The International Observatory on Academic Achievement - Documentary search

File number :
CS-CEFC-19e

Bibliographic reference :
Rosenzweig, C. (2001). A Meta-Analysis of Parenting and School Success: The Role of Parents in Promoting Students’ Academic Performance. Seattle: Proceedings of the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association.

Abstract :

This study explored the relationship between specific parental practices and academic achievement. Three research questions were raised: (1) What parenting practices have greater influence on academic achievement? (2) What factors influence the relationship between parenting practices and academic achievement? (3) What parenting practices have a negative effect on academic achievement?

The author of this paper conducted a meta-analysis to seek answers to these questions. She considered 34 studies selected on the basis of particular criteria. A total of 438 results emerged from these studies conducted with elementary and high school students.

Parenting Practices with a Positive Influence
Analyses revealed that none of the parenting practices seemed to have a marked influence on academic achievement when considered separately. However, once combined, twenty of these practices accounted for 23% of the variance in academic achievement.

Further analyses were conducted to determine what combination of these practices had the most positive influence on academic achievement. Among the twenty practices, seven accounted for 16% of the variance: (1) parents’ high educational aspirations or expectations; (2) parental engagement; (3) authoritative parenting style (strong control – great affection); (4) autonomy support; (5) emotional support; (6) learning resources and opportunities at home; and (7) parental involvement in two specific school activities: voluntary engagement (volunteering) and involvement in decision-making processes.

Parenting Practices with a Negative Influence
Eight practices were identified as having a negative influence on academic achievement: (1) external rewards; (2) homework monitoring; (3) negative control (punishment, criticism); 4) disengagement; (5) restrictions for unsatisfactory grades; (6) encouraging conformity; (7) permissiveness; and (8) control (authoritarian parenting style).

Overall, practices involving poor control management (too strict or permissive) were identified as having an adverse effect on student autonomy. For instance, supervising children’s schoolwork is a practice positively linked to academic achievement. However, this practice has adverse effects when parents monitor schoolwork too closely because it involves exercising a certain control.

Factors Moderating the Relationship between Parenting Practices and Academic Achievement
The analysis showed that parental practices were more influential on the academic achievement of students from low SES backgrounds (practices having a positive influence) and students from high SES backgrounds (practices having a negative influence), compared to that of students from middle SES backgrounds.

Parental practices influenced student academic achievement differently based on ethnicity. For instance, emotional and autonomy support proved to have more influence on the academic achievement of European-American students, while high educational expectations and aspirations proved to have more influence on the academic achievement of Asian-American students.

Lastly, parents were more involved, especially in their children’s elementary schooling, whether at school or home.

Conclusion
Policies aimed at enhancing academic achievement by encouraging parental involvement in school appeared to be insufficient. Encouraging specific parental practices at home also proved to be important.

However, parental practices alone cannot ensure academic achievement. The author emphasized the importance of considering the input of other factors. To this effect, all the spheres of student activities (home, school, community) can be explored through the overlapping spheres of influence model.

Links :
Available in electronic format via Google Scholar : http://scholar.google.ca/

Key Words :
Parenting Practices, Educational Aspirations, Engagement, Autonomy, Parenting Style, Emotional Support, Material Resources, Learning Opportunities, Parental Involvement, Socio-economic Status, Ethnicity, Grade Level, Overlapping Spheres of Influence, Meta-analysis, Newsletter14

Monitored Countries :
United States