Parental Educational Expectations Research Articles

Adaptive educational expectations: How do parental educational expectations respond to child academic performance in various family contexts?

Parental educational expectations are well-studied in sociology of education and social stratification and mobility, but most literature conceptualizes these expectations as static or considers how they change only at key educational junctures such as educational transitions. Whether parental educational expectations adapt to child academic performance more generally, and what might be the key theoretical components in adaptation, are not well-conceptualized or tested. To address these limitations, we posit and test the concept of adaptive educational expectations. Our concept encompasses three key propositions: adaptability – parental expectations adapt to child academic performance; relative responsiveness – the adaptive response of parental expectations to child performance is larger in magnitude than the responsiveness of child performance to parental expectations; and heterogeneity – the adaptability of parental expectations varies across family contexts. We test the concept using the case of China, the largest education system in the world, with analyses of longitudinal data from the China Education Panel Survey. Findings show that parental expectations are more adaptive to child performance in low-SES families than in high-SES families and in rural areas than in nonrural areas, but there is no difference in adaptability by child gender and sibship size. These findings indicate that the adaptation of educational expectations is more shaped by socioeconomic circumstances than family demographics. Furthermore, the use of this concept reveals a hidden form of educational inequality that prior literature often neglects: compared with high-SES parents, low-SES parents not only hold lower educational expectations but are more likely to decrease their expectations when child academic performance declines, which further reduces their educational involvement. These findings illustrate the relevance of all three features of the adaptive educational expectations concept.

Do early school- and family-related factors predict midlife psychological well-being? Findings from A prospective Black childhood cohort study

The relationship between early school- and family-related factors and later psychological well-being (PWB) has been insufficiently studied. To address this gap, a comprehensive model was employed to investigate the effects of school and family predictors (ages < 14) on PWB, and a related construct, life satisfaction (LS), at age 35 for a large urban childhood cohort. 30-year follow-up data were analyzed for 72 % (N = 1,112) of the original 1,539 participants (93 % Black) in the Chicago Longitudinal Study, a prospective investigation on the impact of an early childhood education program. Hierarchical linear regression analysis revealed both parent (β = 0.51p = 0.013) and student educational attainment expectations (β = 1.48; p = 0.032) as well as peer social skills (β = 0.25; p = 0.003) were the most significant predictors of midlife PWB. Peer social skills (β = 0.02; p = 0.032), school mobility (β = -0.09; p = 0.012), and student educational attainment expectations (β = 0.17; p = 0.022) were strongly associated with midlife LS. Sex differences were also examined. Implications for shaping key components of school-family programs, services, and policies that foster positive development across different social ecologies are discussed. Further research should explore the mediational pathways to better understand the mechanisms behind these observed relationships.

Parental Educational Attainment on Adolescent Educational Development: A Multi-Group Analysis of Chinese Left-Behind and Non-Left-Behind Children.

Utilizing data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this research focuses on the differences and mechanisms of intergenerational educational transmission between left-behind and non-left-behind children using structural equation modeling and multi-group path analysis. The findings indicate that significant intergenerational educational transmission effects exist in both groups, with parental educational attainment significantly impacting children's academic performance. Further mediation analysis demonstrates that parental educational attainment influences children's academic performance through the chain mediation effects of parental educational expectations and self-educational expectations. Multi-group path analysis reveals distinct mechanisms affecting academic performance: among non-left-behind children, parental educational attainment exerts a stronger direct influence on academic performance, while self-educational expectations are more influential for left-behind children. Additionally, the path coefficients for the effects of parental educational expectations and self-educational expectations on academic performance are higher for left-behind children than for non-left-behind children. Consequently, educational interventions should focus on enabling parents of left-behind children to effectively convey educational expectations through indirect methods (e.g., phone or online communication) and on enhancing left-behind children's self-educational expectations through school and community support to facilitate academic achievement in the absence of direct family support.

The Influence of Parents' Educational Expectations on Children's Development: The Chain Mediation Role of Educational Anxiety and Parental Involvement.

