Describe your son room Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Describe your son room - Essay Example The furniture rises out of this mess as varying levels of more of the same. The bed I gave him was a wooden framed futon with a full-sized black mattress but all one can see of this is one side of the wooden frame closest to the wall where an inexplicable and largely inaccessible hole exists in the mess reaching all the way to the floor – only a few wrappers here and a couple other pieces of trash. The rest of the bed is more of the same scattered blankets, clothing and pillows. The desk is recognizable thanks to the computer monitor and keyboard, but these are crowded as well by piles of papers and unopened mail. A standing lamp rises disdainfully out of the boxes and bundles piled up against one wall that haven’t moved since we moved here more than a year ago and a TV set peeks out from under yet more clothes slung over its top as if it were a waiting valet. I don’t dare peek in the closet for fear of what monsters might exist in there. At one point in time, I would have thrown a fit for him allowing his living space to become such a danger zone but over the years I have determined that I have other things to spend my energy on. He is uncomfortable in his room but I am allowing him to discover on his own the joy and the relaxation available when one can simply rest in their own quiet, private, clean space – something not at all possible in the room’s current state forcing him to frequently invade his cleaner sister’s room or vacate the house altogether in order to find a place to relax. As long as he keeps his door closed so none of his disaster spills into the rest of the house and he avoids destroying the rest of the house as he has his room, I try to stay out of his business. He had an entire childhood of having to keep his room clean; now that he’s a teenager, it’s time for him to choose when he wants to actually grow up and take care of his

Canadas Electoral System at the Federal level. Political Participation Essay

Canadas Electoral System at the Federal level. Political Participation in Canada - Essay Example This has not been the situation in Canada. Appointive change has been an exceedingly wrangled about the issue all through Canadian legislative issues. As of now, Canada's appointive framework is being addressed for its powerlessness to mirror the political perspectives of its residents. The single member plurality system (SMP), which Canada utilizes to create a just election, can make agents be chosen without most of the well-known votes. Interestingly, the arrangement of proportional representation disposes of a disparity in parliament synthesis by guaranteeing representation from each gathering that got votes. Despite the fact that this framework would unavoidably bring about minority governments, it would properly take into account the perspectives of the constituents. To create a more successful government, Canada's single member plurality framework ought to be supplanted by an arrangement of proportional representation (PR). Single Member Plurality framework vs Proportional Representation Canada's present single member plurality appointive framework is frequently depicted as a "first past the post† framework. The path, in which this framework capacity works, is that every voter is permitted one vote and the competitor with the most votes (or a majority) gets to be chosen. Then again, proportional representation can be expert through a large number of discretionary strategies. However, for accommodation, we will concentrate essentially on the two most outstanding frameworks: party list framework, and mixed member proportionality. Finally, we will conclude with answering which electoral system would be best for Canada at the federal level?

A Profile of Mr Bean's Carrier in Comedy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Profile of Mr Bean's Carrier in Comedy - Essay Example Mr. Bean’s humor is atypical for a British sitcom. For example, British comedy series usually employ satire, parody, sarcasm and dry humor. But breaking away from this tradition, Mr. Bean thrives on a mix of visual and physical humor. While it is logical to believe that this type of slapstick humor appeals to children and adolescents, Mr. Bean’s appeal is near universal spanning across age, gender, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Described as â€Å"a child in a grown man’s body†, the endearing character goes about everyday tasks in a disruptive yet funny manner. Mr. Bean, or for that matter any other character in the series, speaks much. This adaption to the ‘silent movie’ genre works very well, as it resonates with classic comic works of Charlie Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy, etc. Background laughs are added to accentuate the effect and to imply humor. The recurring motifs of the show, in the form of the troublesome car, the tenuous love affair with Irma Gobb, his most intimate companion the Teddy bear, etc, all help to heighten the humor. Childlike in his behavior and thoughts, Mr. Bean gets himself into various sorts of crises. Though some of the situations he gets himself into are serious, most of them are light and trivial. Moreover, Mr. Bean is always finding new ways of annoying and offending people around him. The plots are constructed in such a manner that comedy takes precedence over realism or credibility of situations. This is not such as bad thing for the audience as they get maximum worth out of the time spent. It is a testament to the success of the TV series, that movie and animation adaptations followed - Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie and Mr. Bean (animated) respectively. Books and DVD’s inspired by the original show also came forth. The outstanding commercial success of the show and its adaptations are complemented by critical appreciation as well.  

