Getting the Teacher’s Attention: Parent-Teacher Contact and Teachers’ Behavior in the Classroom

• Published in: Social forces 2020-12, Vol.99 (2), p.560-589
• Main Author: Young, Natalie A E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Attention; Attention-seeking; Attention-seeking behavior; Attention-seeking behaviour; Behavior; Class differences; Classroom environment; Classroom observation; Classrooms; Conceptual models; Education; Educational aspects; Educational inequality; Equal Education; Panel data; Parent participation; Parent-child relations; Parent-teacher relations; Parent-teacher relationships; Parents & parenting; Polls & surveys; Psychological aspects; Social background; Social classes; Social factors; Social reproduction; Student behavior; Student teacher relationship; Students; Teacher-student relations; Teacher-student relationships; Teachers
• ISSN: 0037-7732; 1534-7605
• DOI: 10.1093/sf/soz177

Abstract Studies suggest that both parental involvement and support from teachers matter for students’ academic success. Although cross-national research has revealed numerous ways in which parents shape the schooling process, less clear is whether parental involvement at school can influence teachers’ daily behavior toward students in class. In this study, I draw on data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS)—a nationally representative survey of Chinese middle-school students with unusually detailed information on parental involvement and teachers’ daily behaviors—to test a conceptual model that proposes a link between parent-teacher contact in China and attention students receive from teachers during daily lessons. In support of the conceptual model, I find that students whose parents cultivate relationships with teachers through frequent contact are more likely to be cold-called on and praised by teachers in class, even after controlling for family background, student academic performance, and student behavior. Moreover, I observe social class differences in parent-teacher contact, as well as some evidence that parent-teacher contact is linked to improved student performance through its impact on teachers’ attention. Overall, the findings point to a potential new pathway through which social class influences schooling by way of school-based parental involvement and in a broader set of contexts than previously imagined. I conclude with a discussion of implications for social reproduction theory, as well as challenges this situation presents for combatting educational inequality.