Factors Affecting S Student’s English Learning Achievement

13 a. Inteligensi b. Motivasi c. Minat d. Sikap e. Bakat d. Teman 2. Lingkungan Non-sosial a. Rumah b. Sekolah c. Peralatan d. Alam a. Analytical b. Deep 3. Pendekatan Rendah a. Reproductive b. Surface However, in this research, the researcher focused on parents as one of factors that is affecting students’ achievement.

2. Par ents Role in Students’ Academic Lives

The child is born into family – his first socializing group and the most basic agency of socialization in all societies. The family is not only the first group to which he is exposed, but also is in many ways the most influential. 22 It is in line with Robertson who states that one reason for importance of the family is that it has the main responsibility for socializing children in the crucial early years of life. The family is where children establish their first close emotional ties, learn or acquire language, and begin to internalize cultural norms and values. 23 As the unit of society, the home sets the pattern for social development and adjustment to form the attitudes and behavior habits. A child’s physical, mental, and emotional potentialities reflect the physical, mental, and emotional characteristic of his parent. They are formed by the interaction between the child and the parent. 24

a. Parents’ Involvement Based at Home and School

The term parents’ involvement is used broadly in this writing. It includes several different forms of participation in education. Parents get involved in their children’s education because one of their functions is giving education for their children. 22 Cole S. Brembeck, Social Foundations of Education: A Cross-cultural Approach, New York: John Willey and Sons, Inc., 1967, p. 121 23 Ian Robertson, Sociology, New York: Worth Publisher, Inc., 1978, p. 108. 24 Abu Hamadi, Sosiologi Pendidikan, Jakarta: Rineka Cipta, 2007, p. 91. 14 The children’s education is primarily a concern of the family, not the society as stated on the law of Republic Indonesia, law 23 of the year 2002, article 26 about Child Protection. Parents obligate and assume responsibility for: 1 Nurturing, taking care, giving education and protecting the child; 2 Developing their child’s ability, talent and interest. Parents’ involvement can be defined as a process that the parents use all their ability to develop their children potency. 25 Parents obligate as positive habit former for strong foundation in informal education. By the habits parents show, the children will adapt and adopt their parents. 26 This way, parents have important roles in developing their children’s potency. Drawing on several diverse lines of theory and research, Grolnick and Slowiaczek cited on Pomerantz, et.al. journal article defined parents involvement in childrens schooling as parents commitment of resources to the academic arena of childrens lives. They make the broad distinction between involvement based at school and that based at home. The distinction is used because it is a closer one that may be used with ease by researchers, policy makers, educators, and parents. Moreover, the distinction between involvement on the school front and that on the home front is of import because the two may embody distinct ways that parents become involved in childrens schooling, with distinct effects on children. 27 School-based involvement represents practices on the part of parents that require their making actual contact with schools. Practices in this vein include, but are not limited to, being present at general school meetings, talking with teachers e.g., attending parent-teacher conferences, initiating contact with teachers, attending school events e.g., open houses, science fairs, and volunteering at school. Parents commonly become involved on the 25 Soemiarti Patmonodewo, Pendidikan Anak Prasekolah, Jakarta: Rineka Cipta, 2008, p. 124. 26 Abu Hamadi, op. cit., p.92. 27 Eva M. Pomerantz, et. al., The How, Whom and Why Parents’ Involvement in Children’s Academic Lives: More Is Not Always Better, American Educational Research Assosiation, Vol. 77, No. 3, 2007, p. 373-410. 15 school front through their presence at general school meetings and parent- teacher conferences. Parents school-based involvement may also include involvement at a higher level, such as being a member of the school board and attending school board meetings. Epstein, on the journal article by Pomerantz, et.al., labeled this involvement in governance and advocacy, distinguishing it from school- based involvement at a lower level. The direct impact on children may be quite small, given the limited interactions parents and children may have in its context. Home-based involvement represents parents practices related to school that take place outside of school, usually, though not always, in the home. Such practices can be directly related to school, including assisting children with school-related tasks, such as homework e.g., creating a quiet place for children to study, helping children in completing homework and course selection, responding to childrens academic endeavors e.g., choices about the topic of a school project, performance on a test, and talking with children about academic issues e.g., what happened in school, the value of doing well in school. Also characteristic of parents home-based involvement is engaging children in intellectual activities e.g., reading books with children, taking them to museums that may not be directly related to school. Parents involvement on the home front may sometimes be tied to parents involvement on the school front. For example, parents may use knowledge gained at parent-teacher conferences in assisting children with homework. In conclusion, to make a clear explanation, the researcher used the table about parents’ involvement in education based at school and based at home as follow: 16 Figure 2.1 Parents Involvement Adapted from Journal of Education Research International 28 Parental Involvement

b. Parents’ Involvement in Student’s English Learning Process

Children acquire a large percentage of their language from their parents. The home environment is the dominate factor in shaping early language development for most children then for fulfilling this role, the home provides a natural setting. 29 The type of language a child is exposed to in the home domain is a critical factor in determining that child’s proficiency in the language. According to M ilner’s opinion which has been quoted by Gary N. Chamber, there is a model of attitudinal influence to which three processes contribute: 30 1 Direct tuition from parents, 2 Indirect tuition, for instance, the attitudes of the parents are implicit in their behavior, 3 Role-learning, for instance, the behavior of the children reflects the behavior of those around them. 28 Valerie J. Schute, et. al., A Review of a Relationship between Parental Involvement and Secondary School Students’ Academic Achievement, Journal of Education Research International, 2011, p. 3. 29 Rolland J. Van Hattum, Developmental Language Programming for the Retarded, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1979, p.51. 30 Gary N. Chambers, Motivating Language Learners, Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 1999, p. 82. Home School Discussing school activities Aspiration and expectation Parenting style Reading at home Checking homework Home rules and supervision Contacting school personnel Attending PTO, etc. Volunteering at school