Discribe the parliamentary sovereignty from constitutional prespective Essay

Discribe the parliamentary sovereignty from constitutional prespective - Essay Example According to the conventions of the British constitutional law in the past century, it is indicative that the dicey theory was the most influential one among all that were advanced in the century. The theory advanced by lord dicey postulates that the parliament has the right under the English constitution to make or repeal any law irrespective of circumstances. The theory goes further to state that there is no one under the constitution that has the right to override or amend the legislation made by the parliament. Therefore, the theory posits that the sovereignty of the parliamentary made legislation is absolute as long as it is working within the scope of the constitution. Notwithstanding the above ideal postulated by the theory, there are some sophisticated arguments that can be levelled against the doctrine that lord dicey fronts. The argument, notably, challenge the validity of the theory in the light of devolution, European convention on human rights and European union laws. This means that the point of absolute power of the parliament is not valid since there are limitations imposed upon it on the issues stated. Therefore, due to lack of the common point of reference on the absolute power of the parliament made legislations, various authorities in constitutional law have suggested an evaluation of the sovereignty of the constitution from a purely conventional approach. This approach seeks to remove the notion postulated by dicey theory on the supremacy of the parliament made law. As indicated earlier the power of the parliament in making the laws is absolute and it can only be repealed by another parliament. However, some of the scholars in law insist in the absolute power of the parliament in making the laws. This means that the parliament still harbor the right to make the unquestioned law as it is a convention under the British constitution. Others argue that in as much as the sovereignty of the constitution forms a

U.A.E United Arab Emirates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

U.A.E United Arab Emirates - Essay Example There are very many cultural aspects that the UAE shares with other larger Arab cultures and their neighboring Arabic countries. The paper will review the history of United Arab Emirates based on cultures, traditions they celebrate, clothing, food and other historical aspects. In the early 19th century, the U.AE was inhabited by resourceful and proud nomadic Bedouin groups, date farms and fishing villages. Abu Dhabi had hundreds of Barasti huts commonly known as palm huts, several buildings and the famous Ruler’s Fort. Dubai, on the other hand, was the trading hub because it was geographically located along the creek. This ensured that it offered a safe haven against the Straits of Hormuz and others (Abdulla 58). The current UAE has very little resemblance to the Emirates that existed 40 years ago. Widespread changes have taken place across time and place, leading to rapid transformation of the country. Studies have shown that the UAE was in existence even in the 3rd millennium BC with its history being characterized by tribes that practiced fishing, herding, and nomadism. These constituted the primary economic activities in the region during the periods near the 3rd millennium. Bedouins were definitely the main building blocks and pillars of the UAE community. The term Bedouin refers to a desert dweller. Thus, Bedouins took the active part in the construction of the United Arab Emirates. These early desert dwellers moved between the desert, ocean and the oasis. The three environments were critical for their survival since they provided conducive conditions for their economic activities. When near the ocean they would concentrate on fishing and pearl diving when in the desert they would search for grazing areas for their herds and camels. When in the oasis the Bedouin tribe would irrigate and farm vegetables and dates. The luxuriant farms and terraced gardens found in the mountain Wadis and Al Ain are proof

Pizza Pan Business Plan Essay Example for Free

Pizza Pan Business Plan Essay P ? ? ? ? izza Pan is an Australian Company, has developed two new styles of frozen pizza that is lite-cheese, single size whole meal pizza and a jumbo, topping-plus pizza. Pizza Pan is considering undertaking a promotional campaign to market these new varieties in Malaysia. As a marketing manager, we are required to: To outline possible marketing goal for Pizza Pan in promoting these new products. To identify and analyses target markets for these two products. To develop a marketing mix for ONE of these product. To develop an appropriate competitive marketing strategies for Pizza Pan ? In order to outline possible marketing goal for Pizza Pan in promoting these new products. So fast food is one of the worlds largest growing food types. As such Pizza Pan is also one of the well known companies in frozen pizza. This has currently developed two new styles of frozen Pizza. One of the pizzas is a light-cheese, single-size and whole meal pizza whereas another pizza favor is a jumbo, topping-plus pizza. As all of us knew, Malaysia which is a multicultural country which populate by more than 2. 8 million people and they loves experiencing new products and specially food and this country surrounded by hyper-competitors, yet Pizza Pan is considering undertaking a promotional campaign to market these new varieties in Malaysia. Obviously in order to promote these products effectively and efficiently the company needs planning ahead the marketing goals and strategies. Since Malaysia population was 28,728,607 during July 2012. Meanwhile there are 28,728,607 people on Malaysia, out of 29. 