Parental engagement is key to student success

Parental engagement, not real estate, is key to student success

27 January 2015

Auckland parents who want the best education for their children would be better investing in time and support for their child’s learning instead of fretting over real estate, says NZEI Te Riu Roa National President Louise Green.

“Children are successful when parents have the time, energy and focus to support their children's learning. That starts with a strong partnership between parents and quality early childhood education services and extends into support for children and their learning at school.

She says an article in the NZ Herald today suggesting parents could save money by buying outside so-called elite school zones and instead pay for private education simply perpetuates a very misleading myth about education.

“New Zealand has a high quality public education system. Great teaching and learning happens in schools right across the country – at all deciles. There is no evidence that a child will achieve better educational success at a private or “elite” public school.

"The biggest indicator of a student's success is their home environment. Children succeed when they have parents who put time, energy and commitment into supporting their learning.

“To suggest that parents stress about either committing huge amounts of money to buy in certain school zones or on private school fees shows a lack of understanding about education. And this could even be damaging to children.

“One of the biggest challenges facing education is anxiety and time-poor parenting. Teachers see this time and again. We also see it in poorer communities where parents often have no choice but to work extremely long hours on very low pay and still struggle to provide basic necessities. That’s why NZEI supports the Living Wage campaign.”

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