Parental school involvement in relation to childrenʹs grades and adaptation to school

From an ecological perspective, it is important to examine linkages among key settings in the childʹs life. The current study focuses on parentsʹ involvement in childrenʹs education both at school and at home. Ninety-one families with school-aged children (91 fathers and 91 mothers) participated in a survey study assessing the levels of parental involvement (direct at school site, homework, extracurricular educational activities, and interpersonal involvement) and their relationship to childrenʹs grades and to parental reports of childrenʹs anxiety about, and enjoyment of, school. Analyses demonstrated the unique contributions made by fathers and by mothers to the explained variance in childrenʹs grades and adaptation to school. Mothersʹ and fathersʹ school involvement had differential associations with sonsʹ and daughtersʹ school-related outcomes. Support was found for both the transactional and interactional models of parent-child socialization. Associations between levels of parental school involvement and child outcomes were not always positively signed. Findings highlight the complexity of parental school involvement and hold implications for families and schools as they attempt to facilitate the types of involvement that are high leverage points for childrenʹs academic development.