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UK Study: Parents, Not Teachers, Key to Education
A new study finds that pupil attainment and ability is affected five times more by parental influence than by teachers.
A study by the Royal Economic Society, to be presented this week, finds that parental effect on test results is five times that of teachers’ influence. This comes in the wake of warnings by Sir Michael Wilshaw last week that teachers were unable to properly do their own jobs because parents were expecting them to cover their own parenting skill shortfalls and to become surrogate family for the students.
Sir Michael Wilshaw said that schools had to step in to provide moral guidance because many children “grow up without the family, cultural and community values they need to thrive”.
The latest findings will respark the debate over the degree to which schools can make improvements to pupils results without support from the familial unit at home.
The study in question was led by Dr Arnaud Chevalier and analyzed data from schools in Denmark between 2002 and 2010.
“Half of the variation in test scores is attributable to shared family factors, while schools only account for 10 per cent,” it was claimed. The remaining variation was down to pupils themselves.
Researchers said the effect of families on test scores remained the same irrespective of household income.
It also revealed that the influence of parents mattered most in maths and science exams.
The problems identified suggest that a lack of home support extends beyond parents providing reading material and help understanding homework. Children are influenced by everything around them, the way their parents act, what their parents say and do, and increasingly as they spend more time ‘with’ celebrity figures how these role models act.
Mr Lightman said: “Children are faced with a lot of different role models these days, not all of which are the most positive.
“They will see examples on television or celebrity culture of people not speaking in the right way and not interacting in the way we would expect them to.
Home environments these days are often more focused around dinners in front of television, and parents too tired to enter debates with their children, beyond simply telling them to do chores or homework. It’s not hard to imagine the detrimental effect this has on children’s studies when compared with a home life centered around family dinners and discussion, where the children are encouraged to read and explore intellectual ideas.
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Comments
I could write “d’oh” but then at least they are admitting the obvious in the UK, if not here. I’d love to see someone publish a similar study in the U.S. but then again, I don’t want to see anyone get torn apart in the media for telling the truth.
I believe the findings of this article 100%.
But schools can’t have excuses. They cannot blame parents, even though parents do have such an influence. They just need to figure out how to work with these parents somehow, but if it is impossible then the schools will have to provide what these parents are not providing for their students.
If it is impossible for teachers to makeup for the parents’ actions, then why should the teachers not complain about it and keep making efforts to make up for something they’ll never be able to make up for? Doesn’t that way insanity lie?
that makes no sense. if we only account for 10% of a child’s learning, how can we “make up” for what parents aren’t doing.
and more importantly how can you judge us on something that has so little to do with us?
If teachers are going to be charged with covering the 90% of responsibility parents/families should own, then shouldn’t they be compensated accordingly? Tell parents they’ll have to pay teachers to do the work they are abandoning – see if that gets them moving – because at least here in the U.S. (sadly), nothing is more motivating than money – and I would bet if there were a way to penalize parents for abdicating their parental duties, and send that money to the teachers now charged with doing the work of a parent as well as a teacher, things would change…
Julia, you write that if schools cannot find a way to work with parents that schools “have to provide what these parents are not providing.” As a teacher for the past 14 years, I have seen more and more of what should be the job of parents be placed on the schools. Yet, the schools are also still in charge of educating the children – and those standards also continue to increase. How is it possible for schools to take on all of this responsibility and do it all well? And, why should it be the job of schools to parent other people’s children? If you choose to have a child, you should be signing up to be that child’s parent – FOR LIFE. If you don’t have a true vested interest in parenting, then why are you having children. The main job of a school is to educate. Some how, over the past few years – this has changed greatly. As a teacher – my role is now mother, guidance counselor, maid, and educator. (Notice educator is last because that is truly how I feel.) We are putting so much responsibility on the teacher to do the job of the parents that it is impossible for teachers to do the job of educating children well. Maybe it’s about time parents take the responsibility back and be their children’s parents instead of trying so hard to be their friends. Work with the schools instead of against them. Stop talking disrespectfully about schools and teachers in front of your children. Value education!
Amen!!! Very well said! Thank you for expressing your thoughts so eloquently.
I totally agree with you! I teach “life lessons” right along with subject matter all the time and the students benefit most from the caring attention they get from me. I truly care about each and every one of my students, but those with a great supportive family unit are by far the most advanced and on the road to success.
As a teacher, I am fine with having to provide for the shortfalls in parenting skills. But I cannot do that with a large student load–and it’s not cheap to have small student loads. I have, several times over my career, stepped in to fill the gaps in parenting for my students–the stories would make most shudder. It’s important to note that this requires tremendous trust in teachers. And it means freeing us up to teach the curriculum that most matters to the students in front of us, not some state-prescribed curriculum with no relevance to a student.
Did we both read the same article how can a school replace a parent unless you are trying to create orphanages. A school can only do so much but neighbors relatives should help take up slack government can only do so much. It amuses me how in the U.S. people want smaller less intrusive government yet they want to hand their childrens education over to the schools which are an arm of the government.
We’ve been promoting a teacher-parent program for more than 10 years. The program shows teachers and parents how to structure their home/classroom so it has maximum influence on children.
It is interesting that research repeatedly shows parents as a key participant, but schools are slow to adapt methods that involve parents in effective ways. Time will tell.
Check out the site. It might offer great insight for some of your personal concerns. http://www.achievementsynchrony.com
PS–parents prepare their kids at home (structuring their home environment) so they are better prepared socially and academically.
Teacher complain because WE ARE JUDGED based not on our work but those other people’s parenting skills.
Maybe we should delay putting on the sackcloth and ashes until there are similar findings in the U.S.
Then we should do the same with their reforms.
you’re right, i’m sure in america it will be so different
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No surprise here! Family life makes all the difference. There is no substitute. @ Julia – it is impossible to replace good parenting. I’ve been teaching ten years and am a parent as well. It can’t be replaced.
[...] motion is an additional call for parents to fulfill their nurturing responsibilities to their offspring. It comes after a study by the Royal Economic Society that found the influence [...]
Seems to me that as educators, we need to educate parents and their children. This study shows once again that formal schooling as currently conceived has limited impact. It’s time to implement the lifelong learning model we’ve been talking about for so long, starting with parenting education – free for all to save society money.
[...] UK Study: Parents, Not Teachers, Key to Education | Education News [...]
I’ve read many books and articles that show similar findings from studies conducted in the United States while researching factors that correlate to SAT scores. These studies are not new, but the media does not promote them. It’s more popular to place the burden and blame on the public schools.
I have 131 students this year. I can’t be a parent to all of them, or even a quarter of them and teach to the best of my ability to ensure student success on the many tests they take while securing a good evaluation for myself, not to mention parent my own children. Parents need to step up and meet their responsibilities; school systems and legislators need to acknowledge that school isn’t a vacuum: the home/community environment matters greatly in the equation of student success.
During parent-teacher conference last night, we has 4 parents show up. Enough said.
Yay! Research that verifies what most adults figured out ages ago. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to blame parents, so the schools will still get the blame, as it is political suicide to do otherwise. Perhaps if there were a mandatory-attendance parents’ union, we would see more action?