EDST1010 - Textbook Secondary OECD Parent

Let’s Read Them a Story! The Parent Factor in Education

Pr ogr am m e f o r I n te rn a ti o n a l S tu d e n t A sse ssme n t

PISA

Let’s Read Them a Story! The Parent Factor in Education

This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Organisation or of the governments of its member countries. This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. Please cite this publication as: OECD (2012), Let's Read Them a Story! The Parent Factor in Education, PISA, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264176232-en

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Series: PISA ISSN 1996-3777 ISSN 1990-8539

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Foreword Education begins at home. The first simple word a parent speaks to an infant opens the world of language to the child and sets the child on the path of exploration and discovery. When formal schooling begins, many parents believe that their role as educators has ended. But education is a shared responsibility of parents, schools, teachers, and various institutions in the economy and in society. New findings from PISA show that parental involvement in education is pivotal for the success of children throughout their school years and beyond. These PISA results also offer comfort to parents who are concerned that they don’t have enough time or the requisite academic knowledge to help their children succeed in school. Many types of parental involvement that are associated with better student performance in PISA require relatively little time and no specialised knowledge. What counts is genuine interest and active engagement. This report, Let’s Read Them a Story! The Parent Factor in Education, seeks to determine whether and how parents’ involvement is related to their child’s proficiency in and enjoyment of reading. And given that reading skills are an essential tool for understanding the world, the report also examines whether students whose parents were more involved in their education were better equipped to learn throughout their lifetimes. Let’s Read Them a Story! not only documents PISA results and analysis, it also offers parents, educators and policy makers practical suggestions on how to improve parental involvement and describes the kinds of activities that are most strongly associated with better reading performance. It provides a wealth of examples of programmes that promote effective forms of parental involvement from around the world. Most important, the report shows parents that it’s never too early – and never too late – to get involved in their child’s education. Being involved is the best investment parents can make in the future of the next generation!

Angel Gurría OECD Secretary General

Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education  © OECD 2012

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Acknowledgements The report was drafted by Marilyn Achiron, Francesca Borgonovi and Guillermo Montt. Marika Boiron, Olivia De Backer, Elizabeth Del Bourgo, Juliet Evans, Giannina Rech and Elisabeth Villoutreix provided editorial and administrative input for the report. Francesco Avvisati, Maria del Carmen Huerta, Nathan Driskell, Irena Koz´min´ska, Esther Serok, Steven Sheldon, Helen Westmoreland and Lynne Whitney provided valuable input at various stages of the report. The development of the report was steered by the PISA Governing Board, which is chaired by Lorna Bertrand (United Kingdom).

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Table of Contents Foreword................................................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements................................................................................................................ 5 chapter 1 Get involved!......................................................................................................... 11 chapter 2 Read your children a story............................................................................ 17 What can parents do?.................................................................................................................. 23 What can teachers do?................................................................................................................. 26 chapter 3 Talk with Your Children about the World around Them................... 29 What can parents do?.................................................................................................................. 36 What can teachers do?................................................................................................................. 36 chapter 4 Get involved at school because you want to, not because you have to................................................................................. 39 What can parents do?.................................................................................................................. 42 What can schools do?.................................................................................................................. 44 What can education systems do?................................................................................................ 48 chapter 5 Show your children that you value reading, too................................ 51 What can parents do?.................................................................................................................. 55 ChecklistS.................................................................................................................................. 59 Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading.................................................... 63

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Table of contents

Boxes Box 1.1 Box 1.2

How does parental involvement benefit students? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Box 2.1 Box 2.2 Box 2.3 Box 2.4 Box 2.5

Poland: All of Poland Reads to Kids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 United Kingdom: Bookstart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Sweden: Las For Mej, Pappa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Romania: Parenting programme in early childhood education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 United States: 826 Valencia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Box 3.1 Box 3.2

Worldwide: Reggio Emilia approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Israel: Family as Educator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Box 4.1 Box 4.2 Box 4.3 Box 4.4 Box 4.5 Box 4.6

Ireland’s legal recognition of parents as partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 United States: Harlem Children Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 United States: The National Network of Partnership Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Japan: Homeroom teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 New Zealand: Working with Maˉori extended families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Korea: School support for parental involvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Box 5.1 Box 5.2

United States: Cool Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 What can businesses and governments do? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55







Figures Figure 2.1 Children who were read to when very young are better readers at age 15 . . . . . . . . . 19 Figure 2.2 Fifteen-year-olds whose parents frequently told them stories when they were young are better readers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Figure 2.3 Read to your child; not all parents do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Figure 2.4 Some young children, especially disadvantaged children, have little or no access to an adult who reads to them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Figure 2.5 Reading to a child is neither a mother’s nor a father’s job; it should be a joy for both . 25



Figure 3.1 Teenagers who have regular discussions with their parents about political and social issues are proficient readers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Figure 3.2 Talk about political and social issues with your teenage child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Figure 3.3 Moms and dads: Encourage your teenagers to share their thoughts on what they read and watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Figure 3.4 You don’t have to be an expert in a subject to help your child with homework . . . . . 35



Figure 4.1 Discussing your child’s progress at school shows that you value education . . . . . . . . 41 Figure 4.2 Volunteering for extracurricular activities in your child’s school is only weakly associated with better student performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Figure 4.3 Parents are an important source of help for struggling students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Figure 4.4 Don’t wait for academic or behaviour problems to get to know your child’s teachers 45 Figure 4.5 Make the effort and get involved: Volunteer! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45



Figure 5.1 Set a good example for your children by reading yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Figure 5.2 Disadvantaged students more often lack adult role models for reading . . . . . . . . . . . 54

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Table of contents

Tables Table A2.1 Reading books to young children and the relationship with reading performance . . . 64 Table A2.2 Telling stories to young children and the relationship with reading performance . . . . 65 Table A2.3 Reading books to young children and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Table A2.4 Telling stories to young children and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67



Table A3.1 Discussing social or political issues with 15-year-olds and the relationship with reading performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Table A3.2 Discussing books, films or television programmes with 15-year-olds and the relationship with reading performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Table A3.3 Helping 15-year-olds with their homework and the relationship with reading performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Table A3.4 Discussing social or political issues with 15-year-olds and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies . . . . . . . . . . 71 Table A3.5 Discussing books, films or television programmes with 15-year-olds and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Table A3.6 Helping 15-year-olds with their homework and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73



Table A4.1 Discussing children’s progress or behaviour with teachers and the relationship with reading performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Table A4.2 Parents volunteering at school and their child’s reading performance . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Table A4.3 Discussing children’s progress or behaviour with teachers and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies . . . . . . . . . . 76 Table A4.4 Parents volunteering at school and their child’s enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77



Table A5.1 Parents who read for enjoyment and the relationship with their child’s reading performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Table A5.2 Parents who read for enjoyment and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

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1

Get Involved!

