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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 13, Issue 2, Article13 (Dec., 2012) |
Parental Involvement in Children’s Science Learning: Some Issues and Considerations
Unlike the science teachers in schools who are usually well-trained in the teaching of science, parents are generally not equipped with the pedagogical knowledge and skills to understand how to develop science literacy in children and design effective learning processes to facilitate children’s science inquiry in the informal settings. It is therefore unrealistic to expect parents to play a teaching professional role like the school science teacher when guiding their children at home. However, parents can be guided to play a complementary role to support their children’s science education by being active collaborators in their children’s science learning journey if three issues can be adequately addressed: parental awareness, acquisition of basic science knowledge and facilitation skills, and availability of relevant resources.
First, parental awareness is important. Many parents do not realise they can make a difference in their children’s science education. If they are aware that there are ways which they can partner their children in science activities outside the school, they will feel more enthusiastic to engage actively in their children’s science learning process. They may not need to be a content expert in science in order to guide their children in learning about science. Instead, they could provide a conducive environment outside the school to engage their children in meaningful science learning. As science learning is a process of inquiry and discovery, parents can learn to play the role of a facilitator of learning instead of a presenter of knowledge in their children’s learning process. It is important for parents to be aware that instead of ‘spoon-feeding’ or giving answers to their children all the time, they could provide science learning activities to allow their children to actively engage in making observations, asking questions, problem-solving, interpreting data, and communicating their findings to others. In fact, an important aim of inquiry-based science learning is that children will gradually take charge of their own learning to initiate their own inquiries and investigations as they become more independent and self-directed in their learning process.
Second, acquisition of basic science knowledge and facilitation skills is necessary. Parents need to acquire some basic science knowledge and facilitation skills in order to effectively facilitate their children’s science learning at home and in other informal settings. Parents are strongly encouraged to self-read, or form partnerships with school teachers, science education professionals and other enthusiastic parents to learn the knowledge, skills and strategies necessary for facilitating their children’s science learning effectively. In this way, parents will feel more competent and confident to provide a conducive environment or meaningful learning experiences for their children. In this aspect, schools could consider organising workshops for enthusiastic parents to give them a better understanding on the new trends in science teaching and learning as well as to support them by enhancing their knowledge in elementary science content, basic pedagogical and facilitation skills. Learning networks and regular sharing sessions can also be formed and organised for enthusiastic parents to come together to share their own experiences and support each other in guiding their children’s science learning outside the school.
Third, relevant resources need to be available. Very often, parents have the impression that science activities can only be conducted in the science laboratory with sophisticated equipment or specially ordered materials and reagents. It is therefore important that parents are aware that simple objects and materials which they can easily access at home or supermarkets could be used for conducting simple science activities at home. As such, guidebooks and other relevant educational resources can be made readily available for parents to provide them with ideas about what kinds of science activities can be conducted at home such that they could directly use or adapt these ideas to engage their children in science learning at home or in other informal settings. It is essential that the science ideas or activities provided in the guidebooks are simple yet interesting enough for parents and children to engage in science knowledge acquisition and make connections to real world applications. In this way, parents will feel more confident and be more willing to invest their time to do and learn science together with their children.
