Family Effects on Students' Achievement in Thailand and Malawi

Abstract

This article analyzes the effects offamily background on students' achievement in Third World countries and uses measures of social class that are both broader than previous work and more valid for developing countries. Study 1 examined panel data on the backgrounds and mathematics achievement of approximately 4,000 Grade 8 studentsfrom 99 schools in Thailand. Itfound thatfamily background and prior achievement affected students' educational expectations, perceptions of ability, and effort, which, in turn, influenced subsequent achievement. Study 2 examined cross-sectional data on 103 students from 21 schools in Malawi. It employed country-specific measures of family background and assessed their effects on the language and mathematics performance offourthand seventh-grade students. Family background accounted for achievement in both studies. The article suggests that prior work may have underestimated the influences offamily background on achievement in developing countries.