The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has some good news for stressed and concerned parents: it does not require a PhD or unlimited hours for parents to make a difference in their children’s education. This chapter discusses how parental involvement benefits students – and how particular forms of involvement may be more beneficial than others.

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1

Get involved!

Most parents know, instinctively, that spending more time with their children and being actively involved in their education will give their children a good head-start in life. But since most parents have to juggle competing demands at work and at home, there never seems to be enough time. Sometimes, too, parents are reluctant to offer to help their children with school work because they feel ill-equipped to do so. They fear that they’ve forgotten what they had learned as students; or they worry that they had never studied the subjects their children are now studying and so can be of no real help. Some parents also believe that only the school is responsible for educating their children. The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has some good news for stressed and concerned parents: it does not require a PhD or unlimited hours for parents to make a difference in their children’s education. In fact, many parent-child activities that are associated with better reading performance among students involve relatively little time and no specialised knowledge. What these activities do demand, though, is genuine interest and active engagement – with the understanding that education is a shared responsibility. In 2009, countries and economies that participated in PISA were offered a questionnaire to be filled out by the parents of students who took the PISA test. The questionnaire sought information on:

•• parents’ background, such as educational attainment, occupation and income levels; •• household environment, including the number of siblings who live with the student taking the PISA test, the availability of reading resources, expenditure on educational services, parental perceptions of their child’s school, and priorities when choosing a school; and

•• parental involvement and reading habits, including whether parents (or other household members) were actively involved with their children when they entered primary school, their present levels of involvement (their children were 15 when they took the PISA test), and parents’ own attitudes towards reading. Fourteen countries and economies disseminated the parental questionnaire, although one, Poland, did not ask the questions related to parental involvement. The questionnaire was distributed in Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Korea, New Zealand and Portugal (which are OECD member countries) and in Croatia, Hong Kong-China, Lithuania, Macao-China, Panama and Qatar (which are not members of the OECD).1 Parents’ responses to this questionnaire were recorded and related to their children’s performance in PISA. The idea was to determine not only what kinds of parental involvement matters for children’s cognitive skills, as measured by how well 15-year-olds read, but also whether students whose parents are more involved in their education are better equipped to continue learning throughout their lives than students whose parents are not as involved. Reading is an essential skill that enables people to understand the world around them. Parents are naturally involved in the process of acquiring this skill as all new parents witness and encourage the seemingly miraculous development of language and speech throughout the early months and years of their children’s lives. PISA wanted to find out whether active parental engagement throughout childhood influences how well students read, how well they manage difficult academic tasks, and the extent to which parents can foster an interest in reading in their children.

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Parents were asked whether they participated in certain activities on school premises, such as discussing their child’s progress or behaviour with a teacher, either at the teacher’s or their own initiative, or volunteering at the school for extracurricular activities or at the library or media centre. They were also asked whether they told stories, sang songs or played with alphabet toys with their child when the child was just entering primary school, and whether, at the time of the PISA test – that is, when their child was 15 – they helped their child with homework, ate the main meal with their child around a table, or simply talked with their child. Parents were also asked about their own reading habits and attitudes towards books and reading. PISA found that certain activities were more strongly related to better student performance than others. Which kinds of activities benefit children the most? Reading books to children when they are just beginning primary school and talking with adolescents about topical political or social issues are shown to have a positive impact on children’s learning. Even just reading at home benefits children, because it shows them that reading is something that their parents value. Children whose parents are involved in their education in these ways are generally found to be more receptive to language; they are also more adept at planning, setting goals, initiating and following through in their studies and individual projects. Essentially, children who have mastered these kinds of skills have learned how to learn – and that will help them not only during their years in education, but throughout the rest of their lives.

Box 1.1 How does parental involvement benefit students?

As PISA and many other studies show, students show a better ability to read and learn when their parents are involved in their education and when the parents themselves value reading. In this sense, student learning is most effective when it is the result of a partnership among the school, teachers, parents and the community.2 Experts in the field point to the fact that involved parents help their children to develop their receptive language and phonetic awareness, and help their children to acquire the skills they need to learn by showing them how to plan, monitor and be aware of the learning process. Teachers may pay more attention to students if they know their parents are more involved. In general, children of involved parents are more motivated to learn for learning’s sake, and have more control over their academic performance because they adopt their parents’ positive attitudes towards school and learning. They know, too, that they can obtain guidance from their parents on how to navigate school and its challenges. Children of involved parents are more familiar with the tasks required of them at school because parents share this kind of information with them.3 And children of parents who read and enjoy reading themselves absorb their parents’ interest in reading and enjoy reading too.

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Get involved!

Box 1.2 The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), examines the extent to which students near the end of compulsory education have acquired some of the knowledge and skills that are necessary for full participation in modern societies, focusing on reading, mathematics and science. PISA not only assesses whether 15-year-olds can reproduce knowledge, but also how well they can use what they have learned and apply it in unfamiliar settings, both in and outside of school. The survey, which is conducted every three years, also collects contextual information about the students, their families and their schools, as well as a host of information gathered directly from the parents. In 2009, more than 400 000 students in 65 countries and economies participated in PISA, whose focus that year was on reading. The PISA surveys and assessments, which are the most comprehensive and rigorous international measurement of student skills in the three core subjects, are specifically designed and tested to ensure fair comparisons across countries.

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Notes

1.

Caution must be exercised when using the results for this limited set of countries and economies to make decisions regarding parental involvement in other countries and economies in the broader sample of countries that have participated in the PISA assessment and beyond.

2.

Epstein, J. (1995), “School Family Community Partnerships: Caring for the Children We Share”, Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 76(9), pp. 701‑712.

3.

Pomerantz, E.M., et al. (2007), “The How, Whom and Why of Parents’ Involvement in Children’s Academic Lives: More Is Not Always Better”, Review of Educational Research, Vol. 77(3), pp. 373-410.

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2

Read Your Children a Story

Parental involvement in a child’s education should start at birth – and never stop. This chapter shows how telling stories or reading books to children when they are very young is strongly related to how well they read and how much they enjoy reading, later on.

