Parenting Styles and Academic Achievement

Abstract

Diane Baumrind is recognized as a leading researcher in childhood development. She has done extensive research on parenting styles and as well as their effects on academic achievement. Other researchers have expanded on her research by testing her theories on different age groups of children and children from different ethnic and familial backgrounds both in the United States and elsewhere. The results of the studies reviewed for this paper had consistent results: parenting styles do have an effect on academic achievement.

Parenting Styles and

Their Effect on Academic Achievement

It is an accepted fact that parenting styles affect child development in many different ways. This is particularly true when it comes to academic achievement. Parenting styles are a major influence in how successful children perform academically. Each of the recognized parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive) shape a child's academic success much in the way they shape a child's personality, social skills and maturity.

Authoritarian parents have very high expectations of their children and strict rules. These rules are expected to be followed without question. According to Baumrind, these parents "are obedience- and status-oriented, and expect their orders to be obeyed without explanation." (Baumrind, 1971). This parenting style often utilizes punishment rather than discipline. Parents who are authoritarian either are not willing or able to explain the reasons for their rules.

The authoritative parenting style is sometimes called "democratic". It involves an approach in which parents hold high expectations for their children. Authoritative parents tend to listen to their children and encourage independence. They place limits, consequences and expectations on their children's behavior but still express warmth and nurturance.

Permissive parenting is sometimes known as indulgent parenting. Parents who exhibit this style make relatively few demands upon their children. These types of parents have low expectations for their children with regard to self-control and maturity. Children of these parents are rarely disciplined. According to Baumrind, permissive parents "are more responsive than they are demanding. They are nontraditional and lenient, do not require mature behavior, allow considerable self-regulation, and avoid confrontation." (Baumrind, 1971).

Studies reviewed for this paper regarding parenting style and academic success did not consider the uninvolved style which was later recognized by other researchers. The studies only considered the three parenting styles identified by Baumrind.

Several studies have been conducted to investigate how these parenting styles impact academic achievement. Many of these studies found that when parents practice the authoritative parenting style, their children are more psychologically mature. Authoritative parenting leads to children taking more self-responsibility for their work. These children recognize that success or failure of their work is directly related to the effort they invested, not to outside factors, and this leads to a higher level of achievement. This was validated in research performed by Baurmind on both pre-school and elementary school children. She found that female pre-school children of authoritative parents were more responsible and independent than other children but that male pre-school children were about the same as children whose parents practiced other parenting styles. This, however, changed when the children were of elementary