Parental Beliefs About School Readiness, Home and School-Based Involvement, and Children’s Academic Achievement

Academic socialization and the transition to kindergarten: Parental beliefs about school readiness and involvement

“…Our results demonstrated that parents' school readiness beliefs were positively associated with their home‐based involvement, which in turn was positively associated with measures of school readiness. These findings are likewise consistent with previous studies linking parents' readiness‐related beliefs and expectations to parents' use of learning‐related activities and achievement (Puccioni, , ; Sy & Schulenberg, ). However, the results presented in this study extend previous research by simultaneously examining the degree to which parents' school readiness beliefs and parental involvement are associated with children's academic and socio‐emotional competencies during the transition to kindergarten.…”

“…Consistent with previous research, findings presented in this study suggest that parents from higher socio‐economic backgrounds reported engaging young children in more home‐based involvement (Brooks‐Gunn & Markman, ; Phillips, ; Puccioni, , ). In recent studies conducted by Puccioni (, ) drawing upon data from ECLS‐K and ECLS‐B, the findings demonstrate that socio‐economic status was positively associated with home‐based involvement, which in turn exerts a positive influence on children's academic achievement, whereas Mistry, Benner, Biesanz, Clark, and Howes () demonstrated that parental provisions of stimulating language and literacy activities as well as measures of warmth and responsiveness were found to mediate the relationship between cumulative risk factors and children's prekindergarten achievement, self‐regulation, and social behaviour. Consistent with previous studies, our findings demonstrate that parents from higher socio‐economic backgrounds reported engaging their young child in more home‐based involvement practices, which in turn had a positive influence on children's academic achievement, social skills, and self‐regulatory skills.…”

“…Parental academic socialization, which includes parents' beliefs, expectations, and behaviours, which are intended to influence children's school‐related outcomes, has received growing attention as a way to support children's early development and the transition to elementary school (Puccioni, , ; Sonnenschein, Metzger, & Thompson, ; Taylor, Clayton, & Rowley, ). Scholars suggest that academic socialization plays an important role in children's school‐related outcomes (Hoover‐Dempsey et al, ; Puccioni, ; Sonnenschein et al, ).…”

“…It is commonly assumed that the importance parents place on school readiness has the potential to shape their practices and children's outcomes during the transition to elementary school. In fact, several studies have demonstrated that parents' views about school readiness correspond with their practices (Puccioni, ; Sy & Schulenberg, ), and children's early academic achievement (Barbarin et al, ; Joe & Davis, ; Puccioni, , ; Sy & Schulenberg, ). However, few studies have examined the degree to which parental academic socialization also impacts kindergarten children's socio‐emotional competencies.…”

“…Findings indicated that parents who placed more importance on school readiness engaged their child in more home‐based involvement activities, which in turn was positively related to children's academic achievement in reading and mathematics at the beginning of kindergarten. In a follow‐up study using data from Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth cohort (ECLS‐B), Puccioni () estimated a structural equation model to examine the associations among parents' academic and behaviour‐oriented school readiness beliefs, home‐ and school‐based parental involvement, and children's academic achievement during the transition to kindergarten. Findings indicated that parents who place more importance on children having certain behavioural skills and attributes prior to kindergarten engage in more home‐based parental involvement activities during preschool, which in turn positively predicted children's reading and mathematics achievement at kindergarten entry.…”