Parental Attitudes and Involvement in Primary EFL Learning: A View from Beyond the Classroom  

Abstract Family involvement in children’s lives and development is considered a fundamental requirement. Its role and continuous support are deemed crucial for a child’s personality, cognitive and academic development. Nowadays, when English has become the dominant language, its learning and teaching as a foreign language is also of great importance. In primary education, the home environment, parental attitudes and involvement, its engagement and support are very important factors that can substantially influence students’ confidence, motivation and success. Therefore, this study aims to examine parental attitudes and support during their children’s English language learning as a foreign language, as well as to provide an overview of the significance of parental involvement during the preparation of their children for tests and assessment in English language, in primary education in Kosovo. This qualitative study involved ten parents of children enrolled in public primary schools. The collected data from semi-structured interviews were used to obtain comprehensive responses addressing the research questions. Thematic analysis of the results revealed that participants had a positive attitude toward EFL learning and perceived their role as significant throughout the entire learning process. The majority of parents reported engaging in shared reading with their children, reviewing English language materials and preparing for tests and assessment, as well as in maintaining continuous parent-teacher communication. Overall, this study underscores the fundamental need for consistent parental support, involvement and continual collaboration between parents and schools in primary EFL education.

EFL learning, attitude, involvement, parent, student

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