Train teachers on how to get parents involved in children’s learning, say researchers

Fewer than three in 10 teachers reported their initial training covered the basics of what parental engagement is or why it is important

Taylor & Francis Group

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Over half of primary and secondary school teachers in England have not been trained in how to support parents’ involvement in children’s learning and education at home and at school.  

 

That’s according to research published today in the peer-reviewed journal Educational Review, which is a first study of its kind based on a survey of more than 1,700 teachers reveals concerning gaps in skills. 

 

Led by academics from the University of Warwick and UCL, the paper shows teachers’ essential pre-qualification training fails to prepare teachers to build relationships with parents or to support families with activities such as reading to children, accessing learning resources and attending school events. 

 

Previous research has identified a strong link between parental engagement and children’s success at school. The more interest a parent takes in their child’s learning outside school, the better that pupil’s behaviour, attendance and overall motivation to do well in school. 

 

Teachers have an obligation to know how to work with all parents. But the authors of this new analysis say participants reported they were least confident engaging parents who faced additional barriers or disadvantages. 

 

They are calling on policymakers to ensure teachers are better trained to support parents to engage with children’s learning effectively, especially beyond the classroom. 

 

“It’s clear there’s still work to do in ensuring that teachers are fully equipped with the knowledge and skills required to facilitate effective parental engagement,” says lead author Cat Jones, an ESRC-funded PhD student at the University of Warwick. 

 

“The results reveal important training gaps. Most teachers reported receiving no training on the types of parental engagement that are most effective. Or how to identify and remove barriers to parental engagement.” 

 

Co-author Professor Olympia Palikara, who is also based in the Education Studies department at Warwick, adds: “Gaps in teachers’ parental engagement knowledge and skills suggest a continuing preoccupation with parents’ involvement with school-based activities. This is at the expense of more effective parental engagement with learning beyond school.”  

 

Taking an interest in what children are learning, working in partnership with schools, and providing learning opportunities are among many examples of how mothers and fathers can engage with education in a positive way.  

 

There is some evidence to suggest parental involvement can have a bigger effect on pupil outcomes than socioeconomic status. In the UK, successive education ministers have been actively involved in supporting schools in engaging with parents.  

 

However, not all engagement strategies have proven to be effective in improving outcomes for pupils. For example, trying to get parents involved in homework has mixed results. The researchers therefore argue that teachers need to understand which strategies are likely to be effective. As such, many researchers have called for parental engagement to be a key element of teacher education, across Europe, the US, and Australia.  

 

Data for this study was based on 1,782 qualified primary and secondary school teachers in England of various ages and years teaching experience.  

 

An online survey was emailed to all schools in England to collect information on an anonymous basis between June 2023 and March 2024. The purpose was to investigate the current state of teachers’ parental engagement training, knowledge and skills in England. Additionally, the authors set out to examine whether this relates to teacher and school characteristics.  

 

Participants were presented with a list of parental engagement topics. They were asked to indicate whether they had encountered them during their initial teacher education and ongoing training. 

 

An open-ended question asked teachers to define parental engagement and to provide examples of strong parental engagement.  

 

They were also asked to rate their confidence in relation to skills such as engaging with parents who speak other languages, with those who have had negative school experiences, and with those experiencing poverty. 

 

The researchers also gathered other information such as how many hours the teachers worked, if they were parents themselves, and what percentage of their pupils were eligible for free school meals. 

 

Results showed that fewer than 3 in 10 (29%) participants reported that their initial teacher education (ITE) had covered the basics of what parental engagement is or why it is important.  

 

Only 13% said their ITE covered which parental engagement activities are effective, and less than 7% had covered parental engagement in the context of poverty, language differences, cultural differences, or prior negative school experiences. 

 

The study did identify what characteristics of teachers predicted higher self-reported skills for getting parents to engage effectively. Those who were more experienced, had leadership roles, and had children of their own were more confident in with parental engagement.  

 

Primary school teachers generally scored more highly than secondary teachers. The authors say this is unsurprising because primary school teachers tend to work with fewer pupils and generally have more opportunities to interact directly with parents. 