In the social context of the "Educational Involution", the educational expectations of parents have a potential influence on the development of children. High parental educational expectations create parental anxiety, which in turn results in a rise in parental involvement and eventually promotes the growth and progress of children. The current study administered an electronic questionnaire to 891 parents of young children in four provinces of China. The questionnaire included the Parental Educational Expectations Scale, the Educational Anxiety Scale, the Parental Involvement Scale, and the Child Development Scale. This study used SPSS 27.0 for statistical data analysis and the SPSS macro program PROCESS to explore the mediation role. We found that (1) educational anxiety plays a mediating role between parental educational expectations and child development; (2) parental involvement has a mediating effect between parental educational expectations and child development; and (3) educational anxiety and parental involvement play a chain mediating role between parental educational expectations and child development. In conclusion, parental educational expectations appear to contribute to child development, and this effect may be mediated individually and sequentially by educational anxiety and parental involvement.

I am better because of your expectation: Examining how left-behind status moderates the mediation effect of perceived parental educational expectation on cognitive ability among Chinese rural students.

Chinese rural students have been documented to have relatively delayed cognitive development. From an ecological system perspective, empirical studies have identified the significant effect of the proximal environment on Chinese rural students' cognitive development. Yet, little do we know the mechanism behind that. More importantly, how the mechanism differs among rural students with different left-behind characteristics remains obscure. Drawing longitudinal data from a nationally representative survey, this study examines the interrelations between rural students' parental educational expectation perception, their own educational expectation, and cognitive ability. Two models were examined using path analysis. The first mediation model tests the mediating effect of educational expectation between the association of parental educational expectation perception and cognitive ability, while the second moderated mediation identifies the moderating effect of rural students' left-behind status on the association between their parental educational expectation perception and educational expectation. The first mediation analysis reveals that rural students' perception of parental educational expectation is positively correlated with their educational expectation, which further positively correlated with their cognitive ability. The following moderated mediation analysis suggests that students' left-behind status significantly moderated the effect of their perceived parental educational expectations on their own educational expectation. Chinese rural students' perception of parental educational expectation affects their cognitive ability through their own educational expectations. The number of migrant parents within a family further moderates the indirect effect of education expectation.

Family poverty and adolescents’ cognitive and noncognitive outcomes: Evidence from China

Using data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) during the 2013–2014 academic year, this paper examines the effects of family poverty on adolescents’ cognitive and noncognitive outcomes. We find that family poverty is detrimental to adolescent development. Children from poor families have poorer academic performance and noncognitive abilities. We also find that the negative effects of family poverty are more pronounced among children with urban hukou, boys, and children from one-child families. Furthermore, we find that there are multiple channels behind the estimated effects, including parental educational expectations, parental education investments, and parent-child relationship. This paper opens up the “black box” of family poverty affecting children’s development, which can provide reference for governments to design measures aimed at eliminating poverty trap.

Learning Attitude Mediates the Relationship Between Parental Educational Expectations and Academic Performance of Junior High Students: Evidence from China

With the rapid development of China, parents are placing higher and higher expectations on their children’s education. Drawing upon baseline data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS2013), this study delves into the mechanisms through which the learning attitude of junior high school students affects the association between parental educational expectations and academic performance. The results of the present study show that students’ learning attitude is a significant factor that impacts the academic performance of junior high school students and plays a substantial mediating role in the relationship between parental educational expectations and academic performance. Our analyses reveal that parental educational expectations have a greater impact on test scores compared to cognitive ability. Additionally, the mediating effect of learning attitude on the relationship between parental educational expectations and test scores is considerably stronger than the relationship between parental educational expectations and cognitive ability. These results contribute to a better understanding of the mechanism by which parental educational expectations affect children’s academic performance, which has implications for educational policy and practice in China.

Parental Educational Expectations and Academic Achievement of Left-Behind Children in China: The Mediating Role of Parental Involvement.

Migrant workers from rural China often leave their children at home to be raised by grandparents or other family members. This study explored the relationship between parents' educational expectations, parental involvement, and the academic performance of left-behind children in China. A total of 19,487 student samples were obtained from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), and 5078 of these met the criteria for being considered as 'left behind' children. Results indicated: (1) a significant positive correlation between parents' educational expectations and left-behind children's academic achievement; (2) parental education involvement plays a partial mediating role between parents' educational expectations and left-behind children's academic performance; (3) a significant negative correlation between parental intellectual involvement and educational expectations of left-behind children; (4) parental management involvement was not significantly correlated with parents' educational expectations and left-behind children's academic performance; and (5) a significant positive correlation between parental emotional involvement and educational expectations of left-behind children. The findings highlight the important role of parental educational expectations and have implications for the improvement of educational outcomes in China.

