A family’s involvement in a child’s education acts as a source of social mobility, according to a study by experts from the HSE Centre of Social and Economic School Development, Mikhail Goshin and Tatyana Mertsalova.
A family’s involvement in a child’s education acts as a source of social mobility, according to a study by experts from the HSE Centre of Social and Economic School Development, Mikhail Goshin and Tatyana Mertsalova. Lower income parents who actively participate in their children’s school life open up more opportunities for their children.
The research is based on the larger HSE study Monitoring of the Economics of Education. Respondents came from nearly 4,000 families in nine different federal districts and various types of localities.
Many studies have proven that a parent’s income and education levels, i.e., their socioeconomic status, impact their child’s success. Schoolchildren from families with a higher socioeconomic status typically have better academic performance and, as a result, end up going to college. Conversely, children from lower income families have ‘less of a chance that they will get an education at the same level as their wealthier classmates,’ Mertsalova notes. It is less common for such students to continue their education after graduating, and they ultimately become less qualified specialists in their field. A vicious cycle arises whereby inequality is reproduced, Mertsalova adds.
This study has shown, however, that the cycle can be broken and a child can be given a better future. A lot depends on how involved the child’s family is with his or her studies. The more active a parent is, the better a student’s performance will be. This means broader educational opportunity.
Read more at National Research University Higher School of Economics
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