6% of Malaysian was 0-14 years old; 65.4% who are in 15-64 years old and there are also over 5% of Malaysian are 65 years old and above. Refer to the index shown; we had decided the goal of Pizza Pan is within one year 80% of Malaysian will get know Pizza Pan. We set the goal at 80%, there are 29. 6% of people are 0 to 14 years old in Malaysia let ignore the baby so we minus out 15 % on the group of age in 0 to 14 year olds so it will be 14. 6% of people who are in 9 to 14 years old. When added up with the group who are in 15 to 64 years old, 65. 4% + 14. 6% there are 80%. Now 80% of Malaysian there are all who can have Pizza or who love Pizza. It’s because baby who just born will not able to enjoy Pizza Pan and People Who over 65 years old will not like fast food or less although when they are young they like to have it. So we decided to minus out this two group therefore Pizza Pan has specific segments to achieve. Then, another goal would be associative in promoting these new Pan Pizza. One of it is to become the market share leader of frozen pizza products amongst its other competitors. Due to that creating customers awareness is also another important goal in promoting these new products. Whereby the company is aiming of rising up to 80% awareness towards these products and beat the rest of the competitors. In simple word, Pizza Pan Company also aims in retaining new customers into long term customers. With this, sales of the new product can be increased due to excellent brand image, attractive advertisement, showing the temptation to eat the product which has been positioned in consumers mind and their willingness to spend the money or experience new products on how creativity of the product can meet their satisfaction comparing to the standards favor of frozen pizza. In brief, we expect customers be aware of these new products in the market. For instance, during the first promotional period of these products, we are targeting the sales of RM2 billion for the frozen pizzas with low price strategy to gain the market share during the growth of life-cycle. In addition achieving true and loyalty customers towards the products is also our objective. In order to be first among equals in a category, the company needs to be more innovative by designing more alternatives selection for consumers. Besides, the company needs to promote the category brand first after only individual brand. Due to promoting frozen pizza it has an advantage like promotional saying â€Å"let frozen pizza refresh you today†, â€Å"Eat fresh anytime frozen pizza†, â€Å"Instant pizza, frozen pizza† â€Å"Ready to eat any time† etc†¦. ? In order to identify and analyses target markets for these two pizza products target markets for Pizza Pan Company are demographic, geographical, psychographic and behavioral. The company is intending to promote the two new products into the selected target markets. This would be metropolitan cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Selangor, Penang etc†¦ From the demographic market point of views, Pizza Pan Company is targeting for the highest expiation of consumers which are between 18 to 48 years of age and the expiation is starting to drop at the starting ages of 49 for the people. Besides, the company is not fixing the gender of consumers of selecting the products. Demographic speaking, the company is targeting for the single and married people who are like main customer for the company. It can be easy for the people who are individuals or even working marriage couples who are likelihood to consume frozen pizza and having busy life style and have to prepare meals for themselves. So it’s time consuming and full satisfaction for busy people. Moreover it will also ease the burdens of parent as even children can prepare their own meals in a very safe way. Not only income and occupation of consumers are included in the demographic market. For example, a person who is holding the high-position in the rapid changing world, can means he/she is high income earner who has to responsible with amount of workloads through working against its time. Hence, they are encountering frozen pizza is fast food and best convenient option for them to work through their days. Besides, the company is targeting for the Englisheducated students who are more likely to follow the western style by consuming frozen pizza as their priority frequent meal whereas Chinese -educated students are preferred in consuming flour products as their elementary needs such as rice. Since Malaysia is multicultural country and comprising of variety race with different religion. Therefore, Pizza Pan Company is taking into consideration of religion respects as their target market. As a result, two new frozen pizzas are promoting but restricting with no pork contents, namely Halal in order to be available for Malaysian consumers. Also, the young generation has becoming the target market to focus on nowadays. Owing to the lack of responsibilities that teenagers have and the lack of home cooked meals whiles home alone, along with current trends of impatience youngsters that everything must be simple and fast, thus frozen pizza is a quick alternative for meal. The geographical target market for the company is Malaysia. The company is targeting for the metropolitan such as Kuala Lumpur which is the capital of Malaysia and Penang as the second high population area. Johor Bahru with high population and the people who works in Singapore, so basically they don’t have time to cook or even eat outside food. However, the company would only develop the two new products to other urban area and rural area when the company’s see some progress or growth in economic situation. Besides that, it is also due to the reason that rural area people spending power is dependable on their own economic growth. This is generated in a