Research in the 2017 Accenture reporttells us that girls are much more aware of the influence of their parents, teachers, and friends than boys are, and that this influence is more pronounced the younger the girls are.

  • Almost two thirds of girls (65%) said their parents and family are the most likely group to influence subject choices at school.

  • 49% of girls said their parents influence their career aspirations.

Parents not only heavily influence the career aspirations of their daughters, but are also the gatekeepers of their free time. CoderDojo is a free extra-curricular activity, therefore a parent’s role in a child’s participation in CoderDojo is significant. One way to engage parents in computer programming and STEM subjects is to host a ‘Bring your parents to Dojo’ event. Recently, CoderDojo Scotland ran‘multi-generational’ micro:bit workshops. Although some parents initially felt trepidation, by the end of the session they were really involved. Their feedback on this chance to work on something with their child and understand technology better was very positive.

How can I motivate parents to engage more?

Holding a ‘Bring your parents to Dojo’ style event is an excellent opportunity to demystify programming for all parents of all computing competencies, and to entice them to participate more in their daughter’s learning journey.

At such an event a parent can:

  • Understand exactly what their daughter is learning at a Dojo

  • Watch their daughter present new ideas and concepts to a group

  • Encourage and inspire their daughter simply by being present in the Dojo environment

  • Personally upskill

  • Learn tools to better support their Ninja’s development at CoderDojo

  • Build confidence to volunteer at more Dojo events, thereby increasing the volunteer-to-Ninja ratio

Tips for engaging parents at your Dojo event:

  • Plan short and engaging talks and workshops, keep content simple

  • Have Mentors and volunteers at the Dojo, explain their roles

  • Display Ninja projects featuring various computer languages

  • Highlight the benefits of the CoderDojo platform (badges, printable resources, e-learning modules, forums, etc)

  • Share upcoming events which may be of interest to parents (EUDojo, DojoCon, Coolest Projects, etc)

  • Keep things lighthearted and fun, end on a high note

  • Encourage parents to sign up and book in via the CoderDojo platform → send follow-up communications with more information and a feedback request

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