 

They are calling for further analysis into the effects of a teacher’s training, workload and their job role to predict teachers’ parental engagement skills. 

 

“Parental engagement with their children’s learning has such a powerful effect on children’s outcomes. It is therefore essential that teachers have both the time and the training to be able to build relationships with parents and to support all families to access resources outside school,” adds Cat, who is also an experienced primary school teacher and school governor. 

 

“Importantly, our findings provide specific directions on how to ensure that teachers have the knowledge and skills to facilitate effective parental engagement moving forward,” concludes co-author Dr Vassilis Sideropoulos, a senior research specialist at the Institute of Education at UCL.
 

A limitation of the paper is that the authors had to create their own measures of teachers’ parental engagement knowledge and skills. Going forwards, studies which validate these measurement tools, the authors state, “would support more large-scale research and lay the ground work for evaluating parental engagement training interventions in the future”. 

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Journal

Educational Review

DOI

10.1080/00131911.2025.2506802 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Do teachers have the knowledge and skills to facilitate effective parental engagement? Findings from a national survey in England

Article Publication Date

17-Jun-2025

 

Study identifies molecule in stingless bee propolis that can kill dengue mosquito larvae

Researchers have found a substance in propolis from bees native to Brazil that kills 90% to 100% of Aedes aegypti larvae

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

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A substance found in pine sap that is processed by mandaçaia bees exhibits larvicidal activity, eliminating 100% of dengue mosquito larvae within 48 hours

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Credit: Laila Salmen Espindola

 In Brazil, researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP), the University of Brasília (UnB), and two startups in the city of Ribeirão Preto have found a compound in the propolis of the stingless bee known as mandaçaia (Melipona quadrifasciata) that kills Aedes aegypti larvae. The results were published in the journal Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry.

In addition to support from FAPESP, the work is the result of a project funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. The project aimed to find natural larvicides to combat the mosquito that carries viruses such as dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, and Zika. Currently, this mosquito is controlled using a highly toxic chemical insecticide.

“Bees are known to collect materials in nature to build their colonies, which in some cases can protect against invasive fungi and bacteria. We conducted a series of analyses on geopropolis, which mixes plant resins with soil or clay particles in its composition [traditional propolis contains only resins, wax, and bee secretions]. We observed that the diterpene present in it was responsible for the larvicidal activity,” explains Norberto Peporine Lopes, a professor at the Ribeirão Preto School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FCFRP) at USP.

Lopes is coordinating the project “Inventorying Secondary Metabolism through Metabolomics: Contribution to the Valuation of Brazilian Biodiversity”, which is supported by FAPESP as part of the FAPESP Research Program on the Characterization, Conservation, Restoration, and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity (BIOTA).

The researchers compared the action of traditional propolis produced by European honeybees (Apis mellifera) with that of geopropolis from the mandaçaia tree in Aedes aegypti larvae. The former exhibited very low activity even after 72 hours of exposure. However, in tests with geopropolis, 90% of the larvae died within 24 hours, and 100% within 48 hours.

Analyses performed with computational tools indicated that the most likely larvicidal agent among the compounds present in geopropolis is diterpene. While studying the habits of bees in Bandeirantes, in the state of Paraná, where geopropolis was collected, it was observed that mandaçaias frequently visit plantations of pine (Pinus elliottii), a species of tree from the Northern Hemisphere that is cultivated in Brazil for timber and resin.

“It was known that the chemical composition of propolis is influenced by the resins collected for nest construction and protection, as well as by the floristic composition of the environment, the biome, and seasonal factors. In this case, it became clear that the pine resin processed by the mandaçaias’ saliva is what provides the larvicidal action,” says Luís Guilherme Pereira, the first author of the article. The study was conducted with support from FAPESP during Pereira’s PhD at FCFRP-USP.

Brazilian bee

Mandaçaias are of particular interest in Brazil because they are easy to cultivate, they have no stingers, and they are native to the country. One idea of the researchers is to evaluate products other than honey produced by these bees.