traditional way for many decades instead of spending on a new product. Moreover, the new products are available in shopping malls, grocery shops and even schools. Another target markets owing to psychographic is individuals who value their health and diet. They are those who have a fast-paced life and dont seem to have much time on their hands. They are those who find it difficult to fit in something health for lunch as anything that is fast is fast-food. For example, frozen pizza is quick, easy and delicious at the same time can have for lunch. The home oriented is the people who are willingly to stay in the house rather than hanging out for their lunch or dinner. Besides, target market to focus on for Pizza Pan is all social class can enjoy the frozen pizza as it is economical for everyone. With the outgoing and energetic personality individuals are on the list of target market because they might curious to come across of how delicious a new frozen pizza can be. The target markets for behavioral segmentations are benefits, usage status and attitude towards product. Attitude towards product is the emotional response in which positive attitude would affect the usage and loyalty status to a company. If the new frozen pizzas are meeting the customers satisfaction, hence new consumers would insist of consuming the pizza by shifting to the regular consumers. In order to benefits the on diet or health conscious consumers, Pizza Pan is designing the light-cheese, single -size and whole meal pizza with adequate nutritious guaranteed on the package. Moreover, the advantages of new frozen pizzas are only to be cooked in just 5 minutes. It would beneficial busy workers who are working around the clocks to be fast and convenient for their time efficiency yet economical for their livings in the rat race world. ? In order to develop a marketing mix for ONE of the products. The marketing mix is primarily made up of four variables and they are 4p’s which is Product, Place, Price, and Promotion. The marketing mix is often described as a method used in developing a viable marketing strategy, with each ingredient being used different ways and at different times based on the product or service one is trying to market . The type of place channels used by Pizza Pan is the direct channel. The direct channel is successful when there is a very large market that is geographically dispersed. The direct channel is also useful when there are a large number of buyers, but a small amount purchased by each. Pizza Pan uses two different methods of selling its products directly to the market. The first method of place used by Pizza Pan is free delivery as suppliers . The Company would supply their products to wholesalers, retail chains, supermarkets and online but with certain amount of purchase or even small neighborhood grocers for their mass selling. The advantages of using the method are a lower search cost or easy to find for our consumer. Consumers will not have to search the lengths of the earth to find our product. Basically they could find it anywhere. Another method of distribution is for consumers to dine-in especially those who are travelers can go to the highway recreational stands or even conveniences stores like 24 hours Seven-Eleven shop to purchase the fresh from oven frozen pizza. It can mean convenient as quick and take-away products for the travelers eager of reaching the destination. Product Pizza Pan should offer a new product called The Deluxe Plus pizza. The Deluxe Plus is a light-cheese, single-size, whole meal pizza which is the alternative choice for the health-conscious who is on diet with light cheese content pizza along with the current trend that slim is beautiful for female who is likely to consume whole meal foods rather than origin flour foods. This new pizza will have many different competitive advantages. The first competitive advantage of The Deluxe Plus is dietetic food concerned for consumers. The second competitive advantage is the whole meal pizza which is in reasonable price and single-size than any other pizza on the market which is a jumbo pizza. In simple words, it would be a waste for an individual finish the pizza on time. Thus, The Deluxe Plus helps for cost-saving. Another competitive advantage is the Pizza Pan brand name. Pizza Pan has built an international brand name which means quality products. Since Pizza Pan will be introducing The Deluxe Plus customers will automatically think this is a high quality product. The final competitive advantage is that this product will be the special designed pizza to target Malaysian youth. The Deluxe Plus will target young generation or people between the ages of 18 and 48. This market purchases a lot of pizza each year, but very few pizza restaurants actually target them. It will be introduced on Rtm1, 2, 3, 8TV channel. During the introduction stage of the product life cycle, Pizza Pan will try to establish a market for the product and persuade early adopters to buy. The Deluxe Plus is expected to begin and declining the purchase intent after one year on the market. Pricing strategy plays an importance role too because it affects both revenue and buyer behavior. The retail pricing strategy allows Pizza Pan to charge a price that is lower than the competition, in order to promote the frequent sales since the market of the demand of suppliers and consumers are elastic. Customers are price sensitive and the quantity demanded will increase significantly as price decline. Therefore, several sales promotions and coupons will be used to lower the price below those competitors. For example, Pizza Pan is offering free pizza on purchase on two pizzas on special occasions like Chinese New Year, Deepavli or Raya holidays etc†¦ The high or low pricing strategy has several advantages. Firstly, pricing strategy will help to