Parental Involvement in Supporting Children’s Early Learning at Home: Perceptions, Practices, and Challenges

This study aimed to examine parental involvement in supporting children's early learning at home among parents of children aged 3-4 years old in Barangay Lumbo, Valencia City, for the academic year 2025-2026. This research addressed three key objectives: (1) to determine parents' perceptions of their role in supporting their children's early learning at home; (2) to identify the common practices or activities that parents use to facilitate their children's early learning; (3) to examine the challenges faced by parents in supporting their children's learning at home. The study adopted a mixed-method research design, anchoring its analysis on Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's Model of Parental Involvement and Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory. The results of the research revealed that parents demonstrated a very high level of positive perception regarding their role, strongly recognizing their responsibility and influence in their children's early learning and development. Despite these strong beliefs, the study found a clear inconsistency in implementation; their actual practices were only moderate to high and inconsistently implemented. While some activities, such as encouraging curiosity, were frequently practiced, other essential structured practices like maintaining a regular study time and consistent reading activities were less evident. The findings further indicated that while parents were willing to support their children's learning, their ability to do so is influenced by both internal and external factors, highlighting a gap between perception and actual consistent practice.

Keywords

Early learning, parental involvement, parents’ perceptions, parental practices, parents’ challenges

Downloads

PDF JATS XML

References

1. Altun, D., Erden, F., & Hartman, D. (2022). The effect of home literacy environment on preschool children’s learning dispositions. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Barger, M. M., Kim, E. M., Kuncel, N. R., & Pomerantz, E. M. (2019). The relation between parents’ involvement in children’s schooling and children’s adjustment: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 145(9), 855–890. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000204 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Barnett, M. A., Paschall, K. W., Mastergeorge, A. M., Cutshaw, C. A., & Warren, S. M. (2020). Influences of parent-teacher relationships and parent-child relationships on children's social-emotional school readiness. Early Childhood Education Journal, 48(3), 349–360. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Bartolome, M. T., Mamat, N., & Masnan, A. H. (2017). Parental involvement in the Philippines: A review of literatures. International Journal of Early Childhood Education Care, 6, 41–50. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1207994.pdf [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Bartolome, M. T., & Mamat, N. (2020). Exploring parental involvement in early childhood education in the Philippines. Normal Lights, 14(2). https://po.pnuresearchportal.org/ejournal/index.php/normallights/article/view/1653 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Castro, M., Expósito-Casas, E., López-Martín, E., Lizasoain, L., Navarro-Asencio, E., & Gaviria, J. L. (2015). Parental involvement on student academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 14, 33–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.01.002 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. De Paz, P. I. V., De Paz, V., Niez, R. A., Caṅezo, V. C. Jr., Torregoza, M. S. C., Mergildo, M. F. D., & Panit, N. M. (2024). Lived experiences of parents supporting their children in printed modular distance learning in the Philippines: A case study of an elementary school. Library Progress International. https://doi.org/10.48165/bapas.2024.44.2.1 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Dong, C., Cao, S., & Li, H. (2020). Young children’s online learning during COVID-19 pandemic: Chinese parents’ beliefs and attitudes. Children and Youth Services Review, 118, 105440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105440 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Epstein, J. L., & Sanders, M. G. (2016). School, family, and community partnerships: Your handbook for action (4th ed.). Corwin Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Garbe, A., Ogurlu, U., Logan, N., & Cook, P. (2020). Parents’ Experiences with remote educational learning during COVID-19 school closures. American Journal of Endourology and Robot Assisted Surgery, 34(S1), S46–S52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00345-020-03497-8 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Giallo, R., Treyvaud, K., Matthews, J., & Kienhuis, M. (2017). Making the transition to primary school: An overview of the issues and strategies for supporting young children and their families. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 42(1), 24–32. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Goodall, J. (2019). Parental engagement and deficit discourses: absolving the system and solving parents. Educational Review, 73(1), 98–110. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2018.1559801 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Hayes, N., Berthelsen, D. C., Nicholson, J. M., & Walker, S. (2016). Trajectories of parental involvement in home learning activities across the early years: Associations with socio-demographic characteristics and children’s learning outcomes. Early Child Development and Care, 188(10), 1405–1418. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2016.1262362 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., & Sandler, H. M. (2016). Why do parents become involved in their children’s education? In The social context of parental involvement (pp. 3–14). Springer. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., & Sandler, H. M. (2016 update). Parental involvement model: Role construction and self-efficacy. In Handbook of school-family partnerships (pp. 19–40). Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Hornby, G., & Blackwell, I. (2018). Barriers to parental involvement in education: An update. Educational Review, 70(1), 109–119. