This therefore suggests that parents need to learn to communicate with and encourage their children. For children requiring remedial education the role of parents is even more critical. In "Time and attention-every child's gift" we noted that parents needed to help their children and that it made a difference to their learning.Now a new study comparing 14 countries has some very interesting findings concerning the role of parents in their children's education. Hyunjoon Park, writing in the Comparative Education Review of May 2008, has found a positive relationship between parental involvement in their children's education and educational outcomes at school.
In "The Varied Education Effects of Parent-Child Communication: A Comparative Study of Fourteen Countries" the author used new data available from the Programme for International Assessment (PISA). He particularly wanted to gain insight into aspects of parent-child communication as controlled by social class (socio-economic status or SES) and the type of school system (standardised versus less standardised or localised and non-standardised). Most of the previous studies on the relationship between parental support and schooling were carried out in the United States, where it was found that parental support was stronger and more favourable for children in upper SES compared to lower SES. Studies in the US also noted that lower social class parents generally lacked the experience, level of education, resources and skills to provide support to their children compared to upper SES parents (this differential reflects social capital). "For parent-child discussions to affect the child's education parents need detailed knowledge of school processes and effective learning methods, and must be able to use that knowledge in discussions with their children".
