Americans. CRT has been applied in the analysis of aspects of education including curriculum and instruction via a window that notices the pervasive level of racism in the school system. It, thus, seeks to explore how such racism shapes the policies developed by school's involvement.

C. Advisory Participation and Policy Implications

If a school intends to build a strong relationship between educators and the management and the parents, practical steps must be taken to promote the school invitations for the involvement by such parents. There is need, in some circumstanced to develop SBPI strategies to deal with the barriers that may be encountered because of the personal life context of the parents. Schools, could, for instance put to affect, the reliable and time-sensitive communication approaches. They could make use of social media, or texting services. They could schedule meetings with parents and solicit the views of the parents on ways to overcome work related and scheduling challenges. Other stakeholders in the school can also play a positive role in fostering a good parent- teacher relationship. Counselors, administrative staff, and social workers should actively encourage such engagement. Their involvement has multiple benefits. They could educate school staff and other on the construction of positive role and other relevant aspects, such as accessing resources in the social networks and problem-solving techniques that parents can add to the process of collaboration. Additionally, such professionals can encourage parents to visit through their friendliness and taking them through SBPI chances and consequently enhancing the positive elements of the school environment. Providing information forums to school safety and improvement efforts is a good way of tackling the disturbing concern by parents about the increased incidence of violence in schools. Activities geared at promoting community building, positive interaction with schools and sharing goals are necessary to mitigate the fears by parents about the negative interaction with fellow parents and students (Murray, et al., 2014).

Relation between Parental Involvement and Child Growth

It has been documented that children who show negative behavior in their childhood are prone to developing these behaviors when they grow older. They stand a high risk of attaining negative outcomes for the long-term. Such behavior includes antisocial mannerisms in adolescence and on to adulthood. Such problematic behavior early in the affected child's life including a short attention span, externalizing, internalizing and hyperactivity, being unable to stay calm, emotional challenges and a negative attitude are indicators of lower achievement in academics in future and progress issues during adolescence. The outcome may be the source of the needed information with regard to parental involvement because it is related to the domains of internalizing, externalizing and hyperactivity conduct. The parental involvement idea could help ADEC to focus on strategies to improve parental involvement and the three main behavior domains (Badri, Al Quabaisi, Al Rashedi, & Yang, 2014).

Signs of aggression in children show as restlessness or anxiety. They increase at the onset of schoolings. Therefore, challenges that face children as they begin their KG experience needs focused management initiatives. The children need to be empowered to cope with transition comfortably or relatively, easily. Parents should encourage their children to engage with peers and adults positively so as to deal and cope with frustrations and the restrictions they encounter. Effective parental involvement helps children to develop self-confidence and a chance to attain success when experimenting with new initiatives and handling unforeseen incidences, happenings, and practices. When children are guided on how to take charge of their emotions and behaving in ways that are acceptable, including being considerate and avoiding to hurt others, they have a greater chance of mastering self-control. high involvement is linked to children experiencing fewer externalizing, internalizing and even hyperactivity complication or similar signs in school. Therefore, Schools should be aware of the fact that parental involvement is a key component of ensuring the success of children. This implies that when designing educational interventions, there should be due inclusion and incorporation of aspects of parental involvement. As it is, there is need for many schools to revise their policies in order to include parental involvement programs. It should be a set up that bestows the responsibility of the success of children is distributed amongst, and involves both, the teachers and families of the children that need attention (Badri, Al Quabaisi, Al Rashedi, & Yang, 2014).