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Read your children a story

Parental involvement in a child’s education begins at birth. Singing lullabies or cooing tender words introduces the world of language to an infant.1 And that is – or should be – just the beginning. PISA wanted to find out whether 15-year-old students whose parents were actively involved in their education when they were just entering primary school perform better at school than peers whose parents were not as involved. PISA asked parents whether they read books to their child at that age, told stories, sang songs, played with alphabet toys, talked about things the parent had done, talked about things the parent had read, played word games, wrote letters or words, or read aloud signs and labels. Results from PISA show that some types of parental involvement when children are entering primary school are strongly associated with reading performance and even more with instilling a sense of enjoyment of reading in children. These types of involvement emphasise the value of reading and using words in contexts – such as reading books or talking about what the parent had done – rather than treating words and letters as isolated units – such as playing with alphabet toys. While most of the activities listed above are to some degree related to better reading performance when the child is 15, by far the strongest relationship is between reading to a child during his/her early years and better reading performance when the child is 15. PISA found that, in all countries and economies except Lithuania, students whose parents read books to them as they entered primary school are more likely to have higher reading scores at age 15. The relationship is particularly strong in New Zealand and Germany, where students whose parents read to them in their early school years show higher scores on the PISA reading test – by 63 and 51 points, respectively – than students whose parents had not read to them. To put that in perspective, in PISA, 39 score points is the equivalent of one school year. That means that 15-year-olds whose parents had read to them when they were just starting school read at least as well as their peers one grade above them. Often, the relationship found between certain parent-child activities and student performance simply reflects the family’s socio-economic background and the resources available to the family. But PISA results show that even among families with similar socio-economic backgrounds, reading books to young children is still strongly related to better performance when those children reach the age of 15. This association is particularly strong in New Zealand, where there was a 44-point difference in reading scores between those students whose parents read to them regularly when they were younger and those whose parents didn’t, Germany, where the difference was 29 points, and Qatar (27 points). PISA also found that parent-child activities that involve putting words into broader contexts, such as telling stories or singing songs, as compared with activities that isolate letters or words, such as playing with alphabet toys, help to instil an enjoyment of reading in children. In all the 13 countries and economies that administered the parental questionnaire, 15-year-old students whose parents read books and sang songs to them in early primary school reported significantly higher levels of reading enjoyment than students whose parents did not engage with them in these ways. This relationship is particularly strong among students in Denmark, Germany, Hungary and New Zealand. Regardless of a family’s income, children whose parents read to them when they were just starting school develop a greater sense of enjoyment of reading than those whose parents did not read to them or read to them infrequently. The relationship is particularly strong among students in Germany, Hungary, Korea and Portugal.

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Across the countries and economies examined, the level of parental engagement varies widely, depending on the specific form of engagement. For example, while around 75% of parents, on average, reported reading books to their children, this percentage is especially high in New Zealand and Denmark, where over 90% of parents reported that they read to their children, and relatively low in Hong Kong-China and Macao-China, where 51% and 54% of parents, respectively, reported so. And not all parents are equally involved: in most countries and economies, fathers are less likely than mothers to engage with their primary school-aged children in most of the activities examined. This reflects the finding in other studies that fathers generally participate less in caring activities and assume fewer household responsibilities than mothers.2

• Figure 2.1 • Children who were read to when very young are better readers at age 15 Before accounting for socio-economic background After accounting for socio-economic background This difference in performance is equivalent to:

70

Score-point difference in reading performance between students who were read to regularly at home and those who were not

60

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50 40

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Note: The percentage of parents who reported that their child was read to at home during the child’s first year in primary school is shown in parentheses after the country/economy name. Countries/Economies are ranked in descending order of the difference in reading performance after accounting for socioeconomic background. Source: Table A2.1. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606378

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2

Read your children a story

PISA also found that more socio-economically advantaged parents are more likely than socioeconomically disadvantaged parents to have read to their children regularly, sung songs, talked about what they had done during the day, and read signs aloud to their children. This difference is found consistently across the countries and economies examined. On average, socio-economically advantaged parents are 14 percentage points more likely to have engaged in the kinds of activities that are associated with positive outcomes for their children, such as reading books to their very young children. An analysis of PISA results suggests that this involvement may be one of the reasons why students in these families tend to perform better in school later on than their disadvantaged peers.

• Figure 2.2 • Fifteen-year-olds whose parents frequently told them stories when they were young are better readers Before accounting for socio-economic background After accounting for socio-economic background This difference in performance is equivalent to:

70

Score-point difference in reading performance between students who were told stories regularly at home and those who were not

60

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Note: The percentage of parents who reported that their child was told stories at home during the child’s first year in primary school is shown in parentheses after the country/economy name. Countries/Economies are ranked in descending order of the difference in reading performance after accounting for socioeconomic background. Source: Table A2.2. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606397

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Read your children a story

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Box 2.1 Poland: All of Poland Reads to Kids

The broad objective of the All of Poland Reads to Kids Foundation is to create a culture that values reading, particularly reading to young children. In 2002, more than 150 villages, towns and cities participated in the Foundation’s first National Week of Reading to Children; by 2010, 2 500 municipalities were participating in the event, during which well-known figures in the arts, politics and local municipalities visit kindergartens, schools and libraries throughout the country and read to children. To reach an even broader public, the Foundation produced music videos, television advertisements and short films showing celebrities reading to their own children or to their fictional children from television shows and soap operas. As a measure of its success, the programme has been replicated in the Czech Republic (“Every Czech Reads to Kids”) and has been adapted into the “All of Europe Reads to Kids” programme. The Foundation also supports libraries and, through its lobbying work, has also helped to win additional public funds for the nation’s libraries. It established a writing competition to encourage authors to produce high-quality children’s books, and launched reading programmes in kindergartens and schools to help parents become more adept at creating environments that are conducive to reading. In addition to conferences and workshops for parents, teachers and others, the Foundation and the Academy of Social Psychology in Warsaw launched a post-graduate course for teachers on “Reading as a Method of Development in Education”. The Foundation also runs programmes targeted to specific groups or regions, such as one held in a prison that accommodates women and their young children, one that provides free reading materials to schools, libraries and other cultural institutions in disadvantaged rural areas, and one that unites children from orphanages and seniors from third-age universities through reading. www.allofpolandreadstokids.org/

