Instead of helping kids with their homework, researchers have found that the most effective way for parents to foster academic achievement in kids is to:
- Highlight education's value and utility for our kids by linking their schoolwork to current events
- Help them create academic and career goals
- Discuss learning strategies with them
Middle school adolescents achieve more when their parents' help gives them a feeling of independence, rather than just making them feel pressured to succeed. This is in-line with other research on helping kids develop self-discipline.
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To learn more about the study cited here, read this Greater Good research brief. |
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What IS this posting, you ask? It is a new Half Full feature! Throughout this fall we are going to be expanding Half Full by adding new types of content. "The Takeaway" will give you a one minute what-we-parents-should-do response to research that is posted on the Greater Good Magazine blog. We can't wait to hear what you think!
© 2009 Christine Carter, Ph.D.
Selected reference:
Nancy E. Hill and Diana F. Tyson. "Parental Involvement in Middle School: A Meta-Analytic Assessment of the Strategies That Promote Achievement." Developmental Psychology 45, No. 3 (2009): 740–763.
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Comments
Thanks for sending the Takeaway and all your other messages. I don’t
have kids, but I am an autistic adult and I find a lot of your
messages helpful in managing my own life and motivation! I just wish
I had time to read more of them…
Thanks and take care.
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G.M. | 2:49 pm, September 3, 2009 | Link