Study Shows Children's Literacy Improves When Parents Get Involved

Nov. 29, 2004 -- New research findings verify that involvement by low-income parents in their child's education can lead to positive outcomes in young children's academic achievement and mental health.

Eric Dearing, an assistant professor in the University of Wyoming Department of Psychology, along with four colleagues at Harvard University, confirmed parental involvement in schools is good for every child, but is particularly dramatic for children who come from low-income, less educated families. Researchers believe that over time, parental involvement in this environment leads to improved literacy in children.

The study shows how these disadvantaged children start out with negative feelings toward literacy but then, with parental involvement, they improve in academic performance and catch up with their peers. The research will be published in the December issue of the Journal of School Psychology.

"The Promotive Effects of Family Educational Involvement for Low-income Children's Literacy," follows 200 low-income children at three sites, one in rural New England and two urban sites in the Southwest and West. The focus was to determine if family involvement in education can promote literacy achievement. The researchers followed students, whose parents' educational levels varied, from kindergarten through fifth grade.

"Parental involvement when their children are in kindergarten, by volunteering in the classroom or helping with homework, promotes literacy achievement between that time and fifth grade," says Dearing.

"Yet, the effects appear particularly positive for children who live in homes with less-educated parents. They start kindergarten and report dissatisfaction and don't believe they are good at literary tasks, but this changes when their parents get involved. Literacy becomes exciting and they develop positive feelings."

Posted on Monday, November 29, 2004