Box 2.2 United Kingdom: Bookstart

Bookstart is a national programme that encourages all parents and care-givers to enjoy books with children from as early an age as possible. It provides free reading material to families to encourage them to enjoy books together. The Bookstart Baby Bag, which contains two books, is given to babies at their 8-12-month development check by health visitors. The Bookstart Treasure Chest is distributed to three-year-olds through children’s centres, nurseries, preschools and other settings for young children. Each year, around 3.3 million children – around 95% of all children in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – receive the packs. To be as inclusive as possible, Bookstart provides dual-language books and guidance materials. There are also packs available for deaf children (Bookshine) and blind and partially sighted children (Booktouch). The Bookstart Treasure Chest contains a GBP 1 book token, accepted in most bookshops in the United Kingdom, that children can use to buy books. (continues…)

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Box 2.2 United Kingdom: Bookstart (continued)

Bookstart packs contain guidance material for parents that explains how children benefit from reading, or being read to, at different stages in their lives, and how to choose age-appropriate books for their children. The two Bookstart packs contain invitations to join local libraries and many libraries offer Bookstart-related programmes, providing a way for involved parents to meet each other and share their experiences. In fact, while Bookstart encourages parents to read with their children, it also aims to create a community of readers that spans the generations. Bookstart, which began in 1999 with initial funding from the private company Sainsbury’s, is now funded by Booktrust, an independent charity. Around 25% of overall funding comes from the devolved administrations in Wales, the Department of Education in Northern Ireland and the Department for Education in England. A range of children’s book publishers and booksellers supports the programme and, with its charity status, Bookstart can accept donations from the general public. Indirect support also comes from those who distribute the packs, including libraries, health professionals and early childhood professionals. www.bookstart.co.uk

Box 2.3 Sweden: Las For Mej, Pappa3

Las For Mej, Pappa (“Read to Me, Daddy”) is a literacy-based project in Sweden targeting working fathers, most of them immigrants, who are part of local trade unions. It reflects the belief, prevalent in Sweden, that literacy is everyone’s responsibility, not just that of the education system. Begun by national unions in 1999, the project was a response to the observation that men at the local unions were not reading sufficiently and thus were not helping their children to read. The unions perceived the lack of reading as a threat to democracy. Local union branches are responsible for disseminating information about the programme among their members and for stocking books of interest to both union members and their children. Each local union organises “daddy days”, when a working-class author, who presents his book, and a child-development expert discuss the importance of writing and reading, and explain to fathers how they can help to improve their child’s reading habits. All local unions in Sweden now run the programme, and as of June 2008, around 1 500 fathers had participated.

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• Figure 2.3 • Read to your child; not all parents do

Percentage of students who were regularly read books at home during their first year of primary school

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10

nd Ne

w

Ze

ala

ark nm De

ary ng Hu

an y rm Ge

ia hu

an

a Lit

am Pan

tar Qa

a ati Cro

ly Ita

al ug Po rt

a Ko re

-Ch cao Ma

Ho

ng

Ko n

g-C

hin

a

ina

0

Countries/Economies are ranked in ascending order of the percentage of parents who reported that their child was regularly read to at home during the child’s first year in primary school. Source: Table A2.1. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606416

PISA also reveals that socio-economic differences in reading performance may be related to parental involvement not only because socio-economically advantaged parents tend to be more involved, but also because children in these kinds of families may benefit more from equal forms and equal amounts of involvement.

What can parents do? As a parent, you were probably just as excited as your child on the very first day of school. You may have spent weeks thinking about what school bag to buy, what kinds of pens and pencils to get, how you were going to protect the first reading book from inevitable wear and tear and juice spills. But according to results from PISA, most parents do not spend enough time thinking about an even more important school accessory: developing a habit of reading. During their first year in school, around a quarter of children, on average, do not have someone in the household who reads to them regularly; and, as they struggle to make their way through reading their first words and sentences, only around 40% of young children will look up from their first book and see their parents enjoying a book of their own. Since parents are a child’s most important role models, it is crucial that parents show their children the value of reading by reading with their children when they are young and demonstrating positive attitudes towards reading.

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Many parents lament the fact that stocking up on books for young children to provide new and engaging reading material regularly is an expensive proposition. But reading regularly does not have to be costly: parents can use libraries with their children, and even make going to the library over the weekend a special family activity. Many libraries organise special events for young children and their families. Parents can support local libraries, and school libraries too, by donating books. PISA results suggest that children who had open conversations with their parents from an early age, conversations that required them to reflect on their experiences, learn to process and communicate information better by the time they are 15. It is neither difficult nor time-consuming to help children

• Figure 2.4 • Some young children, especially disadvantaged children, have little or no access to an adult who reads to them Socio-economically advantaged students Socio-economically disadvantaged students

Percentage of parents who read books to their child

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10

) 34

) g-C

hin

a(

(26 al

Ko n

25

Ho

ng

Po rtu g

a( Ko re

(19 ina -Ch

cao

)

)

) (17 ly Ma

Ita

15

)

) (13

rm an y( Ge

tar Qa

(8)

a( 9) ati Cro

nm ark De

ng

ary

(7)

(4) Hu

ia an Lit hu

ala Ze Ne

w

Pan

am

nd

a(

(3)

1)

0

Note: The difference between the percentage of socio-economically advantaged parents who reported that their child was read to at home during the child’s first year in primary school and the percentage of disadvantaged parents who did not appears in parentheses after the country/economy name. Countries/Economies are ranked in ascending order of the difference between the percentage of socio-economically advantaged parents who reported that their child was read to at home during the child’s first year in primary school and the percentage of disadvantaged parents who did. Source: Table A2.1. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606435

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begin to develop these cognitive skills early in their lives: all it requires is for parents to discuss with their children some of the things they did during the day, and to ask their child what he or she did. Keeping the conversation open encourages children to reflect on what they want to say, put their thoughts in a logical order, and find the words to communicate their thoughts. One place this kind of engagement can occur easily and naturally is at the table, over daily meals. Pretty soon, these kinds of conversations will become a habit, something that everyone in the family looks forward to, no matter how old they are. It becomes a welcome, even necessary, opportunity to express oneself, to connect deeply with other family members, to feel close, cared for and respected.

