When children affect parents: Children's academic performance and parental investment

Soc Sci Res. 2015 Jul:52:671-85. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2014.10.007. Epub 2014 Nov 6.

Abstract

Sociologists have extensively documented the ways that parent resources predict children's achievement. However, less is known about whether and how children's academic performance shapes parental investment behaviors. I use data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) and longitudinal fixed effects models to examine how changes in teacher assessments are related to changes in the conferral of various parent resources. Overall, I find that the relationship between achievement and investment varies based on the directionality in children's achievement and the type of resource at hand. Children whose performance improves receive a broad range of enrichment resources, while declines in performance are met with corrective educational resources. Results are largely consistent whether language or math assessments are used to predict investment, and also among children whose achievement does not change over time. I discuss these patterns, along with implications for the use of parent resources in education and family research.

Keywords: Academic achievement; Children and youth; Parental investment; Parenting.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Achievement*
  • Adult
  • Child
  • Child Development*
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cohort Studies
  • Educational Measurement*
  • Health Resources
  • Helping Behavior*
  • Humans
  • Investments
  • Language
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Mathematics
  • Parent-Child Relations
  • Parenting*
  • Parents*
  • School Teachers
  • Schools*