segment the market. Different groups of customers are willing to pay different prices for the same product. Pizza Pan is enabling to sell The Deluxe Plus to the consumers who are first-come-firstserve with economical price. Customers will be able to try something new when they purchase The Deluxe Plus and this exciting experience may bring those customers back to purchase other products. The main theme that will be used to promote The Deluxe Plus is youth. Since Life brand of tomato, chili or BBQ sauce is becoming the non-substitute items for Pizza, therefore it will be included in promotions like KFC. The main promotion will be a coupon to purchase The Deluxe Plus and receive a bottle of sauces which includes many favors. The objectives of this promotion are to introduce a new product, stimulate demand, change the short-term behavior of the customers; This promotion will be distributed mainly by mail, but also by fliers on college campuses or supermarket malls in order to reach the target market. The Deluxe Plus will be published in the newspapers or magazines that are popular with the target market such as STAR, New Straits Times, Woman weekly, Apartments post box and Seventeen. Although advertisements are not cheap, Pizza Pan is an Australian company who is preparing the financial resources to advertise. The young people will then eat The Deluxe Plus with their favor sauces. There will also the teaser banners will be bought to be displayed on bus stops, lampposts or even the Billboard announcements will be placed wherever on the highways for the travelers to notice it. Thu, the advertisements campaign can create awareness of the new product in the target markets. ? In order to develop appropriate competitive marketing strategies for Pizza Pan, Pizza Pan has tough competitors such as Pizza Hutt, Dominos, Barista, Papa Johns, Subway and many others. Hence, there are several competitive marketing strategies that are developed in order to compete with them. Our main intention is to be overall cost leadership, for offer lowest price to the consumer. We are also planning to practice differentiation by offering products with unique customers benefit or features which is not available from the competitive offerings. For instance the The Deluxe Plus which is a health concern product. We want to create a unique selling proposition that gives a real competitive edge Pizza Pans business growth strategy starts with a strong competitive positioning strategy in the marketplace there will discounts offered as a part of a grand opening campaign. Moreover we should watch on over competitor’s strategies too whatever they apply for their product we could plan for it too. Such as Pizza Hutt is offering buy one get one free so pizza pan could work on that too. Then, product leadership is also another strategy as we aim in leading in frozen pizza In Malaysia. Hence, before leading in we have to enter the new global markets; we also intend to create a local partnership with Malaysian businessman. For example, Pan Pizza that originated from Australian company would identify local partners in Malaysia like share holders in food industries so that it will be easier for them to markets the new variety products in Malaysia. This is because local partners know on how to attract their country people and to bring these products to customers as they can receive a good response. Another marketing strategy would be balancing customers and competitor orientations. In specific, we focus on being market centered company. This actually focuses more on customers development in designing strategy. Whereby strategies that can increase products availability and promotion in existing markets. To enter new global markets, the we would make a sponsorship within targeted countries. For example Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain International franchise having their store locations in Malaysia and they achieve their goals and objective of their company like sponsoring shirt for English football club or become a part time sponsor of Galaxy M. Thus, we would also sponsor for Malaysian tennis or squash team during tournament. Finally, a small-scale trial can be a good way of testing a marketing strategy without committing to excessive cost. Whereby, a SWOT analysis would be carried out that includes strength, weakness, opportunities, threats. As for strengths, Pizza Pan is known for personal and flexible customers and service, depth industry experience, creative yet practical product designer, the use of highly flexible and efficient utilizing direct customer’s sales and distribution, varied menu items for broad appeal, high/consistent quality, and strong advertising marketing promotion. Then, weaknesses of lack of an established reputation of frozen Pizza in Malaysia, In conclude, promotion methods used by Pizza Pan tend to create product awareness amongst its new consumer in frozen pizza market. As mentioned earlier segment of the market that we have targeted is a very diverse group whereby promotion of the product has to be done in a very diversify style and unique. It is also believed that The Deluxe Plus will bring Pizza Pan a great success by using effective marketing mix strategy which may even consume high cost in its promotional campaigns but, however we strongly believe that, our potential product will cover the cost and gain maximum profit. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Demographics_of_Malaysia http://www. pizzapanonline. com/ http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Pizza_Pan http://www. marketingteacher. com/lesson_marketing_mix. htm http://www. markedbyteachers. com/catalogsearch/result/index/? http://in_defense_of_frozen_foods_9907348. html http://www. quickmba. com/marketing/mix/ Uk marketing uni. Kotler keller,(2006),marketing management.

