The role of digital capital in parental engagement

Abstract

AbstractPrevious studies discussed the relationship between parental engagement and different forms of capital, such as cultural or social capital. The current study takes a step further by referring to digital capital. It examines the direct and mediating effects of parents' digital capital on their engagement in their children's learning. The study also compares the differences between parents of low and high socioeconomic statuses regarding the effect of digital capital on their engagement. The study sample included 600 Israeli parents with children in elementary schools who completed an anonymous online questionnaire during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling analysis revealed that parents with high socioeconomic status use digital capital more frequently than parents with low socioeconomic status. Further, digital capital was directly related to parental engagement and acted as a mediator between parents' socioeconomic background, social and institutionalized cultural capital, and their engagement in their children’s learning, giving an advantage to high-socioeconomic parents. However, the relationships between parental engagement and the types of capital were found to be different for low compared to high socioeconomic parents. The findings emphasize the potential of digital capital, particularly for disadvantaged groups, as a lever for improving parental engagement to benefit children and ultimately contributing toward creating a more equitable society.