Why is Family Learning important?

As well as having a great day out at your event, the FLF is an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance that families can have in supporting each other’s learning. Families are our first and most important teachers.

Family Learning, where parents/carers and children learn together and parents are able to support their children’s learning can help both children and adults by:

• breaking the intergenerational transmission of negative educational outcomes (Callaghan et al., 2001)

• helping parents/ carers understand how to support their children’s education. Research has shown parental involvement in a child’s learning has more of an impact on a child’s educational outcomes than any other demographic measure (Feinstein and Symons,1999)

• having a positive affect on a child’s academic performance (Fan & Chen, 2001)

• improving the prospects of parents/ carers to progress on to further education or employment (Brooks et al., 1997)

• improving parental confidence, social skills, likelihood of progressing on to further study, as well as significant improvements in parental literacy and numeracy (Brooks et al., 1997).

• helping parents to tackle the causes of antisocial behaviour. A child with persistent antisocial behaviour at the age of 10 will cost, on average, ten times more by the age of 28 than one with no problems, amounting to £70,000 extra public spending. (Scott et al, 2001)