Family economic status and parental involvement: Influences of parental expectation and perceived barriers

Abstract

Parental involvement in children’s education is a critical factor associated with children’s socio-emotional and educational outcomes. However, low parental involvement occurs more often among economically disadvantaged families. It is unclear what mechanisms may explain the association between family economic status and parents’ educational involvement. Using a large low-income sample from northwestern China ( N = 12,724), we examined the influence of two proximal processes in parents – expectation for children’s highest educational attainment and perceived barriers to involve – in linking family economic status and the involvement of parents in children’s education. We also examined whether these relations may vary by parents’ level of education. Results of structural equation modeling suggested that parents’ expectation and perceived barriers mediated the relationship between family economic status and parental involvement. These relations were particularly prominent among highly educated mothers. Findings elucidate proximal processes in parents and highlight the unique effects of economic status and parents’ level of education in understanding the link between family economic status and parental educational involvement in Chinese families.

The Effect of Parental Involvement and Socioeconomic Status on Junior School Students’ Academic Achievement and School Behavior in China

“…Moreover, with fewer educational resources, children in low-SES families face more environmental stresses and greater challenges ( Shumow et al, 1999 ). Therefore, parenting practice is particularly crucial for children in low-SES families in China ( Wang et al, 2016 ), and the result of the current study can be interpreted within the current situation in China. Also, the results of the current study were consistent with some of the findings in some aspects ( Jaeger, 2011 ; Roksa and Potter, 2011 ; Wang and Sheikh-Khalil, 2014 ), which can also be explained by concerted cultivation in Chinese culture.…”

Involvement Practices, Socioeconomic Status, and Student Science Achievement: Insights From a Typology of Home and School Involvement Patterns

“…In contrast to higher SES parents, lower SES parents may be less involved in their children’s education because of barriers they have to surmount (Hornby & Lafaele, 2011; Malone, 2017; Wang, Deng, & Yang, 2016). For example, Wang et al’s (2016) study of seventh and eighth graders from 53 schools in China found that lower SES parents perceived time and resource constraints, inadequate knowledge of their children’s homework, and communication problems with their children as impediments to their home and school involvement. In terms of time and resource availability, lower SES working parents may not have the means to get childminding support or the flexibility to ask for time off from work to attend school meetings.…”

Parents' profiles concerning ICT proficiency and their relation to adolescents' information literacy: A latent profile analysis approach

“…Interventions should be made into parents' ICT proficiency. Most parents lack knowledge about computers (Aesaert & Van Braak, 2015) and do not know how to provide guidance in the cultivation of their children's information literacy (Nikken & Schols, 2015; Scheerder, Deursen, & Dijk, 2017; Wang, Hu, & Deng, 2016). In particular, the ICT proficiency could be improved to a large extent for those parents who were labeled as quiescent users and compliant users.…”