Parent Involvement In Education And Issues Arising Education Essay

Parent Involvement In Education And Issues Arising Education Essay Introduction This small scale research is to consider parental involvement in a childs education and how parents contributions help children to achieve while at school and examines the barriers of parents and school which prevent successful partnerships flourishing. In order to carry out a study that would be relevant to my own practice I have focused on both parents, and teachers perception of parental involvement and the type of partnerships that exist between home and school. I have also briefly looked at the government role, the initiatives and policies that encourage schools and parents to work together. My main focus however, is the barriers that prevent parental involvement. In my proposal, I noted initial key findings, that I wanted to research further, however, after reading a vast amount of literature, time-scales prevented me to look at all areas in depth. My interest in this area first began when in a parent role I used to listen to children read once a week at a local primary school. Over the years in my role as a parent, I have seen more encouragement to be involved with my local primary school that my own child attends. Offers of courses in Maths and Literacy have been available, as well as many after school activities such as clubs, or invitations to school events outside of school time. My initial reading, led to me research commissioned by DCSF (2007) which showed that 51% of parents questioned felt very involved in their childs education, compared to 27% in 1963 (DES). This would indicate that parents are now seen as an integral part of a childs school life. Government policies involve parents through consultations about aspects of behaviour and school uniform, and the White Paper (2011) has further still increased parental power. There are still barriers, however, that prevent parents becoming more involved fully in their childs education. In the same research (DCSF 2007) found that 61% of parents indicated that they would like to be more involved with school. I wanted to understand why parents perceived that they were not involved enough with their childs education. I also wanted to see how teachers felt when working with parents and their perceptions and what barriers, if any teachers also had. My study focused on two primary schools, one rural school serving villages in Lincolnshire with 100 pupils, and a large town school serving mainly a large council estate with 400 pupils. Research (Quote) suggests, that parent engagement is higher when a child is attending primary school, and this lowers as children enter the secondary sector. For purposes of my study I have not included this element due to size and time constraints. I have also not considered socio- economic background but I have found that this area has overlapped in much of my reading. However Cosin Hayle (1997) indicate that if a child has a parent who feels involved, and participates with their childs education, benefits will be seen regardless of background. Schools also have a part to play and Ofsted (2007) suggest that all schools value parental involvement but the best schools offer resourcefulness, flexibility and determination in their engagement with parents. In order to assess how schools encourage parents to be involved, evidence was collected through interviews with both Head-teachers of the schools. Class Teachers were also invited to take part in interviews; however of the eight teachers invited only two were interviewed with rest offering to complete a questionnaire. Time constraints were the general reason for this. Literature Review The importance of parental involvement It has long been recognised since the publication of the Plowden Report (1967) that the importance of Parental involvement in education brings lots of benefits to children. This term covers a wide range of issues but generally is defined as how a parent uses available resources with the intention of improving a childs learning. (Docking, 1997) This involvement may take place in or outside school. Parental involvement at home may include activities such as discussions with their child about school, helping with homework or reading, or working on tasks such as cooking, make and do projects or being part of the wider community and using the facilities that may be on offer. Involvement at school may be attending parents evenings, volunteering in the classroom, or helping with decision making, such as belonging to the PTA or on a higher level working within a Parent governor role. Studies have shown that children who have parents that take an active interest in their education benefit in a number of ways. These children are usually higher achievers (Ballantine, 1999; Docking, 1997 😉 attendance is higher, (Haynes, Comer, Hamilton-Lee, 1989), homework is readily completed (Rich,1988;) and self- esteem and confidence is high. (Hoover-Dempsey,1997; Walker,2000; Jones Reed, 2002). The Labour Government also recognised the importance of parental involvement, they emphasised that parents are active partners in the production of educated children (McNamara et al, 2000; p474). Excellence in Schools (DFEE, 1997) states that parents are a childs primary educators, and parents are key partners in the modern school system. Many initiatives have been aimed at parental involvement such as Sure-Start. The Barriers of Parental Involvement- Parents perceptions Parents beliefs and how they view education, can act as barriers to effective parental involvement. The way parents view their role in their childs education is crucial. Parents, who believe that their role is to ensure their child attends school, and the rest is up to the school, are often not willing to be actively involved in their childs schooling. Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1997) reported that this attitude is more prevalent in some communities than others, but did not attribute low income as a factor. Clarke (1983) found that if pupils were high achievers, the parents supported their learning at home and interacted with school in a positive way. Clark found that parents of high achieving of pupils had a greater belief than other parents because they feel their help makes significant contributions. All the parents in Clarks research were from low economic backgrounds- this research would indicate that income is not a factor for lack of parental involvement. Hoover-Dempsey and S andler (1997) point out that parents who have low levels of belief in their ability to help their children are likely to have little contact with school because they feel that such involvement will not give positive outcomes for their children. There may be many reasons for the lack of confidence that parents may feel. Language barriers may lead to a parent feeling they cannot communicate effectively with teachers, or negative experiences through their own schooling can often be the problem. Parents may also take the view that their academic competence is not high enough to effectively help their children. This view is expressed more often as children progress from primary to secondary school and academic work becomes more advanced (Eccles and Harold, 1993.). All of the above views act as a barrier to Parental involvement, despite research that acknowledges support for a childs learning does not need a high level of education from parents. (Clark 1983; Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler 1997; Hornby 2000) Another barrier, which is important to involvement in their childs education, is the views parents hold about their childs intelligence. (Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler 1997) If parents hold the view that their child is intelligent through luck, they will not see the point of getting involved. Alternatively, parents who hold views that achievement and effort are linked and that this can be developed are more likely to be positive about parental involvement. This view can be linked with child rearing in general and parents who hold beliefs that the role of a parent is the way they bring up children that is very important, usually are considered to have positive views, and make considerable impact on their childs development overall (Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler 1997). Parental barriers may be due to circumstances, parents who left school early or felt they didnt succeed at school may be indifferent to helping their own child. They may be unconfident in their own knowledge and skills, theref ore unable to help with homework or school projects (Green et al, 2007). This attitude also may prevent parents working with teachers as they feel that they are not qualified enough. Other commitments such as work can also cause barriers. When parents are unemployed, money could be an issue as they may not be able to afford a car or to pay babysitters in order to get to school meetings. For parents with jobs it is often time constraints and the kind of jobs they have that cause issues. There is often less time to be involved at home or school, as parents maybe for example, too tired at the end of the day to help children with homework or have constructive discussions about their childs school day (Catsambis, 2001; Green et al. 2007). Finally socio-class, gender and ethnicity, can be seen as barriers to parental involvement, issues relating to differences may play a role and initiatives from Government have aimed to address this (Quote). Barriers- Teachers perceptions Barriers to parental involvement, is not just the responsibility of parents. Teachers also face hurdles that may prevent them having successful partnerships with parents. In order for parental involvement to be successful it is important to look at the role of teachers and their perspective of the partnership. Lazar Slostad, (1999) state that teachers who invest time in working with parents, experience more empowerment within their teaching, report that stress levels are reduced and feel their professional status and authority is appreciated. Additionally teachers reported that they felt the work they did with the children was greatly respected due to parental involvement (Hara and Burke, 1998). For many years teachers have been under the impression that parents do not value education or the job that teachers do. Ascher, 1988; Henderson, Marburger, Ooms,1986 report that many teachers find parents un-cooperative, when issues of discipline arise, and argue that contacting parents is often futile. Teachers fear that when contacted, parents maybe argumentative and hostile, and may have a misguided belief that the problem, if left alone, will not cause confrontations. However, this is the opposite of reality teachers who contact parents when they have a concern usually find parents co-operative and willing to work with the school (Johnson Webster, 1994). Another reason cited is that teachers do not appreciate or fail to understand the importance of parental involvement (Broderick Mastrilli, 1997; Greenwood Hickman, 1991; Hoover-Dempsey, Walker, Jones, Reed, 2002) in home- school links. Much literature on this subject (Hoover-Dempsey, Walker, Jones, Reed; Lazar Slostad, 199 9) discusses communication between home and school is often weak and home visits to really understand families would help to improve this. Parent teacher partnerships As discussed, in order for parental involvement to be effective, teachers and parents must have the same goals. Parental involvement must not just be seen as simplistic desire. Much of the literature that surrounds this area discusses opposing agendas and goals (Wolfendale, 1983; Epstien 2001). Government and schools goals towards parental involvement, maybe so they are accountable to communities, or to promote childrens achievements through league tables. Parents goals are more concerned with their childs happiness, how well they are doing in terms of school work. Montgomery (2009), points that barriers may occur when there is a conflict over ability. Children that are gifted and talented may not be viewed so by their teachers which then causes barriers through frustrations. Equally this may be seen when children are talented in a sport, or musically and do not attend school in order to pursue this. Rudney (2005) discusses teacher goals and states that the focus of teachers in paren tal involvement is through homework, providing a nurturing environment, parent meetings and reports, and attending school events. Parent-teacher meetings provide a good insight to how goals of teachers and parents may differ. Bastiani (1989) has suggested that teachers wish to discuss different things to parents, although both are concerned with the childs progress, their concerns are viewed in different perspectives which then create barriers for involvement later on. Aldeman (1992) discussing the impact of differing goals considers that home-school relationships are based on socialisation, where schools attempt to shape parents attitudes so they enable schooling. He further suggests that underlying agendas often have an impact on parental involvement if the goals are more about meeting the needs of schools rather than individuals. These differences can cause frustrations to both parties and limit parental involvement and partnership successes. Breaking down the barriers As discussed, researchers have identified several types of parental involvement. Epstien (1995) categorized this as parenting, communicating, volunteering, home