Studying parental involvement and university access and choice: An 'interacting multiple capitals' model

• Published in: British educational research journal 2017-12, Vol.43 (6), p.1206-1224
• Main Authors: Gao, Fang, Ng, Jacky Chi Kit
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Access; Aspiration; College Students; Colleges & universities; Cultural Capital; Cultural factors; Economic Factors; Equality; ethnic Koreans; Ethnicity; Foreign Countries; Higher education; interacting multiple capitals model; Labor migration; Mobility; Multiple Regression Analysis; Occupational Mobility; Parent Influence; Parent Participation; Parent School Relationship; parental involvement; Parents & parenting; Regression analysis; Social Capital; Student Surveys; university access and choice
• ISSN: 0141-1926; 1469-3518
• DOI: 10.1002/berj.3298

Capital-embedded parental involvement in education is essential in enhancing university enrolment and maximising the educational potentials for equality and excellence. Previous studies in this field have mainly utilised Perna's (2000, 2006) model, which defines parental involvement as social capital and identifies the additive influences of different types of capital (including social, economic and cultural capital) on university access and choice. Yet, little research to date theorises and disaggregates the interplay among various types of capital as well as the multiplicative capital effects on enrolment. This study addressed this gap. We proposed an 'interacting multiple capitals' (IMC) model and hypothesised that parental social capital could moderate the effects of cultural and economic capital on entry to university. To validate the model, a pilot survey was administered to 216 university students of Korean ethnicity in China and investigated the models of involvement adopted by Korean parents in the context of the increasing labour mobility of the Korean adult population. Moderated multiple regression analysis was employed and the results confirmed the hypothesis that capital effects upon university access and choice were multiplicative in nature, with social capital moderating the cultural capital influence on students' educational aspirations. The study findings show that the interaction of various types of capital variables is sufficiently statistically significant to warrant future research and policy and practical discussion of how to promote parental involvement in university preparation and planning.