How children spend their time and the activities they are involved in are most influential in predicting academic success. From the literature review, the following six factors were identified as indicators: Expectations, Structure, Opportunity to Learn, Support, Relationships, and Modeling.
The following summary highlights the six factors identified as the most important ingredients in children's learning.
When parents and teachers clearly state high, realistic expectations for school performance, children do better in school. To enhance the child's ability to meet the Expectations, the goal needs to be specific (e.g. quantity, quality, time frame have been identified and communicated) and the child must understand both the goal and the instructions for meeting the goal. In addition, adults need to recognize and reinforce the efforts of the child in meeting the goal, and remember that both their verbal and non-verbal attitudes and behaviors about the goal are important and influential to the child.
The second major influence identified was Structure. Structure refers to the overall routine and monitoring provided by key adults to children. It is important that children understand and accept the routine, and that routine daily life places an emphasis on learning (e.g., completing homework rather than watching TV). Children need age appropriate monitoring and supervision. This means that age, skill level, special needs, and past experience will affect the level of structure needed. Children also benefit when adults use an authoritative parenting/teaching style when communicating with them.
The third factor identified was Opportunity to Learn. Children need a variety of learning options available in the home, at school, and within the community. Both the amount of time learning and the variety of learning opportunities are critical to a child's achievement. Children need time to master a new skill before advancing to the next level, and they need quality interaction with both their peers and with adults.
Children also benefit from Support. Children benefit when they receive regular and clear feedback about school progress, along with consistent encouragement to meet both personal and academic goals. This process can be further enhanced when there is regular communication between the home and school about student progress, and when adults demonstrate sincere interest in recognizing the individual interests and talents of the child. Much like structure, the type of parental support provided to the child needs to be appropriate to the age and grade level.
The fifth factor recognized was Relationships. The amount of warmth and friendliness; praise and recognition; and the degree to which the child-adult relationship is positive and respectful will influence the achievement of the child. It is important that the child is exposed to many environments where he or she feels included. The child also needs to feel accepted and nurtured by adults.
The last factor we identified was Modeling. It is important that children witness adults engaged in learning and that adults help children make connections between daily tasks and future goals. To model, the actions and words of adults must be consistent. This factor also identifies the importance of the adult's ability to step in and be an advocate for the child. Parents' perception of their role as a "teacher" and their ability to handle children's concerns may affect their ability to model.
While we have identified six distinct factors that relate to greater academic achievement of youth, we also recognize that the factors are all greatly interrelated. We have not identified one factor as being more important than the others; rather, the combined effect of all the factors is greater than the influence of any one particular factor.
All Parents are Teachers™ is part of Live & Learn, a collaborative effort of the Minnesota Family Involvement Initiative. For more information about the project, contact the University of Minnesota Extension Service at 651-430-6804.
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