learning, decision making, and working with the community. Although all of these categories have an impact on a childs learning, not all achieve academic success. The key to success is the relationship that is established between children and parents in the home. (Burns, 2000; Clark, 1983; Norton Nufeld, 2002). High expectations of a childs achievements and making education a priority should be of high importance if barriers are to be broken, (Brown, 1999; Kurdek, Fine, Sinclair, 1995;Muller,1993;Rosenzweig, 2000; Solo, 1997). Evidence is overwhelming that families, who set high expectations for their children, have a high academic success (Clark 1983). This also can been seen in the classroom, and teachers who set high expectations for the children they teach, are often seen as Outstanding (Ofsted,; ) Teachers should empha sise this importance when communicating with parents, and reassure them that their child can reach high levels of academic success (Hughes, 2003; Johnson, 1998). Secondly parents have to take an active role in learning at home (Becker Epstein, 1982; Dornbusch Ritter, 1988; Tizard, Schofeld, Hewison, 1982; Rosenzweig, 2000). Children who have well-structured routines at home do very well at school (Muller,1993). Teachers can help parents to actively get involved by offering specific strategies that parents can use to organise homework, discussions or their time in general. (Finn, 1998). Parents can provide materials or have an area where children can study, but it is critical that they show an interest in their childs school work. Discussions about school not only help parents monitor their childs activities, but more importantly they are showing their child that they care about their progress and what they do (Brown, 1999; Finn, 1998). Teachers can help parents to monitor progres s more readily if they provide parents with information such as homework policies that discuss the type, how much should be done, how it is marked. Parents generally welcome information such as this, as well as knowledge of the work their child will be doing over the school year (Loucks 1992). This type of information could be presented via school newsletters and many schools are using this method as part of parental involvement strategies. Lastly, parents and teachers need to emphasise the importance of effort over ability (Stevenson, 1983). Dweck (1986) noted that children who attribute success and failure to effort rather than ability gain satisfaction, will seek challenges and will overcome obstacles that they may face. Parents nor teachers cannot significantly change the ability of pupils, but they can have an important impact on encouragement of effort. Children who have parents and teachers that convey messages of success through effort are usually confident, self-efficient, and strive to be high achievers (Folwer Peterson, 1981). Researches (Darling Steinberg, 1993; Gonzalez, 2002; Robertson, 1997; Rosenzweig, 2000; Zellman Waterman, 1998) have identified a model of parenting, and have termed it as authoritative parenting. This model encompasses all the above points discussed. This model includes setting high expectations, providing emotional support, granting appropriate independence, setting limits, and most importantly acknowledgement of their childs perspectives of home and school. This model appears to be most conducive to academic success. Teachers should encourage parents to follow this model through discussions, helping to strengthen home-school relationships. In conclusion, the importance of parental involvement in a childs academic success is inarguable. The literature available clearly identifies the benefits of parent participation, outlines the obstacles facing parent and home relationships, and has made some suggestions in order for th e barriers to be broken down. It is an unfortunate fact that after much research over the decades some parents are still disengaged from their childs school life. In order to include all parents, the classroom teacher has a major role to play, and is the key to changing the level of parental participation. Teachers have the skills and strategies necessary for creating successful partnerships, with those who are so critical to a childs success in school, the parents. Methodology The participants of this study were parents of children who attended either school, or teachers, including heads, who are part of the school staff. Both schools offer a positive approach to parental involvement, with the rural school having an emphasis on homework. Both schools gave the researcher permission to carry out surveys through questionnaires, and semi structured interviews. Diaries were given to parents 5 from each school, after asking parents if they wished to participate. All participants were assured of confidentiality verbally, and it was made clear on paper-work which parents were required to fill in. A letter was sent to both Heads also seeking permission to conduct a small study. This is accordance to Ethical guidelines (Cohen, 2000; Woolley, 2010). Prior to the study taking place, a pilot questionnaire was emailed to 10 parents that had children. The questions asked, were based around my initial reading, and after receiving the responses, I realised that I had only focused on the broad issues of parental involvement, and therefore needed to change the questions in order to collect precise data to answer my question. Once I devised my questionnaire on agreement with both schools, parents were invited to take one and complete it and return back to school office. I had originally wanted to use a random selection processes using class lists, however after consideration I decided that as a cross-section of parents went into the school, on a daily basis so my data would still be valid. Each questionnaire had a standardised set of questions (talk about this not always getting the correct response and quote) Problems arose in the speed of responses, however all participants did respond and 30 completed questionnaires were returned from each school. The homework diaries gave me another set of complications, I wanted to assess the activities that enhance childrens learning and how parents achieved this, however, (talk about parents may lie to feel better, or feel they have to write something in fear of not looking like a good parent relate back to model in journal. The sample overall was not large enough to equate real findings to empirical research, however there has been some similarities which would concur with the evidence collected. Throughout my design and research I kept ethical issues at the front of my mind, this is critical in any research which is undertaken, to protect all who are involved. Analysis of Findings Conclusions and Recommendations