parents and principals as partners in creating a culture of learning

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The high costs ofeducation require the best possible utilisation thereof At
present about a quarter of the RSA's national budget is allocated to
education. Parents and the private sector also make large financial
contributions - hence through their involvement, parents must ensure that
effective teaching and learning are taking place.
The mental development ofthe childdemands parent-principal cooperation.
The first seventeen years of a child's life are crucial in the development of
his or her intelligence and parents play an important role in this regard.
It is imperative therefore that parents also become involved in the formal
education of their children.
4.3.4 Forms of parent involvement
The following three definitions provide guidelines on what parent involvement
should be:
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Squelch and Lemmer (1994:93) define parent involvement as follows:
It is the active and willing panicipation of parents in a wide range of
school-based and home-based activities which may be educational or non­
educational. It extends from supponing and upholding the school ethos to
supervising children's homework at home. Parent involvement involves
mutual sharing, cooperation and suppon.
The UNISA METROPOLITAN LIFE project for the training of teachers
in parent involvement (1994:2) defines parent involvement as follows: