Increased Family Involvement in School Predicts Improved Child–Teacher Relationships and Feelings About School for Low-Income Children

Abstract

Family involvement in school, children's relationships with their teachers, and children's feelings about school were examined longitudinally from kindergarten through fifth grade for an ethnically diverse, low-income sample (N ¼ 329). Within-families analyses indicated that changes in family involvement in school were directly associated with changes in children's relationships with their teachers and indirectly associated with changes in children's feelings about school, with student-teacher relationships mediating this latter association. Increases in family involvement in school predicted improvements in student-teacher relationships, and, in turn, these improvements in student-teacher relationships predicted improvements in children's Eric Dearing, PhD, is affiliated with the perceptions of competency in literacy and mathematics as well as improvements in children's attitudes toward school, more generally. These results are consistent with systems theories of child development and help answer why family educational involvement matters for low-income children.

Ethnic incongruence and the student–teacher relationship: The perspective of ethnic majority teachers

“…Related to this point, future research should examine other explanatory factors such as the involvement of students' parents. Recent studies have revealed positive links between teachers' ratings of parental involvement and the quality of the teacher-child relationship (Dearing, Kreider, & Weiss, 2008;Hughes et al, 2005;Wyrick & Rudasill, 2009), and Dutch research suggests that there are important ethnic differences in the former (Denessen, Driessen, Smit, & Sleegers, 2001).…”

Spanish-speaking Mexican-American families’ involvement in school-based activities and their children's literacy: The implications of having teachers who speak Spanish and English

“…Indeed, there is empirical evidence that increases in family school-based activities predict improvements in children’s feelings about school and, in turn, these improvements in feelings about school predict improvements in literacy performance (Dearing, Kreider, & Weiss, 2008; Dearing, McCartney, Weiss, Kreider, & Simpkins, 2004). Along similar lines, Xu and colleagues (Xu, Kushner Benson, Mudrey-Camino, & Steiner, 2010) demonstrated that children’s self-regulation of learning mediated positive associations between school-based involvement and children’s literacy achievement.…”

Enhancing the transition to kindergarten: A randomized trial to test the efficacy of the “Stars” summer kindergarten orientation program

“…A recent survey indicated that families welcome overtures from schools, with most parents eager to be more involved in their children's transition to kindergarten (McIntyre, Eckert, Fiese, DiGennaro, & Wildenger, 2007). Greater parental involvement in children's schooling is in turn linked to children's higher grades, better school attendance, more positive attitudes and behaviors, higher graduation rates, and greater enrollment in higher education (Dearing, Kreider, & Weiss, 2008; Henderson & Berla, 1994). Collaboration between parents and teachers is associated with improved communication and greater trust that in turn supports children's transition to school (Child Trends, 2001; Dockett & Perry, 2001; Kraft-Sayre & Pianta, 2000; Pianta, Kraft-Sayre, Rimm-Kaufman, Gercke, & Higgins, 2001).…”