• Figure 2.5 • Reading to a child is neither a mother’s nor a father’s job; it should be a joy for both Only the mother completed the parental questionnaire Only the father completed the parental questionnaire

Percentage of parents who read books to their child when their child entered primary school

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10

) (-2

)

ina

(-2 cao

-Ch

tar Ma

Qa

(-6 ) nm ark De

ary ng Hu

nd ala Ze w

(-6

(-6

)

)

-8) a( hin g-C

Ko n

Ne

an y( -9) rm Ho

ng

Ge

)

am a( -9) Pan

(-1 0

a( -10 ati Cro

ia an Lit hu

Ita

ly (

-14

)

)

) al

Po rtu g

Ko re

a(

(-1 4

-17

)

0

Note: The difference between the percentage of fathers who reported that their child was read to at home during the child’s first year in primary school, and the percentage of mothers who did is shown in parentheses after the country/economy name. Countries/Economies are ranked in descending order of the difference between the percentage of fathers who reported that their child was read to at home during the child’s first year in primary school, and the percentage of mothers who did. Source: Table A2.1. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606454

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What can teachers do? Teachers can encourage parents to play a more active role in their child’s education by emphasising that schools are only one of the many places where children learn. They can disseminate research findings, best practices and what is known about which forms of parental involvement are particularly beneficial to children. In order to do so, teachers need to form strong and trusting relationships with all parents, especially those who may be less willing to develop partnerships with schools. Because of the many constraints they face, some parents may find it impossible to provide extensive, active support to their children. For example, in many households parents have to work long and, increasingly, irregular hours to support their families financially. PISA shows that socio-economic status is strongly related to student proficiency.4 So many parents feel they must choose between providing financial security for their children and spending time with them. While results from PISA show that, in fact, the amount of time spent reading or talking with children is less important than simply engaging in these activities as much as is feasible, teachers can help to support families by ensuring that all children have some kind of individualised attention. This can come either directly from the school or through partnerships with local community groups and non-profit organisations. For example, school buildings and facilities can be opened to local communities and, under the supervision of teachers and school principals, volunteers can be enlisted to work with individual children. Or teachers and school principals can provide information on existing programmes in their community, and work with local groups to ensure that these programmes are available after school hours and during school holidays, and that they complement the material that is covered in school.

Box 2.4 Romania: Parenting programme in early childhood education

The National Parenting Education Programme in Pre-School Education was launched in 2001 by a partnership composed of UNICEF, the Romania’s Ministry of Education and Research, and MATRA, a financing programme of the Ministry of External Affairs of the Netherlands in response to research that showed that many Romanian parents were not well-equipped to participate in their child’s education. Initially, the programme provided training on parental education to specialists in the country; later, it expanded to include training to teachers. By  2005, the programme was incorporated into Romania’s National Strategy on Early Education. The programme, still supported by UNICEF, trains trainers in the 41 Romanian counties. The trainers then train pre-school and school teachers who, in turn, train parents. Teachers are provided with manuals, video tapes and additional materials for their work with parents. The lessons focus on understanding early childhood and on knowing how to praise and support children, and how to avoid using physical punishment. Generally, two instructors teach 10 parents over five weeks, with a two-hour lesson each week. Parents are evaluated at the end of the course, and a follow-up session is offered six months later. In 2011, more than 90 000 parents were trained in some 5 000 kindergartens and more than 600 schools. www.unicef.org/romania/education_11760.html

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Box 2.5 United States: 826 Valencia

826 Valencia is a non-profit organisation based in San Francisco, United States. Founded in 2002 by Ninive Calegari, an educator, and Dave Eggers, a writer, the organisation aims to help students from age 6 to 18 to develop their writing skills, and to help teachers to inspire their students to write. The organisation relies on trained tutor volunteers – around 1 700 in 2011 – and serves over 6 000 students a year. The success of the 826 Valencia project led to the opening of seven more organisations across the country based on the same principles. 826 Valencia offers a wide array of programmes, all free of charge, for students and schools. Projects include after-school individualised tutoring, in-school projects that support teachers during regular class time, one-off special workshops, and organising writing-based school field trips to the organisation’s “writing lab”. http://826valencia.org/

Teachers can develop a host of programmes to nurture the desire to read. Programmes such as “Drop Everything and Read”5 show children that reading, especially reading for pleasure, is a valuable activity. Teachers can encourage both students and parents to use libraries, support book clubs among students and among parents, maybe even linking the two groups from time to time, and establish periods dedicated to reading during the school day. The ultimate goals are that parents begin to regard reading to their young children as essential as feeding and clothing them, and that children grow up with the deeply ingrained sense that reading is both a valuable pursuit and a pleasure.

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Notes

28

1.

Hart and Risley (1995) find important differences in cognitive development between infants whose parents talked to them frequently and parents who talked to them less frequently. See Hart, Betty and Todd R. Risley (1995), Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children, P.H. Brookes, Baltimore.

2.

For more information on parents’ level of engagement in household responsibilities, see Indicator LMF2.5 in the OECD Family Database available at www.oecd.org/dataoecd/1/50/43199641.pdf. OECD (2011), Doing Better for Families, OECD Publishing.

3.

Wright, A., M. Bouchart, K. Bosdotter and R. Granberg (2010), “Las for Mej Pappa: A Swedish model for addressing family literacy”, Childhood Education, pp. 399-403.

4.

OECD (2010), PISA 2009 Results: Overcoming Social Background (Volume II), PISA, OECD Publishing.

5.

Examples of Drop Everything and Read Initiatives can be found at the following links: http://dropeverythingandread.com/ www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/daily-dear-program-drop-55.html

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Talk with Your Children about the World around Them Older children benefit from their parents’ involvement, too. This chapter discusses how talking about social and political issues, or about books, films and television programmes with adolescent children is related to better reading performance at school.

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Some parents believe that once their child begins formal schooling, only teachers are responsible for educating them. But education is a shared responsibility; and results from PISA show that even older students benefit when their parents are actively engaged in their education. And, as it turns out, that involvement doesn’t even have to be directly related to school work. To find out what types of parental involvement are beneficial to older students, PISA asked parents how frequently they discussed political or social issues, or had discussions about books, films or television programmes with their 15-year-old children. Parents were also asked whether they eat the main meal with their child around a table; whether they go to a bookstore or library with their child; whether they talk with their child about what he/she is reading on his/her own; and whether they spend time just talking with their child. In general, 15-year-olds whose parents show an active interest in their lives and thoughts are more proficient in reading. As with parent-child activities when children are very young, some types of parental engagement with older children are more strongly associated with better reading proficiency than others. For example, talking with 15-year-olds is more beneficial than going to the library or to a bookstore with them. Students seem to benefit particularly from discussions with their parents about political or social issues. In all countries and economies, students whose parents discuss social or political issues with them perform better than students whose parents do not. This relationship is strong in some countries, including Italy, where the difference in PISA scores between those students whose parents discuss these kinds of issues with them and those students whose parents do not is 42 points,

