Does the educational level/status of parents effect the post-high school graduation aspirations of their children?

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The influence of the educational status of parents on the future goals of their children is one which this writer has often been curious about and reflected upon. There has been some research made on similar topics, which this paper will examine. Although some the research being reviewed here is not directly related to this question, it is tangentially related and worth of being examined. Ermisch and Pronzato (2010) in a study conducted in Norway, determined that parental education does have an influence on a child’s educational aspirations and attainment, but that the father’s educational level had a great influence on their children’s future attainment than the mother’s educational level. However, this study showed that in poorer families, the mother’s educational level had a greater influence on the future educational attainment of the child. They also found that the parents’ educational level was more influential in the USA than in Norway, thought it had a positive correlation in both countries. In Eccles and Davis-Kean’s (2005) study of the influence of parents’ education on their children’s educational attainments, they found a correlation between the parents’ education level and the educational attainments of their children, mainly through the greater language competence that better educated parents exhibit. Children of better educated parents are more likely to do better on standardized tests because of this language advantage. In a study on the influence of parental expectations on their children’s post-high school transitions (Davis-Kean, Vida & Eccles, 2001), it was found that parents’ expectations of their children’s future education was influenced by their own educational level. Parents with a higher level of educati... ... middle of paper ... ...ook at their parents' level of education and their relationships with their parents to determine whether parental education was a predictor of academic success. They found that though maternal education was a motivator for children's academic performance, overall, parental education was not a big factor. The involvement and relationship between the parents and children were a bigger indicator of success or failure. Parent expectations are also a factor in educational success, which is tangentially linked to post-high school success. According to Goodman and Gregg (2010), even if parents have high expectations for their children, they are not guaranteed to succeed in higher education. Expectations are not enough to determine whether students move on to higher education. When expectations are linked to parental involvement, attainment of higher education is improved.

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