At home, do you usually help your child with their school homework? According to a researcher, this would not help much. On the other hand, other parameters can influence the school results of the child. Explanations.
After a school day or on the Sunday just before starting a new week of classes, many parents take the time tohelp their children with their homework. The latter also believe that they are doing well and enabling their children to obtain better results at school. And yet, according to researcher Lin Ding from the University of Manchester, England, helping your child with homework would contribute very little to their academic progress.
The expert analyzed data from the Millenium Cohort Study, conducted among 8,000 school children in the United Kingdom aged 7 to 11. In her study published on April 13, 2023, the researcher found that “time spent by parents helping their children with math, reading to them and going to the library only increased their odds by a few points” to get a good averageindicates the study report. The observation is the same for sports or musical activities. On the other hand, other factors can have a real influence on the school results of the child.
The social class of the parents has more impact on the school results of the child
Researcher Lin Ding revealed that the social class of the parents has a much greater impact on the school results of the child, than the help given by his parents with his schoolwork. Indeed, having graduate parents, from a high social class approximately doubles the child’s chances of being graded above average by teachers.
“Family income has a greater impact on children’s performance in the basic subjects as well as in the creative subjects”, notes Ling Ding. In core school subjects like math, data showed that “39% of children from the highest class families scored above average in math, compared to 21% of those whose parents were manual workers”. The difference is greater for “well above average” students: “12% for children in the highest class and 4% for those in the lowest class”.
“Family income has a greater impact on children’s performance in core subjects than in creative subjects.”
Different educational methods from one social class to another
The specialist adds that “middle-class parents may have more advanced educational methods who can better involve their children in school activities, mainly by helping them adapt to the school environment earlier.” Besides, “Lower-class parents may be more inclined to focus and take corrective action only when their children are experiencing learning difficulties.”