Box 3.1 Worldwide: Reggio Emilia approach

The Reggio Emilia approach is an educational philosophy that privileges the natural development of the child and his or her relationship with the outside environment. The involvement of parents and communities is at the very core of the philosophy. The approach was born in the city of Reggio Emilia, Italy, in the aftermath of the Second World War. As parents and communities worked together to reconstruct schools for their young children, they developed a pre- and basic school programme now adopted by many institutions around the world. According to the Reggio Emilia philosophy, parents are considered to be the “first teachers”. The “second teachers” are classroom teachers; the “third teacher” is the environment. Consequently, parents are involved in every aspect of schooling: they are invited to participate in schools’ decisionmaking processes; they participate in the discussions on school policies, curricula and assessments; they are regularly apprised of their child’s progress in school and, in turn, are asked to report on their child’s learning experiences at home; and they are often involved in students’ activities and projects. Parents often participate in classroom activities and they are encouraged to apply Reggio Emilia principles at home. Meetings are usually held after working hours so more parents can attend. http://zerosei.comune.re.it/inter/index.htm

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Panama (38 points), Portugal (37 points), New Zealand and Qatar (32 points). Given that 39  score points in PISA is the equivalent of one year of formal schooling, this result confirms that parents don’t have to spend long hours or have specialised knowledge to make a substantial difference in their children’s reading proficiency. All it requires is a parent’s genuine interest in his or her child and in the world around them. In all countries and economies except for Hungary and Lithuania, students who discuss books, films and television programmes with their parents also show better reading performance. This relationship is especially strong in Italy, New Zealand, Portugal and Qatar, where students who discuss these subjects with their parents score over 25 points higher, on average, than students who do not.

• Figure 3.1 • Teenagers who have regular discussions with their parents about political and social issues are proficient readers Before accounting for socio-economic background After accounting for socio-economic background This difference in performance is equivalent to:

Score-point difference in reading performance between students whose parents discuss political or social issues with them at home and those whose parents do not

70 60

1½ additional years of school

50 40

1 additional year of school

30 20

Additional ½ year of school

10 0

No difference

Ital y (6 5% ) Qa tar (52 %) Pan am a (4 6% Ne wZ ) eal and (68 %) Por tug al ( 55 %) De nm ark (70 %) Cro atia (40 %) Ko rea (18 %) Ge rm any (62 %) Lith uan ia ( 51 Ma %) cao -Ch ina Ho (32 ng %) Ko ngCh ina (55 %) Hu nga ry (53 %)

-10

Note: The percentage of parents who discuss political or social issues with their child is shown in parentheses after the country/economy name. Countries/Economies are ranked in descending order of the difference in reading performance after accounting for socioeconomic background. Source: Table A3.1. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606473

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These relationships are evident, but not as strong, even after accounting for differences in students’ socioeconomic backgrounds. That might be because more advantaged students tend to have more involved parents and/or that parental involvement is an attribute of socio-economic advantage and so is one of the ways in which socio-economic background influences reading performance. Still, in all countries and economies, students from similar backgrounds who discuss political or social issues with their parents achieve higher reading scores than students who don’t discuss these issues with their parents. In New Zealand, Panama, Portugal and Qatar, this difference in performance is greater than 15 score points. PISA also finds that students who discuss political and social issues with their parents enjoy reading more than students who don’t. This might be because students who inherently enjoy reading tend to have these kinds of discussions with their parents. Whatever the reason, the strength of this association

Box 3.2 Israel: Family as Educator1

Following a research project run in the 1990s, some schools in Israel adopted the use of “probes” to encourage parental involvement in education. Probes are interview questions on a specific topic that are used to prompt discussion. For example, questions related to the topics “family stories” and “family foods” include discussions about different modes of celebration and different styles based on the family’s ethnic origin. Every holiday is celebrated with its own typical foods; and every ethnic group of Jewish immigrants uses different types of foods at the same holiday. This provides the basis for discussions between parents and students. These probes were used as a basis for curriculum units, such as the Family Album, or the Bible Family Curriculum. The Family Album is begun in first grade and developed throughout the six years of primary school. It is based on the “family photographs” and “naming” probes. For this programme, families are asked to collect photographs and write accompanying stories in a special album. The Bible Family Curriculum, still used in around 20 schools, combines several probes, such as “family stories”, “family rituals”, “family foods”, “family home” and “child’s room”, to trigger discussions at home about issues raised in the Bible. It makes the Bible more accessible and relevant to students by drawing similarities between biblical family stories and stories from the child’s own life. The initial research project, and development of the subsequent programmes and curricula, were funded by the school where the experiential work took place and by several foundations: the Jewish Agency for Israel, The Metro-West Jewish Federation, the Hadassah Organization, and the Jewish National Fund in Israel. Additional funding is raised by selling curriculum units to various educational agencies and schools. An evaluation conducted at the end of the research project showed that it raised awareness among parents about their role as educators. The school climate also improved, with more positive relations between schools, students and their parents; and the academic achievement of students who participated in the programme was higher than that of children who did not participate.

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transcends socio-economic background. In all countries and economies, students from similar backgrounds whose parents discuss political or social issues with them enjoy reading more. This relationship is particularly strong among students in Germany, Italy, Korea, Lithuania and New Zealand. Talking with older children about complex subjects, such as political or social issues, also appears to be associated with students having greater awareness about effective learning strategies, in this case, how to summarise information acquired through reading. In all PISA-participating countries and economies, students whose parents discuss social or political issues with them are more aware of these kinds of strategies. This relationship is particularly strong in Denmark, Italy, Korea, Panama and Portugal. This relationship might simply reflect the likelihood that more advantaged students – who are more likely to have these kinds of discussions with their parents – are more aware of effective summarising strategies than their disadvantaged peers. But analysis of PISA results shows that in Denmark, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, New Zealand, Panama and Portugal, when students from similar backgrounds are compared, those who discuss political or social issues with their parents are more aware of effective strategies to summarise information than students who do not engage in these kinds of discussions with their parents.

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10

De

nm a

rk

d an Ze al

Ita

ly Ne w

a

Ge rm an y

g-C

hin

gal

Ko n

Ho

ng

Po rtu

r

ary ng Hu

Qa ta

ia an hu Lit

am a Pan

ina -Ch Ma cao

Ko re

Cro ati a

0

a

Percentage of parents who discuss political or social issues at home with their child

• Figure 3.2 • Talk about political and social issues with your teenage child

Countries/Economies are ranked in ascending order of the percentage of parents who discuss social or political issues with their child. Source: Table A3.1. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606492

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On average across the countries and economies that are examined in this report, about half of the parents reported that they discuss social or political issues with their children. Around two-thirds of parents in Denmark, Italy and New Zealand discuss such topics with their 15-year-old children, but only around a third of parents in Korea and Macao-China does. On average, advantaged parents are around 20 percentage points more likely than disadvantaged parents to discuss political or social issues with their children. This difference is particularly large in Germany, Italy and Portugal. Parents in advantaged households are, on average, also more likely than other parents to discuss books, films or television programmes with their 15-year-old children.

