Getting the Teacher’s Attention: Parent-teacher Contact and Teachers’ Preferential Behavior in the Classroom

• In Event: 2484 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 15. Parents and Families in Education

Abstract

High levels of support from teachers in the classroom can improve student engagement in schooling, leading to higher rates of attendance, reduced risk of drop out, and better academic achievement. Although research has revealed various ways in which parents can shape the schooling process, little is known about how parental involvement at school may or may not influence the amount of support students receive from teachers. In this study, I draw on data from the China Education Panel Survey – a nationally representative survey of Chinese middle school students with unusually detailed information on parental involvement and teachers’ behavior in the classroom – to test a conceptual model that proposes a link between parent-teacher contact and the attention students receive from teachers. In support of the conceptual model, I find that students whose parents cultivate relationships with teachers through frequent contact are more likely to be called on or praised by teachers, even after controlling for family background and student academic performance. When combined with evidence of social class differences in parent-teacher contact, this suggests a new way in which social class influences schooling through the mechanism of parental involvement.

Author

• Natalie Alice Eckhardt Young, University of Pennsylvania