Learning Pays.com Survey Finds:
PARENTS WANT TO USE THE INTERNET TO GET MORE INVOLVED IN EDUCATION
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - February 28, 2000/Xpress Press/ - Parents want to
use the Internet to become more involved in their children's education,
according to the Learning Pays.com/Yankelovich Study of Parental Involvement
in Education.
More than three-quarters (78 percent) of parents polled say that they would
become more involved with their children's school experience if they had
greater access to teachers, curriculum and event schedules via the Internet.
Additionally, a majority (53 percent) of parents feel that their children
would benefit from individualized attention, tailored to their unique
learning styles and capabilities.
The study, which was conducted by Yankelovich Partners, Inc., also indicates
that many parents want to get more involved in specific school-related
activities:
* Almost half of the parents of school-aged children (48 percent) wish they
could play a more active role in class trips and other educational
activities.
* A similar number (47 percent) would like to be more involved in their
child's extra-curricular activities.
* More than two-fifths (44 percent) of parents would like to be more
involved or aware of their child's homework and other assignments.
* More than a third (34 percent) would like to be more involved in PTA
meetings.
Professor Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., a Harvard University Professor of Law
and Chairman of the B.E.L.L. Foundation (Building Enterprises for Learning
and Living) said, "Parental involvement is critical to the academic success
of all children. It helps children understand that the school and the home
are connected and that school is an integral part of the whole family's
life."
B.E.L.L. is a non-profit organization, based in Cambridge, Mass., dedicated
to educating children who have historically performed below grade levels.
"It has become apparent that parents want meaningful involvement with their
children's education, and the Internet is one great tool for doing that,"
said Learning Pays.com Founder and CEO Mark Thimmig. "Through Learning
Pays.com's Web-based tools, parents, teachers and students can be better
connected to each other, with the expected goal of enhanced student
performance."
Additional findings of the survey reveal:
* Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of parents polled feel that it is easy
to speak with their children's teachers. However, an equal number say that
they would become more involved with their children's schools if they could
talk to their teachers and access information about their day-to-day
classroom activities using the Internet.
* More than two-fifths of parents of school-age children (42 percent) spend
between two and a half and 10 hours a week with their children in
school-related activities.
* A quarter of parents (25 percent) spend two and a half hours or less per
week helping their children with their homework.
* About a fifth (21 percent) spend more than 10 hours with their school-aged
child on school activities.
* Four percent of parents say they spend no time with their child at all on
work related to school.
The Learning Pays.com/Yankelovich study was conducted through interviews of
more than 1,000 regionally representative, randomly selected Americans, aged
18 or older.
Learning Pays.com and IBM, which markets solutions programs for schools
called IBM Learning Village (tm), are building on the synergy between their
two products through a teaming agreement. Together, the two companies are
pursuing the implementation of technology-based tools and services to K-12
schools worldwide. For more information, visit
www.LearningPays.com/media.shtml