• Figure 3.3 • Moms and dads: Encourage your teenagers to share their thoughts on what they read and watch Only the mother completed the parental questionnaire Only the father completed the parental questionnaire 100

Percentage of parents who discuss books, films or television programmes with their child

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10

(0) ary ng Hu

an y( -2) rm

(-3 ) nm ark

Ge

-3) De

a( ati

(-5

) Cro

ly

Ko re

a(

(-5 ia an

Ita

-5)

)

) hu Lit

ala Ze w Ne

-Ch

ina

nd

(-6

(-5

)

-7) cao Ma

g-C

hin

a(

(-7 ) al Ho

ng

Ko n

) am

a(

-12

(-1 3

Pan

tar Qa

Po rtu g

)

0

Note: The difference between the percentage of fathers who completed the parental questionnaire and discussed books, films or television programmes with their child, and the percentage of mothers who did is shown in parentheses after the country/economy name. Countries/Economies are ranked in descending order of the difference between the percentage of fathers who completed the parental questionnaire and discussed books, films or television programmes with their child, and the percentage of mothers who did. Source: Table A3.2. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606511

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Schools, too, seem to make a difference to whether or not parents are involved in their child’s education. For example, parents whose 15-year-old children attend advantaged schools are more likely to discuss social and political issues with their children than parents of similar socio-economic backgrounds whose children attend schools with a largely disadvantaged student body. This may be because parents are more encouraged – or pressured – to be involved in their child’s education by other parents and teachers in schools whose student body is predominantly advantaged. Or it might be because these schools attract parents who are keen to be involved in their child’s education. Mothers are slightly, but consistently, more likely to discuss books, films or television programmes with their children, talk with their children about what they are reading on their own, discuss how well their children are doing at school, and just spend time talking with their children than fathers are. In eight of the countries and economies considered in this report, however, fathers are more likely than mothers

• Figure 3.4 • You don’t have to be an expert in a subject to help your child with homework Only the mother completed the parental questionnaire Only the father completed the parental questionnaire Percentage of parents who helped their child with homework

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10

(1 6) an y

G

er

m

ar

k

(1 1)

(1 1) en m

at

ia D

ly

(6 ) Cr o

) (5

Ko n

g-

Ch in

a

y ar H

on g

Ita

(5 )

) al

un g H

an d

(4

(3 ) a

Ze

ew N

) (1 na

-C hi ao ac

M

Ko re

) ar

(1

) at

ni ua

Q

a

(-1

(-1 ) a

th Li

am Pa n

Po rtu

ga

l(

-1 )

0

Note: The difference between the percentage of fathers who completed the parental questionnaire and helped their child with his/her homework, and the percentage of mothers who did appears in parentheses after the country/economy name. Countries/Economies are ranked in ascending order of the difference between the percentage of fathers who completed the parental questionnaire and helped their child with his/her homework, and the percentage of mothers who did. Source: Table A3.3. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606530

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to help their children with their homework – an activity that, in most families, means helping struggling students. This suggests that many fathers are able and willing to be engaged in their child’s education despite the still-prevalent notion that it’s the mother’s role to be more involved with the couple’s children. Still, fathers generally appear to get involved only reactively, such as when their child appears to be faltering at school. As this report shows, earlier involvement – by both parents – can prevent poor student outcomes and promote overall student well-being.

What can parents do? Having open discussions with adolescents about social and political issues, books, films, music and other cultural expressions and events allows children to develop informed opinions and helps to improve their critical thinking. Children may also find that they enjoy reading more when they have parents who want to hear about what they have just read. This kind of parental involvement can take place during the family meal, for example, and requires only as much time as parents have to devote to an engaged discussion with their children.

What can teachers do? Teachers can help to promote parents’ involvement at home even when this form of involvement is unrelated to what happens in school; parent-teacher partnerships need not be restricted to schoolbased activities. When teachers have trusting relationships with parents they can share with parents their knowledge about their students, their aspirations, needs and preferences. By so doing teachers can help their students and their students’ parents develop common ground on which to build an open relationship. Teachers can also support and inform parents on how best to engage with their children at home and develop engaging conversations with them. Teachers can also engage in open discussions with the students directly, whenever parents face constraints that make regular involvement with their children difficult.

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Note

1.

Serok, E. (2004), The Family as Educator – Using the Cultures, Traditions and Heritages of Families as Enrichment Resources for an Israeli School: An Educational Chronicle, Proquest Information and Learning Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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Get Involved at School because You Want to, Not because You Have to When parents take the time to meet their child’s teachers, or when they volunteer for activities at school, they signal to their children that they value education. This chapter examines some of the ways busy parents can be involved in school activities and emphasises that parents and teachers should not wait to meet each other.

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Parents can also be involved in their children’s education by participating in activities at school, such as meeting with teachers or school principals or volunteering at school. Research has shown that this type of parental involvement, which is often well-structured, is associated with greater student engagement in school. That’s because these types of activities show students that their parents value learning and education; and it shows schools that these parents care about their children’s education – which, in turn, might prompt teachers to devote more attention to these children. The PISA questionnaire asked parents whether, during the previous academic year, they had discussed their child’s behaviour with a teacher, at either the parent’s or a teacher’s initiative, whether the parent had volunteered to participate in extracurricular activities or in the library, or whether the parent assisted a teacher in the school, appeared as a guest speaker or participated in local school government. PISA results show that students whose parents are involved in activities at school tend not to perform as well in reading as students whose parents are less actively engaged in school activities. In 11 countries and economies, children whose parents discussed their behaviour or progress with a teacher, either at the teacher’s or the parents’ initiative, did not perform as well in reading as children whose parents did not have such discussions. This means, most likely, that schools wait until students begin to struggle to meet with their parents; and parents wait until they see their children struggling with homework before playing an active role in their schooling. Similarly, in seven countries and economies, children whose parents volunteered in extracurricular activities are more likely to have lower reading scores than students whose parents did not volunteer.

