Math homework: Parental help and children’s academic outcomes

Warmth and Control: Examining the Associations between Chinese Parenting Behaviors and Children's Academic Performance in Different Parent-Child Dyads

Few studies have comprehensively examined the reciprocal relation between specific parenting practices and children's academic performance across parent and child gender. The present study investigated the bidirectional associations between parental warmth/control and children's academic performance using a three-wave longitudinal multi-informant design. A total of 814 families (Mchild age = 10.36 years; SD = 1.22, 57% girls) participated in the study. Results of the random-intercept cross-lagged models indicated that paternal warmth promoted children's academic performance at the between-family level, whereas maternal warmth promoted children's academic performance at the within-family level. Interestingly, paternal control predicted better academic performance in boys over time (i.e., the within-family level) but contributed to girls' worse academic performance than others (i.e., the between-family level). These results highlighted the gender-universal effects of parental warmth and the gender-specific effects of parental control on child academic performance in the Chinese context. These findings underscored the necessity of considering parent-child dynamics across different parent-child gender dyads.

On the Broader Significance of Maternal Sensitivity: Mothers' Early and Later Sensitive Parenting Matter to Children's Language, Executive Function, Academics, and Self-Reliance

Researchers have demonstrated the important contribution of mothers' sensitive parenting to children's developing cognition over the first 5 years of life, yet studies examining sensitivity beyond the early years, controlling for earlier effects, are limited. In this exploratory study, we examined the developmental pathways through which mothers' early and later sensitive parenting transacted with children's language, executive function, academics, and self-reliance to predict child outcomes from infancy to adolescence. To a national longitudinal dataset (n = 1364; 52% male; 80% white), we applied random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling to examine between-person and within-person associations for maternal sensitivity and child outcomes. Our findings show that over the first 15 years of life relations between maternal sensitivity and these child outcomes are best characterized by stable, trait-like associations that persist over time with limited state-like time-varying associations. Importantly, we found that maternal sensitivity at both early and later developmental stages is associated with these between-person differences. Given the nature of these associations over four developmental stages, we extend prior research by demonstrating that mothers' sensitivity is enduring because of its consistency both early and later in development.

Parental homework involvement and students' mathematics achievement: a meta-analysis

Introduction

Given the importance of parent involvement to students' academic achievement, researchers have used a variety of methods to investigate the relationship between the two, but few focus on the relationship between parental homework involvement and students' achievement in a specific subject by using meta-analysis. This meta-analysis investigated the relationship between parent homework involvement and students' mathematics achievement from two dimensions: supportive (SPI) and intrusive parent homework involvement (IPI), along with their moderators.

Methods

Accessed through Web of Science, Taylor and Francis Online, EBSCO, Springer Link, Elsevier, and ProQuest databases, a total of 20 empirical studies between 2005 to 2022, 41 independent effect sizes were included (N = 16,338). Effect size estimations were obtained by transforming Fisher's correlation coefficient. This study has conducted the heterogeneity tests of the magnitudes grouped according to different moderators, and investigated the publication bias that affects meta-analysis studies.

Results and discussion

The results showed an overall positive link between SPI and students' mathematics achievement (r = 0.076, 95% CI = [0.037, 0.114]) and a negative link between IPI and students' mathematics achievement (r = -0.153, 95% CI = [-0.226, -0.079]). For the link of SPI and students' mathematics achievement, the effect sizes were (a) strongest when SPI was measured by autonomy support, followed by content support and provision of structure respectively; (b) stronger when students' mathematics achievement indicated by non-standardized measurement than standardized measurement. For the link of IPI and students' mathematics achievement, the effect sizes varied across grade level, strongest in high school, followed by middle school and lowest in primary school. These findings provide important implications for how to improve parental homework involvement practice to increase students' mathematics achievement.

Parents' Self-Development Socialization Goals and Chinese Adolescents' Academic Motivation: The Mediating Role of Parents' Autonomy Support

The socialization goals parents hold for their adolescents, which reflect the qualities, skills, or behaviors they want their adolescents to acquire, play an important role in shaping adolescents' adjustment via parenting practices. Nevertheless, there is a lack of studies that examine the longitudinal implications of parents' socialization goals for adolescents' academic motivation, especially in non-Western cultures. Moreover, evidence is still scarce regarding the full process from parents' socialization goals to parenting practices and further to adolescents' academic adjustment. To address these gaps, the current two-wave longitudinal study spanning one year examined whether two critical socialization goals endorsed by parents in Chinese culture, namely self-development (i.e., parents wanting adolescents to be unique, autonomous, and self-assertive) and academic achievement socialization goals (i.e., parents wanting adolescents to achieve academic success), predicted Chinese adolescents' academic motivation over time via parents' autonomy support. Two hundred and eighty-five Chinese adolescents (Mean age = 12.29 years, SD = 0.64, range = 11-14, 51% girls) reported on perceived parental socialization goals and autonomy support, as well as different aspects of their own academic motivation (i.e., academic interest, mastery orientation, and persistent responses to academic failure). Results showed that perceived parents' self-development socialization goals positively predicted adolescents' academic motivation one year later, which was mediated by parents' increased autonomy support. The findings highlight the positive role of parents' self-development socialization goals in Chinese adolescents' academic adjustment in the changing society, and identify the underlying socialization processes via parenting practices.

