CRESPAR Report #18: Parental Involvement in Students' Education During Middle School and High School

Abstract

This project analyzes data from the parent component of the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 to investigate changes in family educational involvement between students’ eighth and twelfth grades. Findings show that the patterns of parental involvement in adolescents’ education change between the two grades. During high school, parents become less involved with monitoring students’ individual behaviors and more concerned with their learning opportunities at school. By students’ eighth grade, nearly all parents had post-secondary expectations, but few had taken specific actions to secure funds for college. During adolescents’ senior year in high school, most parents report frequent discussions with them concerning post-secondary schools. At that time, parents also report that they have some knowledge about