Parental Involvement and Students’ Science Achievement: A Longitudinal Study

• In Event: Roundtable Session 18
  In Roundtable Session: Student/Parent/Teacher Positionality in Science

Abstract

A longitudinal study was conducted to examine the relationships between parental involvement and students’ science achievement over time. Four dimensions of parental involvement were used: parent-child communication, school participation, educational aspiration for children, and home supervision. Data used in this study consisted of three waves of student information and parent surveys from Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K). Regression analyses results showed that levels of parental involvement in terms of parent-child communication, parents’ school participation, and educational aspiration for children were consistently and positively associated with students’ science achievement over time. However, home supervision had a negative relationship with students’ science achievement.

Authors

• Xiaoqing Kong, University of Virginia

• Robert H. Tai, University of Virginia

• Xitao Fan, University of Macau