Effects on Parental Education on Children

Effects on Parental Education on Children

Alison Fullmer

Brigham Young University Idaho

Educated parents have a positive affect on their children in a myriad of ways.  Educated parents are more likely to understand the importance of creating a learning environment. Parent education and family interaction patterns during childhood may be linked to the child’s developing academic success and achievement-oriented attitudes. The negative or positive cycle continues as children grow up and have children of their own.

Both of my parents were college graduates. I had a mother who did not have to work because my father had his education, which helped prepare him for a career where he made enough money to support the family on one income. Research suggests that parental education is indeed an important and significant unique predictor of child achievement. For example, in an analysis of data from several large-scale developmental studies, Duncan and Brooks-Gunn (1997) concluded that maternal education was linked significantly to children’s intellectual outcomes even after controlling for a variety of other SES indicators such as household income. Davis-Kean (2005) found direct effects of parental education, but not income, on European American children’s standardized achievement scores; both parental education and income exerted indirect effects on parents’ achievement-fostering behaviors, and subsequently children’s achievement, through their effects on parents’ educational expectations. (Boxer, Dubow, Huesmann)

Education was incorporated in everything we did as a family. I never remember not being a student.  As a family would go on many walks and discussed the rocks, flora and fauna that we would stumble across. A child exposed to parents who model achievement-oriented behavior and provide achievement-oriented opportunities instill the belief that achievement is to be valued and fervently pursued. This belief should then in turn promote successful outcomes across development. There are positive relations between parents’ levels of education and parents’ expectations for their children’s success (Davis-Kean, 2005), suggesting that more highly educated parents actively encourage their children to develop high expectations of their own. Importantly, on the other hand, McLoyd’s (1989) review found that parents who experience difficult economic times have children who are more pessimistic about their educational and vocational futures. (Boxer, Dubow, Huesmann)

Since my parents had high expectations, it was never a question if I would or would not continue with my education after graduating from high school. The only question was what to study.  There were so many possibilities and I had the foundation to continue to build on what my parents had established. Grades were also nonnegotiable. School was my job and I knew I needed to do my best. Children from underprivileged homes do not perform as well in school on average than those from more educated households. This is measured by a few things such as the family income, education level of the parents, mostly the education level of the mother, and the parents’ employment status.  By the parents not having an education they cannot afford to live in an area for their children to get a proper education. The cycle continues with these children not getting the education needed and not being able to provide their children. (H.F. Ladd)

“Family structural variables such as parental education and income affect the level of actual interactions within the family, and concomitantly, the child’s behavior. Stipek (1998) has argued that behavioral problems affect young children’s opportunities to learn because these youth often are punished for their behavior and might develop conflictual relationships with teachers, thus leading to negative attitudes about school and lowered academic success.” (Boxer, Dubow, Huesmann)

In junior high I had friends that seemed to always have a grudge on their shoulder.  They would seldom complete homework and it appeared that their self-esteem came from  anti-establishment behavior. Very few of these friends went on to pursue higher education and are currently floundering from one minimum wage job to another. Looking back I can see that their home life did not center around education, often because the family was trying to survive economically.  “It is possible that low socioeconomic status (including low parental educational levels) could affect negative family interaction patterns, which can influence child behavior problems (measured in our study by aggression), and in turn affect lowered academic and achievement-oriented attitudes over time.” (Boxer, Dubow, Huesmann)

Parent education and family interaction patterns during childhood also might be linked more directly to the child’s developing academic success and achievement-oriented attitudes. In the general social learning and social-cognitive framework (Bandura, 1986), behavior is shaped in part through observational and direct learning experiences. Those experiences lead to the formation of internalized cognitive scripts, values, and beliefs that guide and maintain behavior over time (Anderson & Huesmann, 2003; Huesmann, 1998). According to Eccles this cognitive process accounts for the emergence and persistence of achievement-related behaviors and ultimately to successful achievement. Eccles’ framework emphasizes in particular the importance of children’s expectations for success, with parents assuming the role of “expectancy socializers” (Frome & Eccles, 1998, p. 437)

Children who come from lower income families are less likely to attend Head Start schools or state pre-kindergarten school. They are more likely to be taken care of by a family member during the day. The Head Start Program and Pre-K schools are there to help the children better prepare from school in the coming years. By not attending these programs they will most likely a little behind in school. By these parents not have a proper education themselves; they are passing that down to their children. Lower income families are affecting the children and the family. These children are not getting the appropriate amount of time spending with school. They tend to fall behind in school and not get the education they need to better themselves. (Shager, & Magnuson)

The number of families living in poverty in 1964 was 15 percent. Since the late 1970’s the poverty rate has risen. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture approximately 11% of the population suffers from food insecurity. 13 million, or 18 percent of all children live in families with incomes below that federal poverty level. (The Connecticut Commission on Children)

            Educated parents are more likely to understand the importance of creating a learning environment. Parents that do not have to worry about when and how they are going to pay the bills can focus on the needs of their family.  Financial freedom affords parents the opportunity to seek services that will enhance their children’s ability to get that head start.  Children that feel successful at an early age are more likely to continue and thrive in the scholastic setting. 

References

Boxer, P. Dubow, E.F. & Huesmann, R. (2009). Long- term Effects of Parents’ Education on Children’s Education and Occupational Success. P.1-29 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2853053/

H, Shager, & K, Magnuson. (2010). Children and Youth Services Review. Vol 32,   Issue 9. Pp. 1186-1198 

HF, Ladd. (2012). Journal Of Policy Analysis and Management, Vol. 31, pp. 203-227

The Connecticut Commission on Children. (2004). Children and the Long Term Effect of   Poverty. http://www.cga.ct.gov/coc/pdfs/poverty/2004_poverty_report.pdf