In the case of propolis, that of the mandaçaia differed from that of the other native bees analyzed in the study and found in the same municipality: the borá (Tetragona clavipes), the mirim (Plebeia droryana), and the jataí (Tetragonisca angustula). The propolis of these three native, stingless species had low larvicidal activity.

The researchers explain that the volume of geopropolis produced by mandaçaia bees is very low, making its use as a larvicidal agent impractical. However, it is good news that diterpene is found in pine resin. Since the resin is produced on a large scale for various industrial applications, such as solvents and glues, it could undergo chemical processes similar to those performed by mandaçaias.

“These are modifications that can form molecules with greater activity than the original compound and that can be induced in bioreactors, equipment used in the pharmaceutical industry,” says Lopes.

According to Feitosa, the workflow used in the study involving different mass spectrometry techniques can be applied to the search for compounds with a wide variety of purposes. “We’re currently searching for natural molecules with anti-tumor activity,” says the researcher, who is now pursuing postdoctoral studies at FCFRP-USP.

The Ministry of Health project, which is coordinated by Professor Laila Salmen Espindola from UnB, also led to the discovery of another larvicidal compound present in an essential oil produced on a large scale. This discovery has not yet been published, and the data are with the Ministry.

The researchers even produced a powder and a tablet based on the essential oil, which protects water for up to 24 days. The powder kills the larvae immediately, while the slow-release tablet gradually dissolves to keep the water free of mosquitoes.

About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. You can learn more about FAPESP at www.fapesp.br/en and visit FAPESP news agency at www.agencia.fapesp.br/en to keep updated with the latest scientific breakthroughs FAPESP helps achieve through its many programs, awards and research centers. You may also subscribe to FAPESP news agency at http://agencia.fapesp.br/subscribe.
 

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Journal

Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry

DOI

10.1002/rcm.10025 

Article Title

Characterization of Larvicidal Diterpene Resin Acids in Melipona quadrifasciata Geopropolis via LC-ESI-MS/MS, GC–MS and Computational Analysis

 

Energy poverty’s mental health harms are about more than money

University of Adelaide

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A University of Adelaide study has found that the negative effects of energy poverty on mental health are not only related to income stress and therefore differ depending on how energy poverty is defined.

Lead author Dr Rubayyat Hashmi, from the University’s Australian Centre for Housing Research, compared the impacts of monetary energy poverty, measured through energy expenditure and income, and self-reported energy poverty, which is a measure of perceived energy-related hardship or wellbeing.

A person is defined as experiencing monetary energy poverty if 10 per cent or more of their household income goes to energy bills, or if their energy costs exceed the population median and push their residual income below the poverty line.

Self-reported energy poverty is when a person reports not being able to keep their house adequately warm or cool, or if they are having difficulty paying bills on time.

“We found that monetary energy poverty alone does not significantly impact mental health outcomes. In contrast, self-reported energy poverty has severe adverse effects on mental health,” Dr Hashmi says.

“The situation is even worse for those experiencing both types of energy poverty. This finding highlights the impacts of energy poverty on mental health beyond financial hardship. “

While energy poverty impacts a broad range of Australians, there are several cohorts that are at an increased risk.

“Our research found that monetary energy poverty is more common among males and people aged 65 and over who are on low incomes, and it is more prevalent among those who are unemployed or not in the labour force,” says Dr Hashmi.

“On the other hand, self-reported energy poverty is notably more prevalent among females, younger age groups, specifically those aged between 25–54, and renters – especially those in homes and neighbourhoods they are unhappy with.

“And families with children, including both couples and single parents, are especially at risk for all types of energy poverty.”

The research also examined how long the mental health effects of energy poverty last.

“We found that current exposure to energy poverty has a more adverse effect on mental health than past exposure, though past self-reported energy poverty may have a lingering adverse effect,” says Dr Hashmi.

“However, it is worth noting that we found no evidence that the type of energy poverty makes a difference in the long run; rather, longer cumulative exposure appears to have a more harmful impact.”

