Family and school capital explaining regional variation in math and reading achievement

Is Social Capital Associated with Academic Achievement in Lithuanian High-school Students? A Population-based Study

“…Th e current research covered 10-12 th form students in lower secondary and secondary schools and 2 nd -4 th form students in gymnasiums. Our results showed the relationship between academic achievement and family social capital, which is similar to the results of other studies (Huang, 2009;Kim & Schneider, 2005, Parcel & Dufur, 2009). Meier (1999 reported positive associations between human and economic capital at home with parent-child discussion of school activities, involvement in school activities and parent-school academic contact.…”

“…Findings indicate that school-age children who perceive high support from all three sources (parents, peers and teachers) as opposed to none, one, or two, have better school attendance, have higher school satisfaction, engagement, study more, avoid problem behaviour, and show greater self-effi cacy as well as higher schooling achievements. Th us, the combined support of parents, teachers and friends promotes positive school outcomes (Huang, 2009;Parcel & Dufur, 2009;Rodgers & Rose, 2002;Rosenfeld, Richman, & Bowen, 2000;Schwartz et al, 2009).…”

The quality vs. the quantity of schooling: What drives economic growth?

“…A vast array of studies provide strong evidence that the characteristics of a student's home environment have a larger effect on student achievement than school quality [Parcel and Dufur, 2009]. And in the countries in the data set with the highest average test scores (Japan, South Korea, and Singapore), national expenditures for private tutoring are comparable in magnitude to expenditures on public education [Dang and Rogers, 2008].…”

Divergent historical experiences and inequality in academic achievement: The case of Poland

“…In Italy, a country that was unified in the mid 19th century, academic achievement is much higher in the northern region, in line with the differences in per capita income (Lynn 2010). The United States also exhibits significant inequality in achievement that tends to line up with average income differences (Parcel and Dufur 2009). However, the interdependence of economic performance and educational achievement is not the universal rule; in the case of Germany the economically lagging east recently outperformed the much richer West on the international PISA test.…”