The Impact of Parental Educational Expectations and Parental Education on Adolescent Academics

In today's rapidly developing era, an increasing number of parents hope that their children will have good academic performance and a bright future. Both parental expectations and educational attainment can influence a child's academic level. Excessive expectations can have a negative impact on a child's academic performance, and higher educational attainment can also affect intergenerational expectations. This study is based on data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), using correlation analysis and ANOVA to explore the effects of parental educational expectations and parental educational attainment on the academic performance of adolescents. The results of the study revealed that there is a significant positive correlation between parental expectations and academic performance. However, the impact of parental educational attainment differs between fathers and mothers, with only the mother's educational attainment having an influence on a child's academic performance. We recommend that parents should maintain a moderate level of expectation to ensure that their child's academic performance is at a high level. At the same time, there should be a balance between fathers' and mothers' investment in education.

The Relationship between Parents’ Social Comparison Orientation and Educational Anxiety of Preschool Children Aged 2-5 Years Old in A District of Jilin Province, China: the Mediating Role of Parental Educational Expectations

Educational involution is a major concern in the field of education in China and needs to be solved urgently. In this study, we investigated the effect of parents&amp;rsquo; social comparison orientation on educational anxiety in preschool children aged 2-5 years old. A mediation model was constructed from &amp;ldquo;social comparison orientation&amp;rdquo; to &amp;ldquo;parental educational anxiety&amp;rdquo; with &amp;ldquo;parental educational expectation&amp;rdquo; as the mediator through structural equation modeling. The results of the study found that: (1) parents&amp;rsquo; social comparison orientation significantly and positively predicted their level of educational anxiety; (2) parental educational expectations could partially mediate the relationship between social comparison orientation and parental educational anxiety. The results of this study suggest that parents&amp;rsquo; individual factors, such as social comparison orientation, are also important factors that can catalyze educational involution. Parents could make changes in themselves to reduce the negative effects of involution on their children.

Parent-adolescent discrepancies in educational expectations, relationship quality, and study engagement: a multi-informant study using response surface analysis.

Whether parental educational expectations for adolescents serve as a source of motivation or stress depends on the extent to which adolescents hold expectations for themselves. Previous research on the discrepancies between parental and adolescent educational expectations and their impact on learning engagement has been limited by traditional statistical tests, and lacking an examination of the internal mediating mechanism of parent-child relational quality from both parental and adolescent perspectives. This cross-sectional study, utilizing a multi-informant design, examined the association between discrepancies in parents' and adolescents' reports of expectations, and adolescents' study engagement, as well as the mediating role of parent-child relational qualities perceived by both parties. The sample for this study consisted of 455 adolescents and their parents from 10 classes in a junior high school in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The adolescents had an average age of 12.8 years, and 51.6% of them were boys. Both parents and adolescents reported on their expectations and perceived relational quality, while adolescents also filled out questionnaires assessing their learning engagement. Data were analyzed using polynomial regressions with response surface analysis. The results revealed that when adolescents reported high expectations, regardless of whether their parents reported high or low expectations, adolescents reported satisfied relationships and high learning engagement. In contrast, parents reported satisfied relationships when both parties reported high expectations, or when parents reported higher expectations than adolescents. Lastly, the association between discrepancies in expectations and learning engagement was significantly mediated by adolescent-reported relationships but not parent-reported ones. These findings highlight the importance of considering multiple perspectives when studying the association between expectations and adolescent study engagement. This research advances our comprehension of the dynamics between parent-adolescent educational expectation discrepancies and adolescent learning engagement, offering insights for more nuanced and effective parenting strategies tailored to foster optimal educational outcomes.

Family Culture's Impact on Chinese Students' Employment Intention

In 2022, a record 4.57 million individuals in China sat for the postgraduate entrance exam, yet only 1.1 million were admitted to graduate programs. Amidst this intense local competition, the allure of studying overseas has grown among Chinese families, with Thailand emerging as a favored destination due to its affordability and conducive Chinese cultural environment. This research aims to explore how family cultural capital influences the career aspirations of Chinese students in Thailand, focusing particularly on how parental educational expectations act as a mediator in this process. Utilizing a survey method, the study gathered 344 valid responses for analysis. Through descriptive statistics, correlation, and mediation effect analyses, it was found that in Thailand, the cultural capital of a Chinese student's family significantly boosts their career intentions. Moreover, such cultural capital profoundly affects parental expectations regarding education, which in turn positively influences students' career plans. The study highlights the mediating role of parental educational expectations in linking family cultural capital with students' job aspirations. The findings advocate for the importance of nurturing family cultural capital and reducing disparities in cultural capital among families. It recommends moderating parental expectations to lessen the academic load on students, based on the insights gained from the research.

Parental Educational Expectations, Academic Pressure, and Adolescent Mental Health: An Empirical Study Based on CEPS Survey Data

Parental Educational Expectations, Academic Pressure, and Adolescent Mental Health: An Empirical Study Based on CEPS Survey Data

Exploring the Relationship Between Family-related Factors and the Effectiveness of Shadow Education

This study investigates the influence of family-related factors on the effectiveness of shadow education, specifically examining the access to cultural capital, economic capital, social capital, and spiritual capital, and their impact on students' engagement. By analyzing these factors and their effects on children's participation in shadow education in Chinese households, the research provides insights for parents to identify root causes and determine strategies for improvement. The findings have significant implications for prospective parents, highlighting the critical importance of considering these factors to optimize their children's access and outcomes in shadow education. Addressing factors such as parental involvement, anxiety levels, and educational expectations is pivotal in creating a supportive environment that enhances children's educational opportunities. Furthermore, this research contributes to existing knowledge by exploring the complex dynamics between family-related factors and shadow education. Understanding family cultural, economic, social, and spiritual capital provides a deeper understanding of shadow education. In conclusion, the study emphasizes the significance of family-related factors in shaping the effectiveness of shadow education, emphasizing the role of different forms of family capital. By recognizing and addressing these factors, parents can foster an environment that maximizes educational opportunities and achievements in shadow education, empowering them to cultivate their children's educational potential.

The Influences of Socioeconomic Status on Parental Educational Expectations: Mediating and Moderating Effects

Previous research found positive correlations among family socioeconomic status, parental educational expectations, and children’s academic performance. However, more research is needed to validate the mediation effects of teacher–parent communication on family socioeconomic status and parental educational expectations. Employing multilevel path analysis of SPSS, the present study aims to examine the mediating and moderating mechanisms between socioeconomic status and educational expectations by establishing a framework incorporating socioeconomic status, educational expectations, teacher–parent communication, and coronavirus anxiety. We create a large sample of K-12 school students’ parents from southeastern China (N = 4403). The findings show that socioeconomic status positively influences parental educational expectations, socioeconomic status influences educational expectations through teacher–parent communication and coronavirus anxiety moderates the effect of socioeconomic status on teacher–parent communication. This research highlights how teacher–parent communication reflects the relationship between socioeconomic status and educational expectations in Chinese families in the post-COVID-19 era. The practical implications of these findings for parents, teachers, and schools are discussed.

The Impact of Medical Insurance for Urban and Rural Residents on Children's Education

This article uses data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) in 2016 and 2018 to explore the impact of health insurance on household education expenditure, parental education expectations, and patterns of child rearing. The results showed that medical insurance for urban and rural residents significantly increased family education expenditure and improve parents' educational expectations. Children who participated in medical insurance had 0.174% higher family education expenditure than children who did not participate in medical insurance. The probability of expecting their children to go to college was 0.040% higher than who did not participate in medical insurance. Medical insurance for urban and rural residents significantly changed parents' parenting styles. In order to solve the problem of sample imbalance and endogeneity, this paper selects a propensity score matching model for robustness testing, and the conclusions are basically consistent. Medical insurance for urban and rural residents affects children's education through improving health and income effects. The significance of this study is to introduce medical insurance into children's education and provide a new research perspective for evaluating the policy benefits of the basic medical insurance system.

