Quantity Versus Quality of Parental Involvement in Homework: The Need for Multidimensional Measures

• In Event: Family Practices and Family Involvement Praxis

Abstract

The present paper examined whether parental homework involvement is beneficial for students’ academic achievement. We argue that the quantity of parental help does not necessarily improve student outcomes and that one has to investigate the way parents become involved. This assumption was tested using longitudinal data from 1,687 sixth graders and their parents. The quality of parental homework involvement was conceptualized as a multidimensional construct. Whereas the quantity of parental help didn’t improve students’ achievement or was even negatively associated with it, parental help had positive effects, when it was autonomy and emotionally supportive and negative effects, when it was perceived as interference. These results clearly call for the need to use more differentiated measures research on parental homework involvement.

Authors

• Sandra Moroni, Pädagogische Hochschule FHNW

• Hanna Dumont, German Institute for International Educational Research

• Ulrich Trautwein, University of Tubingen