School less important than home to enable children to succeed

By CRAIG BROWN
Published on 12/10/2012 00:00

GOOD parenting has more of an effect on a child’s academic achievement than the quality of the school they attend, researchers have claimed.

A study at North Carolina State University compared levels of “family social capital” – quality involvement from parents – and “school social capital”, the role of the school itself.

They studied data from more than 10,000 students, parents, teachers and administrators.

In a report published in the journal Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, they found students with high levels of family social capital and low school social capital performed better academically when compared with students with high levels of school social capital but low family social capital.

Dr Toby Parcel said: “In other words, while both school and family involvement are important, the role of family involvement is stronger when it comes to academic success.”

Dr Parcel’s team defined family social capital as the bonds between parents and children, including trust, open lines of communication and active ­involvement in the child’s ­academic life.

Capital could be increased by activities, including checking homework and attending school events.

School social capital included a school’s ability to serve as a positive environment for learning, including extracurricular activities, teacher morale and the ability of teachers to address individual needs. Dr Parcel said the findings emphasised the crucial role parents play.

He added: “Our study shows that parents need to be aware of how important they are, and invest time in their children – checking homework, attending school events and letting kids know school is important. That’s where the pay-off is.”