Helping Your Child Succeed at School
How Parental Involvement Affects a Student’s Grades
Aug 13, 2008
Parental involvement has a huge impact on a student's academic achievement and success at school. It's important to note that "parental involvement" is more than simply asking your child what he or she did at school, or making sure the homework is done. See "7 Ways to Help Your Child Succeed at School" below for specific suggestions.
What the Research Shows about Parents & Student Achievement
According to researchers Karen Smith Conway (professor of economics at the University of New Hampshire) and Andrew Houtenville (senior research associate at New Editions Consulting), parental involvement has a strong, positive effect on student achievement.
“Parental effort is consistently associated with higher levels of achievement, and the magnitude of the effect of parental effort is substantial,” Conway said. “We found that schools would need to increase per-pupil spending by more than $1,000 in order to achieve the same results that are gained with parental involvement.”
Conway and Houtenville analyzed national data from more than 10,000 eighth-grade students in public and private U.S. schools, their parents, teachers, and school administrators.
Parents Treat Daughters Differently Than Sons
A daughter’s grades seem to be more interesting to parents than a son’s academic achievement. Conway and Houtenville found that parents spent more time talking to their daughters about their school work during dinnertime discussions.
“There are a number of theories about why girls seem to garner more attention from their parents than boys,” Conway said. “One possibility is that girls are more communicative with their parents so these conversations about academics are easier for parents to have with their daughters.” This could affect academic achievement and school grades.
Parents Less Involved if School Has Resources
Conway and Houtenville also found if the school has academic resources, parents tend to be less involved with their children’s progress at school. Ironically, this decreased parental involvement diminishes the effects of improved school resources.
7 Ways to Help Your Child Succeed at School
- Find out what your student is interested in, and discuss it frequently.
- Attend games, debates, class fairs, etc. – whatever your child is interested in.
- Talk about what your child is learning in class.
- Help your student select courses, programs, or activities at school.
- Attended school meetings.
- Volunteer at the child’s school. Just being present at school can increase student achievement.
- Discover what resources the school offers, especially if your child isn’t getting good grades or is struggling at school.
If you found Helping Your Child Succeed at School: How Parental Involvement Affects a Student’s Grades helpful, you might try:
- School Bullying is Learned at Home
- Girls and Attention Deficit Disorder
- Mental Health of College Students
Source: “Parental Involvement Strongly Impacts Student Achievement.” ScienceDaily May 28, 2008.
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