Academic Achievement

Introduction

Despite recent growth in research highlighting the potential of Parent-child relationships to promote children's development during the early years of school, questions remain about the importance of these relationships across the elementary school. Using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (N = 1,364), this study examines between- and within-child associations between Parent-child relationship quality and children's academic achievement and behaviour problems from kindergarten (ages 4-6 years) through 5th grade (ages 9-11 years). Results suggest that increases in Parent-child relationship quality are associated with improvements in Parent-reported academic skills and reductions in behaviour problems consistently throughout elementary school. As children progressed from kindergarten through fifth grade, the importance of Parent-child relationship quality is unchanging (Aiken, 141).

Parent-Child relationship

There is widespread recognition in the motivation and education literature that relationships with Parents play a significant role in shaping children's social and cognitive development by enhancing children's motivation to learn, and by creating spaces of joint activity that facilitate children's understanding of complex concepts and social problems. Within developmental psychology, relationships with Parents have been studied from an attachment perspective, in which Parents, especially in early childhood, are seen as “alternative caregivers and developmental systems theory, Pianta (1999) proposed a conceptual model to advance our understanding of the nature of relationships between Parents and children, and their contribution to children's development.

According to this model, relationships with Parents are dyadic systems that are determined by the characteristics of other proximal and distal systems and the reciprocal interactions between them. Good relationships with Parents are defined by a combination of high levels of closeness and low levels of conflict. Closeness in Parent-child relationships is characterized by warmth, positive affect, and open communication. In contrast, conflict reflects negativity, hostility, and difficulty in managing children's behaviour. It has been argued that high-quality Parent-child relationships can promote students' academic and behavioural development by providing an environment of support and emotional security in which children feel confident and supported. Under these conditions, children are more able to organize and modulate their emotions, effectively interact with others, competently explore classroom resources, engage in classroom activities, and focus on teach (Carpenter, 89).

Research conducted in preschool and the first years of elementary school has examined the association between the quality of Parent-child relationships and children's development showing modest links between relationship quality and contemporaneous, and on occasion, subsequent development of academic skills. Good relationships with Parents are also associated with fewer behaviour problems and higher pro-social behaviour during the early years of school. This evidence, however, is limited by its longitudinal scope. Important developmental changes and transformations in the structure of classrooms and the role of Parents that occur during elementary school raise questions about the continuing importance of Parent-child relationships throughout these years.

Elementary School years

As children traverse elementary school they interact with an ever-widening range of people, gain greater independence from parents and, especially, learn how to negotiate relationships with peers and Parents. Furthermore, the development of new cognitive abilities such as flexible thinking, enhanced memory, and new strategies ...