Types of parent involvement in schools in the Omusati education region of Namibia

Abstract

Little research has been conducted in the areas of parental involvement in education in Namibia. In this article the views of parents regarding their involvement in education were investigated. Data were collected using a questionnaire which was administered to a systematic sample of one hundred and fifty six (156) parents of learners in grades eight to ten from a random sample of ten (10) combined and junior secondary schools. It is clear from the study that parents are involved only in some activities such as feeding and dressing the children for school, attending parent -teacher meetings, discussing school matters, voting in school board elections, helping children with homework, ensuring that children behave well both at home and at school, providing a quiet place for homework, teaching children the alphabet and that they attend school functions. However, parents were less frequently involved in activities such as attending parents’ evenings, helping elsewhere, helping with special groups such as sport and drama, , limiting TV viewing, helping the school to set challenging academic grades, discussing the child’s progress, and checking homework every night.