Social Class Parenting Practices and Their Influence on Educational Outcomes in the United States and Scotland

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Sociopolitics of Parenting and Schooling

Abstract

Drawing upon Lareau’s (2011) work on social class and family life, this study explored social-class differences in children’s cognitive outcomes from the United States and Scotland—two nations that share a policy emphasis on parental engagement to reduce the achievement gap. At the same time, they differ in how policy orientations are enforced, in the overall levels of socioeconomic inequality, and in the form and extent of welfare support for families and children. Results show some practices of concerted cultivation are positively associated with children’s outcomes, but the strength and direction of the relation depends on children’s social background. Moreover, social-class differences in parenting practices are more pronounced and more often statistically significant in the United States than in Scotland.

Authors

• Brian An, University of Iowa

• Francesca Fiori, University of St Andrews