How Relationships with Parents Affect Academics

How Relationships with Parents Affect Academics

Zayd Yunus
Michigan Islamic Academy
12th Grade
Sr. Samar Abbasi
12/23/2022
How Relationships with Parents Affect Academics

Abstract

This paper examines how relationships with parents affect children's academics and their future.

This paper discusses different environments that parents create and how that affects their children

trying to reach their academic goals. This paper will also discuss different ways that a child can

engage with their parents and how they can establish healthy relationships. Lastly, the paper also

looks into the Islamic perspective of parental relationships and how this relates to the overall

topic of how relationships with parents affect academics.

How Relationships with Parents Affect Academics

Introduction

Developing a healthy relationship with one's parents is essential for middle and high

school students. According to multiple sources such as Dr. Ismael and Mrs. Anna Sudderth, a

healthy dynamic between children and parents is linked to increased academic achievement and

a better sense of self. People with parents engaged and active in their education are more likely

to earn higher grades and graduate from school than students whose parents are not engaged at

all. Parental engagement and support also creates an overall environment that enables students to

feel cared for and valued at school. There are many ways family and parental involvement and

engagement can take forms. Every society is made up of blocks of family units. The stronger

each block is, the stronger the structure of the society. Families are thus the building blocks upon

which rests the fate of society. Even in Islam we are told in multiple hadith to have good

relationships with our families and parents and some of the benefits told are that it helps our

future and in retrospect our education.

Parents Engaged with Students’ Education

People with parents engaged in their education are more likely to earn higher grades and

graduate from school. According to Dr. Ismael, researchers found strong connections between

family involvement/engagement and student academic achievement through various studies.

The earlier family relationships are established, the more effective they are in raising student

performance. Family partnerships formed during elementary school years build a strong

foundation for future student success and continued engagement. When students receive more

support, classrooms with engaged families perform better as a whole. (Ismail, 2022)
How Relationships with Parents Affect Academics

As shown by Dr. Ismael’s research, a good relationship between parents and children

gives the children a foundation of success in their education. According to Dr. Ismael, many

researches state that teenagers who have good relationships with their parents also have higher

self-esteem and confidence which also helps in their education.

As Dr. Ismael puts it, family engagement in school is different from family involvement,

even though both support and cultivate student success. Family engagement includes family

participation in school events or activities, while teachers provide learning resources and

information about their student’s grades. With involvement, teachers hold the primary

responsibility to set educational goals. They relate to families and caregivers as an academic

advisor for their child, rather than their partner in learning. However, in the end, family

involvement is the first step to family engagement. Teachers are always there to give advice to

students, however a parent's words resonate more with a student than a teacher's words.

According to Dr. Ismail, there are four main benefits for children whose parents are

engaged in their education. The first one is that they earn higher grades and test scores.

Secondly, they graduate from high school and attend post-secondary education. The third

benefit given is that they develop self-confidence and motivation in the classroom. Lastly,

they have better social skills and classroom behavior. Dr. Ismail also explains that these same

children also are less likely to suffer from low self-esteem, require redirection in the

classroom, and develop behavioral issues.

How Relationships with Parents Affect Academics

Healthy Environment
One way parental engagement actually helps a child succeed in their education is to

create an overall environment of support that enables students to feel cared for and valued at

school. An environment where a child feels neglected and where a parent is not really engaged

with their child’s studies is not helpful. This can cause the child to develop resentment for studies

and soon enough the child could lose interest in their education all together.

Mrs. Anna Sudderth, a writer for xqsuperschool.org, mentioned that, “When families are

stakeholders in students’ education, there’s a positive impact on student success. When families

get involved and engaged in their child’s education, students are more likely to graduate, earn

higher grades, improve their attendance, and go to college.” Mrs Anna Sudderth also gave some
How Relationships with Parents Affect Academics

examples of how family engagement can take form. Some very common examples of family

involvement or engagement are communication between families and students about school and

academics, help with homework or studying, discussions about areas in need of improvement,

progress, and achievements, creating a home environment conducive to learning and studying,

setting clear educational and academic expectations, constant communication between family

and school, and parent participation or attendance at school and at after-school functions. As

said in the research, family and parental engagement creates an environment in which teenagers

are able to value their education and actually study to pursue different educational goals. By

engaging with families, educators build a better understanding of the support students need to

succeed in school and create a community where all voices are heard and valued. Through their

engagement with families during the pandemic,” organizations like these help children in a very

impressionable way.
How Relationships with Parents Affect Academics

Statistics and Experimentations

There is ample evidence and research conducted throughout the years, proving that a

good relationship with parents and parent engagement/involvement in a student’s education

leads to a healthy environment and success in the future.

Dr. Eric Dearing, Holly Kreider, Sandra Simpkins, and Dr. Heather Weiss wrote an

article on family involvement in school for The Harvard Family Research Project. In their

research, it was found that “Families' involvement in children's education takes a variety of

forms, including involvement in the home (e.g., help with homework), involvement in the

school (e.g., attending open houses), parent–teacher communication, and parent-to-parent

communication. Reviews of family involvement research indicate that, on average, children

whose families are more involved display higher levels of achievement than children whose

families are less involved .” (Dearing et al., n.d.)

