Parents' Education Level and Childs' GPA



Parents' Education Level and Childs' GPA

Introduction

Researchers generally agree that a constellation of familial factors exert significant influence on the educational aspirations and academic achievements of adolescents (e.g. Garg, Kauppi, Lewko, & Urjnik, 2002; Garg, Melanson, & Levin, 2007; Sánchez, Reyes, & Singh, 2006; Teachman, & Paasch, 1998). Among those salient factors are parent's occupation, educational attainment, socioeconomic status, family composition, parental involvement, peer and teacher influence, and adolescent self-efficacy. In the extant literature, each of these factors has been examined in relation to one another with some emerging as having greater direct effect. Sánchez, Reyes, and Singh (2006) identified negative domains within the family such as low parental school involvement, socioeconomic status, and educational level to explain Latino youths' educational failure.

Behnke, Piercy and Diversi (2004) found a connection between Latino youth's educational and occupational expectations and their parents' education. Garg et al. (2002) reported that “educational self-schema,” referring to the student's perception of self and school, along with parental expectations, resulted in 76% of the predicted variance in educational aspirations of adolescents. A study on the effects of parental involvement as a form of social capital found a greater likelihood of the youth enrolling in both a 2-year and 4-year college (Perna & Titus, 2005). The data used for the analyses in Lippman, Guzman, Dombrowski Keith, Kinukawa, Schwalb, and Tice's (2008) report originated from the 2003 National Household Surveys Program (NHES) Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey (PFI). They found 88% of students whose parents had earned at least a bachelor's degree had parents who expected them to finish college compared to 44% of students whose parents had graduated from high school or who had less than a high school diploma (Lippman et al., 2008).

Background

Currently, obtaining an education is one of the most effective ways in which a person can attempt to strive for a better future, secure better job related positions, and given better pay, and benefits. Social expectations would defer us to make a logical assumption that certain demographics in the population might find it easier to obtain an education, for instance a family whom both parents obtained a higher education in comparison to a family whom both parents did not graduate high school. Previous research has shown that parent's education levels do in fact make a difference in the education of their children. This is further supported by a study conducted by Dubow in which family interactions were shown to contribute towards a child's success. To expand upon this we will attempt to explore any possible association between parents GPA and their Children's GPA, and any further implications associated.

Theoretical Argument

Higher GPA

Parents who have advanced degrees have shown they value education. Those who attained higher GPAs in college often pursue graduate and doctoral degrees. Their past achievements become a benchmark for their children to follow as parents' past pursuits in education may augment structural factors on intergenerational behaviors. Whether the parent's GPA is tied to intelligence or disciplined study ...