Discrepancies in parent-adolescent educational and career expectations and overparenting

Informed by the goodness-of-fit model, goal theories, and literature on support gaps, this study examines the associations between congruence/discrepancies in parent-adolescent expectations of the adolescent’s educational and career goals and adolescents’ perceived overparenting. Data were collected through a survey of 122 parent-adolescent dyads from four high schools in the U.S. Results from second-order polynomial regression with response surface analysis indicated that parental high educational or career goal expectation alone was not necessarily related to adolescents’ perception of overparenting. Rather, adolescents’ perception of overparenting depended on the congruence/discrepancies in parents’ and adolescents’ expectations. Compared to parent-adolescent congruence in high or low expectations, either direction of expectation discrepancies—either parents’ expectation exceeds adolescents’ expectation, or adolescents’ expectation exceeds their parents—was more likely to be associated with adolescents’ perception of overparenting. Parenting intervention and educational programs should acknowledge that discrepancies in parents’ and adolescents’ educational and career goals could potentially contribute to parental overparenting. Fostering communication and negotiation of goal expectations between parents and adolescents may help reduce the practice of overparenting.

Parental Ethnicity and Adolescent Development: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Dataset.

Adolescent developmental outcomes can vary significantly by differences in ethnicity. While previous studies have examined the impacts of adolescents' own ethnicity on their development, little research has been conducted about the impacts of the ethnicity of both parents as an important family background factor which is likely to expose adolescents to a variety of growth environments. Using nationally representative data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) surveys, we examine the relationship between parental ethnicity (including both monoethnic families and interethnic families with intermarried Han and ethnic minority groups) and adolescent developmental outcomes, measured by academic performance, cognitive development, and health. Our results show that adolescents with interethnic parents had higher scores in literacy and mathematics tests than those of monoethnic non-Han parents, but their scores were not statistically significantly different from those in monoethnic Han families. Adolescents with interethnic parents also performed better in fluid intelligence assessments and had lower obesity rates than those with monoethnic ethnic minority parents. Our results further suggest that socioeconomic status, parental education, and education expectations partially mediate the association between interethnic parents and adolescent development. Moreover, parental ethnic composition acts as a potential moderator that influences the effects of parents' non-agricultural work on adolescent development. Our study expands the growing body of empirical evidence on the relationship between parental ethnicity and adolescent development and is conducive to policy recommendations for interventions in the development of adolescents with ethnic minority parents.

Parental and Adolescent Educational Expectations and Adolescent Problem Behaviors: The Role of Deviant Peer Affiliations.

The comprehensive theory model of problem behaviors proposed that expectations are important factors affecting adolescent problem behaviors. The purpose of this study is to explore the association between educational expectations (in this study, this includes parental educational expectations and adolescent selfeducational expectations) and problem behaviors based on the framework of the CTMPB to provide empirical support for the prevention and intervention of adolescent problem behaviors. This study used cross-sectional data from the 2014-2015 academic year of the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) conducted by the China survey and data center at the Renmin University of China. A nationwide representative sample of 9936 junior high school students was selected. Among them, 4870 (52.2%) were female, and the average age was 14.52 years (SD = 0.67 years). The results revealed that adolescent selfeducational expectations and deviant peer affiliations played a contributory mediating role in the association between parental educational expectations and adolescent problem behaviors. Both parental educational expectations and adolescent selfeducational expectations are protective factors against adolescent problem behaviors, and enhancing the two factors can decrease the likelihood of adolescent engagement in problem behaviors. In addition, deviant peer affiliations are risk factors for adolescent problem behaviors and represent a mediating factor between educational expectations and adolescent problem behaviors. However, this study was only based on cross-sectional data, requiring further support by longitudinal or experimental studies.

Parenting Factors and Academic Performance of the Grade Six Pupils in Selected Private Schools in the Four Districts of Laguna: Basis for Development of Parenting School Program

This study determined the parenting factors that help parents in the betterment of their children’s academic performance. Based on the results of the study, a parenting school program was developed to enable parents to apply proper guidance and support for their child. This study focused on three parenting factors: Parental educational expectations, Parental involvement, and Parenting styles in connection with the children’s academic performance. The results of this study show that parenting factors in terms of parental educational expectations are often effective towards a child’s academic performance while parental involvement is sometimes effective. Moreover, the findings also revealed that authoritative parenting styles are also significant on a child’s academic performance. It was also noted that authoritarian, indulgent, and negligent parenting styles are rarely effective. These were the bases of the School Parenting Program as it was suggested that a network needs to be developed to link parents with school information systems pertaining to pupils’ learning outcomes, of the Counselling and Family Development Program, and of symposiums that will inculcate among all school personnel the important role of effective parental involvement.