In their research and experimentations, the four doctors found two main points that

backed up claims:

1. “Increases in family involvement in the school predict increases in literacy achievement.

Between kindergarten and fifth grade, increases in family involvement were associated

with improvements in low-income children's literacy achievement. In other words, if

families who were initially uninvolved in the school became more involved, their

children's literacy improved. Importantly, our results indicate that even one or two

additional involvement activities per year were associated with meaningful improvements

for children. We found that increased family involvement in school had greater
How Relationships with Parents Affect Academics

8
implications for children's literacy than did family income, maternal level of education,

or child ethnicity.

2. “Family involvement in school matters most for children at greatest risk. Between

kindergarten and fifth grade, high levels of family involvement were most strongly and

positively associated with the literacy achievement of children whose families were

low-income and whose mothers had very low levels of education. For children with the

exceptional risk of having low income and low parent education, there were exceptional

achievement rewards associated with high family involvement. Although there was an

achievement gap in average literacy performance between children of more and less

educated mothers when family involvement levels were low, this gap was nonexistent

when family involvement levels were high.”

Discounting the variables of low income and high income families, the research clearly

shows that when family involvement is increased, there is a clear increase in literacy

achievement and many other educational achievements. In the studies, this was particular for

children between kindergarten and the fifth grade. However the same can be found for all

ages.

The Islamic Perspective of it All

One of the most talked about points in the hadith and the Quran is children establishing a healthy

mutual relationship with their parents. Every society is made up of blocks of family units. The

stronger each family is, the stronger the structure of the society. Families are thus the building

blocks which society is built upon. This shows the importance of every single family in one
How Relationships with Parents Affect Academics

9
society. In multiple hadith from, children are encouraged to have good relationships with their

families and parents. Some of the benefits are that it helps their future and in retrospect their

education. Mulsims are told to keep relationships with their parents and that is one of the most

important things they can do. If they have good relations with their parents it creates a good

environment where the student can prosper and reach academic goals.

Abu Huraira, a famous scholar reported that a person came to Allah's messenger (may peace be

upon him) and said : Who among the people is most deserving of a fine treatment from my

hand? He said: Your mother. He again said: Then who? He said: Again it is your mother (who

deserves the best treatment from you). He said: then who? The prophet replied to the man,

again, it is your mother. He (again) said: Then who? Thereupon the prophet said: "Then it is

your father.” This hadith shows the importance of the relationship with the mother. Even the

father has the same importance as the mother. In turn they help their children achieve their

goals and help them in their education and our future; in this life and the next.

The science behind things in life is always backed up by Islam and this is no different.

The reason Allah orders Muslims to respect and have a good relationship with their parents is

because that relationship is very important and beneficial. Science backs that up by showing

that a healthy relationship between a child and his parent directly correlates to educational

benefits. Thus, Allah has ordered Muslims to maintain a healthy relationship with parents.

Conclusion

In conclusion, developing a healthy relationship with one's parents is essential for

students because it is linked to increased academic achievement and a better sense of self. People
How Relationships with Parents Affect Academics

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with parents engaged in their education are more likely to earn higher grades and graduate from

school. A good relationship with parents creates a healthy environment in which a student can set

realistic expectations and goals and achieve them. In Islam, Muslims are told to keep healthy

relationships with their parents and that it is one of the most important things they can do. In the

end, a good relationship with parents can help a student’s education and future.
How Relationships with Parents Affect Academics

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Bibliography

Dearing, E., Kreider, H., Simpkins, S., & Weiss, H. (n.d.). Family Involvement in School and

Low-Income Children's Literacy Performance / Publications & Resources / Family

Involvement / HFRP - Harvard Family Research Project. Harvard Family Research

Project. Retrieved December 23, 2022, from

https://archive.globalfrp.org/family-involvement/publications-resources/family-involvem

ent-in-school-and-low-income-children-s-literacy-performance

Fiske, S. T., Schacter, D. L., & Zahn-Waxler, C. (2000). Annual Review of Psychology. Annual

Reviews Inc.

The Influence of Parent-Child Relationship on the Academic Pressure of Elementary Students: A

Moderated Mediation Model. (2021, June 16). ERIC. Retrieved December 23, 2022,

from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1305839.pdf

Ismail, M. (2022, July 7). How Family Engagement Leads to Student Success. Waterford.org.

Retrieved December 23, 2022, from

https://www.waterford.org/education/how-parent-involvment-leads-to-student-success/

Lesson 2: The Role of the Mother | Raising Children. (2022, July 1). Al-Islam.org. Retrieved

December 23, 2022, from

https://www.al-islam.org/raising-children-tahera-kassamali/lesson-2-role-mother The

Perfect Time | Parent-Child Relationship. (n.d.). Al-Islam.org. Retrieved December 23,

2022, from https://www.al-islam.org/parent-child-relationship/perfect-time

How Relationships With Parents Affect Academics

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Sudderth, A., & Kimble, A. (2022, April 12). The Relationship Between Parental and Family

Involvement and Student Success | Rethink Together. XQ Institute. Retrieved December

23, 2022, from

https://xqsuperschool.org/rethinktogether/relationship-between-parental-and-family-invol

vement-and-academic-achievement/

The Quran