A weekly-diary study of students' schoolwork motivation and parental support

BACKGROUND

Parental support plays an important role in children's schoolwork motivation and may have been even more important during the first UK COVID-19 pandemic lockdown because all schoolwork was completed at home. When examining the effect of parental support on children's schoolwork motivation, research has typically focused on comparing families with each other (i.e., difference between families). In reality, however, the effect unfolds as a transactional, bidirectional process between parents and children over time (i.e., a within family process). This research trend can result in imprecise conclusions about the association between parental support and schoolwork motivation.

OBJECTIVES

We examined bidirectional effects of parental schoolwork support and children's schoolwork motivation at both the between-family and within-family level.

METHODS

This study reports findings from a weekly-diary study conducted during the first UK COVID-19 school lockdown. Cross-lagged within and between multilevel modelling was used to analyse data from UK secondary school students (N = 98) in Years 7-9.

RESULTS

Between-family results show no evidence of association between motivation and parental support. Within-family results indicate that higher motivation (assessed as higher expectations of success) predicted more support from parents. However, in contrast with predictions, weekly levels of parental support did not predict children's weekly fluctuations in motivation.

CONCLUSIONS

Within-family results were not consistent with between-family results. This study is novel in showing that child-driven effects appear to be important in eliciting parental support within families over time.

Parents' daily involvement in children's math homework and activities during early elementary school

This research examined parents’ involvement in children’s math homework and activities. During 2017 to 2019, American parents (N = 483; 80% mothers; 67% white) of young elementary school children (M_age = 7.47 years; 50% girls) reported on their math helping self‐efficacy; they also reported on their involvement in children’s math homework and activities daily for 12 days. At this time and a year later, children’s math motivation and achievement were assessed. Parents’ involvement in homework (vs. activities) was more affectively negative (d = .34), particularly among parents low in self‐efficacy (d = .23). The more affectively negative parents’ involvement, particularly in homework, the poorer children’s later math motivation and achievement (βs = −.09 to .20).

Controlling-Supportive Homework Help Partially Explains the Relation between Parents’ Math Anxiety and Children’s Math Achievement

Previous research has shown that math homework help of higher-math-anxious parents impedes children’s math learning and facilitates the development of math anxiety. In the present study, we explored a possible explanation for this phenomenon by examining the relations between parents’ math anxiety, their math homework-helping styles (i.e., autonomy- and controlling-supportive), and their child’s math achievement. Parents of children ages 11 to 14 completed an online survey. Using path analysis, we examined the relations among parental factors (i.e., math anxiety, math ability, and homework-helping styles) and child math achievement. Parents’ math anxiety was positively related to both autonomy-supportive and controlling-supportive math homework-helping styles. Notably, controlling-supportive style partially mediated the relation between parents’ math anxiety and their children’s math achievement. Thus, it is possible that the use of a controlling-supportive math homework-helping style may explain why the homework help offered by higher-math-anxious parents is detrimental to their children’s math learning. Identifying negative relations between parent factors and children’s math outcomes is crucial for developing evidence-based math learning interventions.

Parental Social Comparison Related to Tutoring Anxiety, and Guided Approaches to Assisting Their Children's Home Online Learning During the COVID-19 Lockdown

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused great disruption in education systems around the world. Schools have in some cases ended or limited on-site teaching, and have shifted toward home online teaching. This situation is likely to cause increased uncertainty and anxiety for parents who on one hand may question the quality of home online learning yet, on the other, may not feel sufficiently confident or competent to guide their children's home online learning. Resulting anxiety is expected to be most evident in competitive educational contexts, such as those found throughout much of East Asia. Therefore, using China as the setting, and social comparison theory as the framework, this study examined how variation in parent social comparison relates to parent tutoring anxiety and, in turn, to the types of guided strategies parents use to promote their children's home online learning. The results indicated a positive relationship between parental upward social comparison and parental tutoring anxiety, but a negative relationship between parent downward social comparison and parental anxiety. Parental tutoring anxiety is positively related to the confirmation and structure types, but negatively related to the discovery type of guided approaches. The implication of this study is that parents who resist tendencies of competitive upward social comparison are likely to adopt more effective approaches to guiding their children's home online learning.

Parental Involvement in Adolescents' Learning and Academic Achievement: Cross-lagged Effect and Mediation of Academic Engagement

Parental involvement in adolescents' learning has been linked to high academic achievement, yet few studies have examined its reverse relationship at the same time and the potential mechanisms that underly these associations. To address this research gap, this study investigated the reciprocal relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement as well as the mediating role of adolescents' academic engagement among Chinese adolescents. In addition, the current study explored whether these relationships varied by gender. Using a longitudinal design, a total of 2381 secondary school students (48.8% girls, Mage = 13.38 ± 0.59) participated in the study. The results found significant positive directional effects from academic achievement to parental involvement among total sample, but not vice versa. The cross-lagged effect from academic achievement to parental involvement only existed among adolescent girls. Bootstrap analyses in the total sample revealed that parental involvement was related to academic achievement through the indirect effects of adolescents' behavioral engagement. In terms of gender differences, behavioral engagement totally mediated the path from academic achievement to parental involvement for boys, while no significant mediation effect was found for girls. These results have provided empirical evidence of the evocative role of adolescents' academic characteristics on parenting behaviors and the double-edged effect of parental involvement on adolescents' academic performance, they also suggest that further research is needed to explore effective and appropriate ways for parents to get involved in adolescents' learning in order to promote their children's academic achievement.