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2018.1388611 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Joh, A., & William, L. (2024, May 8). IMPACT OF HOME ENVIRONMENT ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN PHILIPPINES. https://socialsciencesbulletin.com/index.php/IJSSB/article/view/18 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Kaya, Ü. Ü., Demircan, H. Ö., & Altun, D. (2026). Parental engagement and satisfaction in early childhood education: The mediating role of home literacy environment. Early Childhood Education Journal, 54, 1375–1393. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-01935-6 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Knauer, H. A., Humer, J. C., Kaiser, G., & Schneider, W. (2021). Parental involvement in home-based learning during early childhood education. Educational Research and Evaluation, 27(3–4), 1–18. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1313094 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Kong, C., & Yasmin, F. (2022). Impact of parenting style on early childhood learning: Mediating role of parental self-efficacy. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 928629. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.928629 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Lawrence, E. C., McNeal, C., & Smith, H. (2019). Parent engagement in early childhood education: Challenges and opportunities. Urban Education Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Lehrl, S., Evangelou, M., & Sammons, P. (2020). The home learning environment and its role in shaping children’s educational development. School Effectiveness and School Improvement. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2020.1693487 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Liquigan, M. L., Ortiz, V. I., Sian, D. R. V., & Robles, V. D. (2023). Effects of home environment to the academic performance of the Grade 10 students at Sto. Niño National High School, Cagayan, Philippines. International Journal of Contemporary Issues in Social Sciences. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372344302 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Levickis, P., Murray, L., Lee-Pang, L., Eadie, P., Page, J., & Lee, W. Y. (2023). Parents’ perspectives of family engagement with early childhood education and care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early Childhood Education Journal, 51, 1279–1289. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-022-01376-5 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. McWayne, C. M., Mistry, J., & Melzi, G. (2020). Family engagement as culturally-relevant practice: Lessons from Head Start. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 50, 131–142. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Minke, K. M., Sheridan, S. M., Eisenberg, D., & Schunk, S. (2017). Family-school partnerships: Practices, research, and future directions. Handbook of School-Family Partnerships, 19–38. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Niklas, F., & Schneider, W. (2017). Home learning environment and development of child competencies from kindergarten to first grade. Early Child Development and Care, 187(3–4), 533–546. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2016.1155147 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Niklas, F., Cohrssen, C., & Tayler, C. (2021). Parents supporting learning: A non-intensive intervention supporting literacy and numeracy in the home learning environment. Early Child Development and Care. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2021.1928966 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Oppermann, E., Cohen, F., Wolf, K., Burghardt, L., & Anders, Y. (2021). Changes in parents’ home learning activities with their children during the COVID-19 lockdown: The role of parental stress, parents’ self-efficacy and social support. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 682540. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.682540 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2020). Early Learning and Child Well-being A study of Five-year-Olds in England, Estonia, and the United States: A Study of Five-year-Olds in England, Estonia, and the United States. OECD Publishing. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Pan, Y., Lin, Y., & Fang, X. (2021). Parental involvement and Chinese early childhood education: Challenges in urban-rural divides. Early Years, 41(4-5), 456–470. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Pancsofar, N., Lucero, A., Bridger, S. T., & Trotti, J. (2021). "We have a book for that!": Exploring parental beliefs and home literacy practices in low-income families. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 21(3), 345–368. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798419842426 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Palmes, H., & Palmes, H. (2023). Parental involvement in the modular distance learning in challenged areas: A case study. https://ejournals.ph/article.php?id=21680 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Pomerantz, E. M., Cheung, C. S., & Jones, S. D. (2016). Parenting in context: A sociocultural perspective on parenting and learning. Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science, 2, 1–35. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Simeonston, H., & Panayiotou, M. (2022). The home learning environment and child development: A study of parental involvement and routines in early childhood. Journal of Family Psychology, 36(4), 582–593. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000951 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Sullivan, A. L., Svingen, L., & Johnson, L. (2019). Language brokering in immigrant families: Implications for early education. Journal of Educational Research, 112(3), 345–357. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. United Nations Children’s Fund. (2019). A World Ready to Learn: Prioritizing Quality Early Childhood Education - Advocacy brief. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. Vorhaus, J. (2011). Review of Best Practice in Parental Engagement. Department for Education.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-best-practice-in-parental-engagement [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. Wildenger, L. K., McIntyre, L. L., & Folsom, R. (2018). Barriers to Parent Involvement in Preschool Special Education. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 38(2), 104–115. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

Parental Involvement in Supporting Children’s Early Learning at Home: Perceptions, Practices, and Challenges

Authors

Article Information

Publication Timeline

Abstract

Keywords

Downloads

References

Metrics

Views & Downloads

Similar Articles