Week 9 - Parenting & Achievement I

Question 1

American parents’ parental involvement is associated less with ____, and more with _______.

Answer 1

control, autonomy support

Question 2

In both US and China, higher parental involvement predicted _______ and ________.

Answer 2

child’s increased engagement and achievement

Question 3

but higher parental involvement predicted ________ and _________ more strongly in the US than in China.

Answer 3

self-perceptions of competence, positive emotional functioning

Question 4

What is the American’s view of learning? (2)

Answer 4

1) Knowledge is gained primarily to understand the world, develop one’s skills and accomplish one’s goals
2) Learning is about acquiring knowledge through individual attributes that are relatively fixed.

Question 5

What do American parents emphasize in their parental involvement?

Answer 5

Emphasis on cultivating a sense of autonomy in children, and developing the ‘whole child’ - academic, emotional, social adjustment.

Question 6

What is the Chinese view of learning?

Answer 6

Regarded as a moral endeavor involving continual self-improvement to attain moral ideals (Eg. persistence, concentration, enduring hardship)

Question 7

According to Chinese culture, what is the role of parents in children’s learning?

Answer 7

Children’s learning is seen as parents’ responsibility, reflected in notion of ‘guan’. To Guan means to love and to govern, such that children will meet societal expectations. Heightened monitoring seen as an act of love. Hence Chinese parents spend more time with children on learning-related activities.

Question 8

Comparing US vs Chinese parents, what is the differnece in their quality of parental involvement?

Answer 8

US - emphasis on autonomy support, dampened control. less structure and intrusiveness
Chinese - heightened control, less autonomy support.

Question 9

What is psychological control?

Answer 9

Attempts to intrude on the psychological and emotional development of the child.

Question 10

What are the cultural differences as to how psychological control is perceived in the US and Chinese culture?

Answer 10

US - negative connotation

China - positive connotation (seen as “good parenting”)

Question 11

In what ways does parental involvement foster child’s achievement? (3)

Answer 11

1) develop their skills and providing support
2) highlight the value of learning (fostering engagement)
3) enhance their own perceptions of competence

Question 12

What entails children’s engagement?

Answer 12

investment in school, time spent on homework, use of self-regulated learning strategies.

Question 13

Describe the trend for quantity of parents’ involvement over 7th - 8th grade.

Answer 13

1) American parents generally less involved in children’s learning that Chinese parents from 7th to 8th grade.
2) BUT parents’ involvement declined similarly in the 2 countries. Parents’ involvement did not decline more for Americans.

Question 14

What is the trend for quality of parents’ involvement for both Chinese and American parents?

Answer 14

Higher parental involvement is associated with being more autonomy supportive. But stronger association for American parents than Chinese parents.

Question 15

For Chinese parents, higher involvement is associated with what?

Answer 15

higher psychological control and more autonomy support. both associations were similar in size

Question 16

For American parents, higher involvement is associated with what?

Answer 16

Associations between involvement and psychological control is SMALLER than association between involvement and autonomy support.

Question 17

What are the effects of parents’ involvement on children’s engagement and achievement in both US and China?

Answer 17

parents involvement predicted greater subsequent engagement and achievement.
(engagement - investment, time spent on schoolwork, self-regulated learning strategies)

Question 18

What are the effects of parents’ involvement on child’s perceptions of competence and positive emotional functioning?

Answer 18

parents involvement had more positive effects on children’s perceptions of competence and emotional functioning in the US compared to China.

Question 19

What were cultural difference in effects of parents’ involvement on child’s perceptions of competence and positive emotional functioning due to?

Answer 19

due to differences in psychological control and autonomy support. after taking into account both psychological control and autonomy support, differences were considerably reduced such that they no longer differed.

Question 20

What was one surprising finding about Chinese parents’ involvement? What is one possible reason for it ?

Answer 20

That it was positively associated with autonomy support.
Parents may use multiple approaches to optimise children’s learning. They may use a combination of psychological control and autonomy support to ensure that children act responsibility on their own to meet expectations. Could be controlling in some aspects but autonomy supportive in other aspects.

Question 21

What are 3 types of school engagement?

Answer 21

1) behavioral engagement (classroom involvement, effort on schoolwork)
2) cognitive engagement (Attention, planning, monitoring)
3) affective engagement (interest, motivation, enthusiasm for learning)

Question 22

Describe the changes in children’s engagement over schooling years.

Answer 22

Overall decline from elementary school to middle to high school, regardless of subject.

Question 23

What are the 3 key reasons explaining children’s decline in engagement over schooling years?

Answer 23

1) stage-environment fit theory
2) perceived norm of engagement
3) being cool
4) change in children’s conceptions of ability

Question 24

Describe the stage-environment fit theory.

Answer 24

Mismatch between changes in school environment and children’s needs.
School Environment vs Adolescents
1) adult controlled, more rules and structure desire for autonomy, have their own thoughts
2) greater emphasis on strict evaluation, streaming, social comparison concern with negative evaluation, heightened self-awareness
3) formal instruction; learning is less interesting competing interests

Question 25

Describe how perceived norm of engagement and being cool explains decline in children’s cognitive engagement over the years.

Answer 25

In middle school, people think it’s normal to not study so hard and be disengaged.
Disengaged students are considered cool in middle school while engaged students are considered cool in elementary school. Students become disengaged to fit in socially.

Question 26

Describe children’s changes in conceptions of ability and how this explains children’s decline in engagement.

Answer 26

< 7 years old: Ability = Effort
7 - 9 years old: Ability = Performance
> 9 years old: Ability inversely related to Effort

Individuals who saw ability as inversely related to effort may give up trying after failure because they think they are not smart, and don’t want to put in effort in the subsequent task.

Question 27

How do we explain individual differences in children’s engagement?

Answer 27

Carol Dweck’s Model

1) Responses to Challenge
- Mastery Response vs Helpless Response
2) Goal Orientation
- Mastery goals vs Performance goals
3) Implicit theories of Intelligence
- Entity theory vs Incremental theory

Question 28

Describe Dweck’s Model of Entity theory.

Answer 28

Performance goal -> low challenge -> mastery high persistence
Performance goal -> high challenge -> helpless low persistence

Question 29

Describe Dweck’s Model of Incremental theory.

Answer 29

Mastery goal -> low challenge -> mastery high persistence

Mastery goal -> high challenge -> mastery high persistence

Question 30

In what ways can parenting influence child engagement?

Answer 30

1) Type of Praise
2) Autonomy Support
3) Parents’ Affect

Question 31

Explain the role of praise in influencing child’s engagement.

Answer 31

Effort praise is better than ability praise in increasing children’s engagement

Question 32

Explain the role of autonomy support in influencing child’s engagement.

Answer 32

Autonomy supportive parents have children that are more intrinsically motivated, are more engaged, and have higher achievement, compared to intrusive parents

Question 33

Explain how role of affect influences child’s engagement.

Answer 33

When mothers are don’t have positive affect while assisting child with homework, the child’s mastery suffered.