Family factors and student achievement

Parent expectations and attributions

Structure for learning

Home affective environment

Discipline

Parent involvement

Parent expectations and attributions

Realistic high parent expectations for children's school performance are associated with positive academic performance, regardless if the children's perceptions of or actual parent expectations are investigated. The degree to which parents hold expectations or how parents communicate their expectations to children have been found to differ as a function of gender, SES, and parental occupation. Effort attributions are associated positively with academic performance

Structure for learning

Children who come from a family environment characterized by press for achievement tend to get higher grades and perform better on achievement tests. Parents encourage academic and intellectual pursuits by structuring children's time for homework completion, encouraging verbal conversations, modeling reading and learning, encouraging children to learn at home, and limiting television watching so that child can participate in educationally-related activities

Home affective environment

A positive parent-child relationship is related to academic success. Parents who accept, nurture, encourage, and are emotionally responsive to their child's developmental needs tend to have children who are successful in school. This affective relationship is not associated with IQ, SES, or gender of the child

Discipline

Parental discipline characterized by setting clear standards, enforcing rules, and encouraging discussion, negotiation, and independence is associated with positive academic outcomes. Over- and under-control are correlated negatively with student achievement. There is some evidence that the relation between parenting styles and achievement varies as a function of gender and ethnicity

Parent involvement

Parents participate in education both at home and at school. There is a substantial body of literature that documents the positive effects of parent involvement on achievement. There is some evidence to show that the effects are most comprehensive when parents are involved both at home and school. Parent involvement in home learning activities that support school instruction is a strong, significant correlate of academic outcomes

Parent education exists in both individual and group forms

Individual forms center around the request of a parent for information

Commercial group formats include Adlerian, behavioral, and non-theoretical approaches

The most popular group form is based on the theories of Alfred Adler

Adlerian Principles

Human behavior is purposive. Individual acts indicate a goal

Behavior is the result of our biased interpretation of life experiences. If we are able to understand the steps by which a child develops a set of biased perceptions, we may be better able to understand the immediate purposes of behavior

Principles, continued

The fundamental human motivation is the need to belong. Ideally, the child learns that contributing to welfare of the group is the best way to gain and maintain acceptance

Development of a life style--all the resources of the individual, past experiences, present attitudes, and ideas for the future are utilized to move in a direction which gains status and acceptance

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The fictive goal--as the child grows, s/he develops a repertoire of responses calculated to ensure physical and emotional satisfaction and to avoid pain and punishment. The child plays an active role in development: sizes up situations, makes decisions, anticipates consequences, then tries to prepare for them

Influences on development

Family atmosphere--means by which adults pass on attitudes concerning family and community standards

Family constellation--position among siblings is important

The Adlerian tradition

Stimulation rather than pressure

Techniques versus attitudes

Democratic structures

Parent education

Understanding the child

Encouragement versus praise

Logical consequences versus punishment

Behavioral options

Behavioral approaches have been less popular with general audiences

Emphasis on helping parents understand behavior (specification), behavior setting, background environment, etc.

Strongest impact with families served by special education programs

Non-theoretical approaches

Often target first-time parent

Delivered through hospital outreach, mental health agencies, religious organizations

Focus on the practical challenges of parenting

Information on nutrition, child care, parent relations, common questions and concerns

Low resources

Social contact, discussion groups

Moderate resources

Classes, demonstrations, workshops

High resources

Lending materials, individual counseling, medical screening and assessments, role plays and coaching

Low structure

Notes, newsletters, calls

Moderate structure

Workbooks, activities, progress reports, homework monitoring activities

High structure

Home visitors, in-home coaching on parent-child interactive learning