Dr Hashmi says it is important that energy poverty is well defined and understood, both in the academic literature and amongst policymakers who are working to address the issue.

“Energy poverty has a major effect on mental health, but how we measure it makes a big difference to our understanding of its scale and who is affected,” says Dr Hashmi, whose study was published in Energy Research & Social Science.

“Recognising these nuances is crucial. Without metrics that account for housing conditions, governmental and non-governmental interventions may miss the mark, leaving vulnerable populations without the support they need.

“Policy responses must go beyond income-based eligibility and incorporate lived experiences, housing quality, and energy stress indicators to more effectively target and support those most at risk.”

The University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia are joining forces to become Australia’s new major university – Adelaide University. Adelaide University will open its doors in January 2026. Find out more on the Adelaide University website.

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Journal

Energy Research & Social Science

DOI

10.1016/j.erss.2025.104115 

 

China's grain production: Adaptation levels and mechanisms to climate change

KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.

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The test results

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Credit: Liu, D., Feng, X., Si, W

The increasing risks of climate change have introduced numerous latent perils to China's food security and agricultural production, highlighting between the realities of climate change and the requirement for stable and high agricultural yields. In a study published in the KeAi journal China Economic Quarterly International, researchers Liu Dong, Feng Xiaolong, and Si Wei estimated the overall adaptation level and mechanisms of grain production to climate change in China.

"Adaptive behaviors have alleviated 52.5 %– 63.5 % of the adverse impacts of high temperatures, with rice and maize more adaptable than wheat,” explains Liu. “However, adaptive behavior has not effectively mitigated excessive precipitation impacts."

The researchers used national rural fixed observation points data, the long differences method, and a two-way fixed-effects model to systematically assess the adaptation level. “We found differences in adaptation levels among different crops,” shares Feng. “Rice and maize are more adaptable to high temperatures than wheat.”

Differences in adaptation levels were also identified. Grain production in the northern region is more adaptable to high temperatures than that in the southern region. "This suggests that though grain production in southern regions suffers less from high temperatures in the short term, it also shows a low adaptation level," adds Feng.

Technological progress, adaptation technology adoption, and input adjustments are found to be key adaptation mechanisms. For example, technological progress can mitigate 31.8 % of the adverse impacts of high temperatures on grain production. From a micro-household perspective, the adoption of conservation tillage can significantly mitigate the adverse impacts of high temperatures on grain yield per mu, especially for wheat and maize.

“We should recognize the severity of the adverse impacts of excessive precipitation on grain production and the urgent need to enhance the adaptation level,” says Si. “Improving agricultural infrastructure and water resource management is essential."

The researchers hope that their findings can provide valuable insights for improving and implementing national climate change adaptation strategies and policies, thereby enhancing the resilience of grain production to climate risks.

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Contact the author: Si Wei, College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, No.17, Qinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China, siwei@cau.edu.cn.

The publisher KeAi was established by Elsevier and China Science Publishing & Media Ltd to unfold quality research globally. In 2013, our focus shifted to open access publishing. We now proudly publish more than 200 world-class, open access, English language journals, spanning all scientific disciplines. Many of these are titles we publish in partnership with prestigious societies and academic institutions, such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

 

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Journal

China Economic Quarterly International

DOI

10.1016/j.ceqi.2025.03.001 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

The Adaptation Level and Mechanism of Grain Production to Climate Change in China

 

To encourage scientific thinking, it is better to instruct than to reward

University of Deusto

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People are generally very good at detecting cause-effect relationships. This ability helps us understand the world, learn, make decisions, and predict the future. In short, it helps us adapt and survive. In fact, we are so good at spotting causal patterns that sometimes we find connections that don't really exist. As a result, we fall into the so-called causal illusion, i.e., we mistakenly believe that one event causes another, when, in fact, both are unrelated. A typical example occurs in the field of health when we assume that a pseudoscientific treatment is effective (therefore, it causes healing), despite it having no real effect.

