Sharing Student Projects

Some caregivers who experience poverty and disadvantage find it difficult to engage in learning activities with the children in their care, which can lead to poorer educational and social outcomes for the child. This study intended to find out more about this from the perspective of those who are affected. Therefore, low-income individuals living in an area of the Northwest with high poverty rates were requested to participate in the study. Eight parents were interviewed and described their perspectives, experiences, barriers, and support relevant to the learning activities they engage in with their children. The researcher analysed these interviews and generated themes that were common across them. It was discovered that although low-income parents know how important home engagement is, they face many barriers when it comes to engaging with their children at home. These included the cost of resources, inaccessible transport, and their own mental or physical health difficulties. Parents also described feeling like they do not receive enough support from the government or from schools. This research project supports findings about the relationship between income and home engagement as it provides some explanations for why learning at home can become difficult. It is also supportive of some researchers who claim that low-income caregivers can feel excluded or alienated from the school context. The government, too, admit to failings in this area. However, it does not support some findings that argue that home engagement may be lower for low-income households because of reduced levels of motivation by the caregivers. Schools, caregivers, and government organisations should work collaboratively to create support programs as there are many factors that can hinder a caregiver’s ability to engage at home. By improving home engagement, children and young people can expect to see better outcomes in and outside of school.

The government has acknowledged its shortcomings in providing adequate support for home learning and plans to invest in research to determine the efficacy of specific interventions. It is also essential to gather feedback from those most at risk to ensure that the support provided is useful and accessible. Without this perspective, the implementation of support will be ineffective. The education sector would also benefit from the results of this study. Work needs to be done to create better channels of communication between schools, community groups, and caregivers to facilitate home learning and to ensure the responsibility does not fall solely on disadvantaged households who may not have the appropriate knowledge, experience, or resources to aid their child’s learning outside of school. Wider awareness of the benefits of home learning to the general Parent Experiences of the Home Learning Environment public may also improve engagement; children and young people may then experience improved social and educational outcomes overall. Parents also described the negative impact of poor local facilities. This research could therefore potentially encourage local government groups to improve local facilities such as libraries and parks, thus creating a positive environmental impact. This research could also benefit the education and culture sectors if schools commit to improving their awareness of barriers, the impact of stigma and better methods of communication to facilitate learning beyond the school building.