Does intervening to enhance parental involvement in education lead to better academic results for children? An extended review
| Date | 21 September 2015 |
| Published date | 21 September 2015 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCS-02-2015-0008 |
| Pages | 252-264 |
| Author | Beng Huat See,Stephen Gorard |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Children's services |
Does intervening to enhance parental
involvement in education lead to
better academic results for children?
An extended review
Beng Huat See and Stephen Gorard
Dr Beng Huat See and
Professor Stephen Gorard,
both are based at School of
Education, Durham University,
Durham, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to summarise the results of a review of the literature linking parental
involvement in their child’s education to attainment at or before primary school.
Design/methodology/approach –The search involved ni ne electronic databases supplemented
by other sources, and yielded 4,898 apparently relevant reports. Of these, 127 were reports of
attempted evaluations to see whether enhancing parental involvement led to higher attainment outcomes
for children.
Findings –None of these studies was a large, robust evaluation. The overwhelming majority (121/127)
reported research with serious limitations, and they were almost equally divided between those claiming
success and those saying that the intervention had been ineffective or harmful. Of the remaining six, three
offered positive outcomes, and these were generally complex interventions in which parental involvement
was only part of a package of measures taken to improve results.
Originality/value –Therefore, the paper has three main messages for an area where practice and policy
interventions abound. Research has to improve greatly.
Keywords Research quality, Parental involvement, Systematic review, Pre-school, Attainment gap,
Primary school
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The involvement of parents in their child’s education is widely considered to be crucial in the
development and well-being of the child. Attainment gaps between children from disadvantaged
homes and those from more well-to-do families persist in the UK, despite numerous policies and
initiatives by policy-makers and in schools to raise the attainment of the poorest children. One
possible explanation, long proposed by some commentators and taken up enthusiastically by
governments, lies in the differential involvement of their parents. Does this explanation actually
work, in the sense that increasing parental involvement in those families with children at risk of
low school achievement will lead to higher achievement? Or is it, like a claimed difference in
attitudes and aspirations between social groups, an apparently cheap but actually ineffective
way of moving attention away from a problem for education to a purported problem in the home?
(Gorard et al., 2012). This paper answers these questions through a large and systematic review
of the existing evidence.
Received 19 February 2015
Revised 17 May 2015
Accepted 21 May 2015
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JOURNAL OF CHILDREN'S SERVICES
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VOL. 10 NO. 3 2015, pp. 252-264, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-6660 DOI 10.1108/JCS-02-2015-0008
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