To avoid this type of error, it is essential to develop scientific thinking which establishes cause-and-effect relationships only when supported by evidence. But how can we encourage scientific thinking when dealing with causal relationships? We can consider two approaches: increasing people's motivation (for example, by offering rewards for correct answer), and providing people with adequate information on how to solve the problem.

Aranzazu Vinas and Helena Matute (researchers at the University of Deusto) and Fernando Blanco (University of Granada) wanted to answer this question and better understand the mechanisms involved in causal learning processes. The results of their research have been published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

The article involved three experiments conducted online. Participants were told they had to imagine they were doctors and were presented with a series of records of fictitious patients to whom they could administer a treatment or not. Immediately after their decision, they saw whether the patient recovered. In the end, participants had to judge to what extent they believed the treatment was effective. Importantly, the treatment was not really effective: the patients healed at the same rate regardless of whether they received it or not. 

In the first two experiments, half of the participants were offered a financial reward if they answered correctly, while the other half were not. The results showed that all participants developed causal illusions to the same extent. That is, the reward did not serve to reduce the illusion.

In the third experiment, half of the participants received a piece of information explaining that people tend to develop causal illusions and that, in order not to fall into this error, it is important to consider all available information, not only what happens when the potential cause (treatment) is present, but also when it is absent (i.e., to think scientifically). Meanwhile, the other half were not given this explanation. This simple advice helped to reduce the causal illusion significantly, although it was not enough to eliminate it completely.

In summary, this research confirms that the causal illusion is a common error and that it is difficult to eliminate it completely. However, it also shows that we can help people think scientifically, thereby reducing their causal illusion. To this end, instructing them on how to critically evaluate all the available information is more effective -and often cheaper- than increasing their motivation with financial rewards. Even a simple written instruction can make a difference.

Source:

Vinas, A., Blanco, F., & Matute, H. (2025). Reducing the causal illusion. A question of motivation or information? Royal Society Open Science, 12. 250082. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.250082

 

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Journal

Royal Society Open Science

DOI

10.1098/rsos.250082 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

To encourage scientific thinking, it is better to instruct than to reward

Article Publication Date

18-Jun-2025

 

Can enzymes from fungi be used to extract plant components for biofuels and bioplastics?

Wiley

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Plant cell wall components such as cellulose are abundant sources of carbohydrates that are widely used in biofuels and bioproducts; however, extraction of these components from plant biomass is relatively difficult due to their complexity. In research in FEBS Open Bio, investigators have found that a combination of fungal enzymes can efficiently degrade plant biomass to allow for extraction.

The enzymes are called cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO). LPMO and CDH operate together to enhance the degradation of plant biomass as CDH can support the activity of LPMOs by activating certain cellular reactions. Recently, a new CDH enzyme was characterized from Fusarium solani, a highly adaptable fungus that can infect numerous crops.

"We found that this particular CDH enzyme worked especially well with LMPO for producing carbohydrates from plants, making it a promising candidate for biotechnology approaches to use non-edible plant biomass of diverse origin and complexity,” said corresponding author Roland Ludwig, PhD, of BOKU University, in Austria.

URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2211-5463.70067

 

Additional Information
NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com.

About the Journal
FEBS Open Bio is an open access journal for the rapid publication of research articles across the molecular and cellular life sciences. The journal’s rigorous peer review process focusses on the technical and ethical quality of papers, rather than subjective judgements of significance.

About Wiley      
Wiley is one of the world’s largest publishers and a trusted leader in research and learning. Our industry-leading content, services, platforms, and knowledge networks are tailored to meet the evolving needs of our customers and partners, including researchers, students, instructors, professionals, institutions, and corporations. We empower knowledge-seekers to transform today’s biggest obstacles into tomorrow’s brightest opportunities. For more than two centuries, Wiley has been delivering on its timeless mission to unlock human potential. Visit us at Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram.

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Journal

FEBS Open Bio

DOI

10.1002/2211-5463.70067 

Article Title

Interaction of class III cellobiose dehydrogenase with lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase

Article Publication Date

18-Jun-2025