Parental expectations and school relationships as contributors to adolescents’ positive outcomes

• Published in: Social psychology of education 2014-03, Vol.17 (1), p.1-17
• Main Authors: Froiland, John Mark, Davison, Mark L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Adolescents; Analysis; Behavior Problems; Child psychology; Correlation; Domestic relations; Education; Educational Attainment; Educational psychology; Ethnicity; Family; Family Income; Family Structure; Gender Differences; Grades (Scholastic); High School Students; High schools; Interviews; Longitudinal Studies; Middle School Students; National Household Education Survey; Outcomes of Education; Parent Aspiration; Parent Attitudes; Parent Background; Parent Participation; Parent Role; Parent School Relationship; Parenting; Parents & parenting; Personality and Social Psychology; School Holding Power; Social aspects; Socioeconomic Status; Sociology of Education; Structural Equation Models; Student behavior; Student retention; Surveys; Teenagers; Youth
• ISSN: 1381-2890; 1573-1928
• DOI: 10.1007/s11218-013-9237-3

Researchers examined associations of parental expectations and parental school relationships with school outcomes among U.S. middle and high school students. Nationally representative data involving families from the National Household Education Surveys were analyzed with structural equation modeling. Measures included interview responses about parent expectations for their children’s long term educational attainment (ranging from dropping out of high school to obtaining a JD/PhD/MD) and how much parents feel welcomed at school, trust and have positive interactions with educators. The latter three variables formed a latent variable called parent school relationship. Analyses controlled for SES (parents’ educational attainment and household income), family structure, gender, and ethnicity. The school outcomes variable was derived from parental report of students’ grades, retention in any grade and behavior problems at school. Parental expectations were positively related (standardized path coefficient = .44, p < . 01 ) to positive school outcomes and had a stronger effect than SES (standardized path coefficient = .24). Parent school relationships were also positively related to school outcomes. These findings suggest that psychologists and educators should be aware of the potential for parents to play a significant role (e.g., via expectations and developing supportive relationships with educators) in children’s education, even in middle and high school.