Does the workplace hinder family involvement in childrens education?
Claire Smrekar from Vanderbilt University writes: Our report, March Toward Excellence: School Success and Minority Student Achievement in Department of Defense Schools, underscores the value of a “community-wide, corporate commitment” to children’s education. We believe that nonmilitary settings can gain similarly impressive levels of commitment to public education by making more visible the facets of the workplace that limit the ability of employees to participate more fully in school-based activities. Schools tend to structure school-based activities for traditional, stay-at-home mothers. At the same time, a large number of households include parents who are employed in full-time occupations that provide little flexibility and opportunity for parents to leave work during school hours. As schools begin to rethink the purpose and organization of parent involvement activities, employers should reevaluate workplace policies that hinder the kind of parental commitment to educational excel