Box 4.1 Ireland’s legal recognition of parents as partners

The Education Act of 1998 emphasises that education in Ireland involves a partnership among many stakeholders, including parents. The Act specifies that parents have the right to be consulted and informed of all aspects of their child’s education, and schools are required to involve parents in school planning. Schools are also required to have parents as members of the management board. The Act specifies parents’ responsibilities as: “to nurture a learning environment, co-operate with and support the school and other individual partners, and fulfill their special role in the development of the child”. Irish legislation acknowledged and promoted the role of parents in the education system prior to the 1998 Act, as well. The Irish Constitution of 1937 recognises parents as a child’s primary educator. The 1975 change in the administrative structure of national schools included the indication that at least two parents of the children enrolled in a primary school serve on the school’s board of management; and the Parents as Partners in Education circular of 1991 requires all post-primary schools to ensure that a parents’ association is formed in the school and encourages this association to join the national network. Nearly every primary and post-primary school in Ireland now has parent representatives on its board of management.

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While these results seem to indicate a negative relationship between parental involvement and student performance, in all likelihood, these students’ reading scores might have been even lower if their parents had not become actively involved in school activities. These forms of involvement tend to be reactive: parents get involved only after they have determined – or have been alerted by the school – that there is a need to get involved. Because of this, parents of struggling students are more likely to attend meetings with teachers, volunteer in extracurricular activities, and help children with homework. As a result, in many countries and economies, socioeconomically disadvantaged parents and parents of boys are more likely to be involved in these activities since poor reading proficiency tends to be associated with low socio-economic status and with boys. While these activities are beneficial for their children – unless the struggling students are stigmatised by their parents’ involvement at school – parental involvement would be even more beneficial if it began well before it was considered to be necessary.

• Figure 4.1 • Discussing your child’s progress at school shows that you value education Before accounting for socio-economic background

This difference in performance is equivalent to:

30 20

Additional ½ year of school

10 0

No difference

-10 ½ a year less of school

-20 -30

1 year less of school

-40

Ho r (5 ng 1% Ko ) ngCh ina (52 Ma %) cao -Ch ina (59 Ne %) w Ze ala nd (54 %) Lit hu an ia (53 %) Cro ati a( 32 %) Pan am a( 55 %) Po rtu gal (62 %) Ita ly (45 %) Hu ng ary (38 %) Ge rm an y( 37 %)

%) (78

a(

nm ark

De

Ko re

Qa ta

%)

-50

78

Score-point difference in reading performance between students whose parents have discussed their progress or behaviour with a teacher, at the teacher's initiative, and those whose parents have not

After accounting for socio-economic background

Note: The percentage of parents who have discussed their child’s behaviour or progress with a teacher, at the teacher’s initiative, is shown in parentheses after the country/economy name. Countries/Economies are ranked in descending order of the difference in reading performance after accounting for socioeconomic background. Source: Table A4.1. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606549

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The most striking feature of parental involvement in school activities is the relative lack of it, as well as the fact that it mostly occurs only when it is absolutely necessary, for example because students are struggling. PISA results highlight how in most schools, parents and teachers generally meet only when students are having difficulties. Few parents were engaged in activities at school that were not directly related to helping their children, activities such as appearing as a guest speaker, assisting a teacher or volunteering for sports or other extracurricular activities.

What can parents do? Parents’ involvement at school depends on the school’s own attitudes and initiatives towards inviting parents to participate in school-based activities (see what schools can do below). But assuming that schools welcome such involvement, parents can do much more than discuss their child’s academic progress with teachers. They can arrange with the school to visit a class or classes to better understand

• Figure 4.2 • Volunteering for extracurricular activities in your child’s school is only weakly associated with better student performance Before accounting for socio-economic background

This difference in performance is equivalent to:

30 20

Additional ½ year of school

10 0

No difference

-10 ½ a year less of school

-20 -30

1 year less of school

-40

De nm ark

Ne wZ eal and

(17 %) Lith uan ia ( 15 %) Ko rea (17 %) Ge rm any (19 %) Hu nga ry (13 %) Qa tar (20 %) Ital y (1 9% Ma ) cao -Ch ina (20 %) Por tug al ( 7% ) Cro atia Ho (15 ng %) Ko ngCh ina (8% ) Pan am a (2 2% )

-50

(33 %)

Score-point difference in reading performance between students whose parents have volunteered for extracurricular activities at school and those whose parents have not

After accounting for socio-economic background

Note: The percentage of parents who have volunteered for extracurricular activities at school is shown in parentheses after the country/economy name. Countries/Economies are ranked in descending order of the difference in reading performance after accounting for socioeconomic background. Source: Table A4.2. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606568

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Box 4.2 United States: Harlem Children Zone

Harlem Children Zone (HCZ) is a non-profit organisation that bases its work on the idea of redesigning schools as community centres. The programme, begun in the early 1990s in an attempt to address the many problems facing disadvantaged families within a single New York City block in Harlem, offers schooling, after-school programmes, health and social services and communitybuilding programmes. It also runs an array of programmes that target parents and children, from birth to young adulthood. The Baby College, for example, provides training to expectant parents and parents of children up to 3 years old. It emphasises the importance of reading to children and of using verbal discipline over corporal punishment. The Three Years Old Journey helps parents to build language and parenting skills to support their child’s development. Academic Case Management is an approach to youth development, used for middle school, high school and college-aged students, that encourages collaboration between parents and school staff to support student performance. The programme, offered free of charge and funded by donations and a government grant, has been replicated in 20 other US cities. In 2009, the organisation served more than 10 000 children and 10 000 adults in Harlem alone. www.hcz.org

Box 4.3 United States: The National Network of Partnership Schools

The National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS), established in 1996 at Johns Hopkins University, aims to support families and communities in the United States to become involved in their children’s education. The NNPS has developed various tools to this end, including a “partnership process” called Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork (TIPS) Interactive Homework. Through TIPS, the student is given a homework assignment, based on a topic discussed in class, that requires interaction with someone at home. In this way, both teachers and parents are involved in the student’s work. NNPS, which was initially funded with grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the US Department of Education, encourages member schools to try to finance the programme independently. In order to become a member, a school must dedicate a team to the initiative, define goals and allocate a budget. Schools pay a sign-up fee and an annual renewal fee, and are required to complete an annual survey that allows the NNPS to evaluate their work. More than 1 000 schools in 22 US states are now members. Each member receives the annual Promising Partnership Practices, a compendium of around 100 partnership activities that were implemented by NNPS members over the previous school year. The activities are organised and indexed according to student outcome, grade level, and type of involvement. www.partnershipschools.org

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their children’s day; they can volunteer to coach sports, to help run other extracurricular activities or clubs, or work in the school library; or they can volunteer their time to be a guest speaker at school, to share with students a special interest or achievement, or to give them an insider’s view of a career or job.

What can schools do? Teachers can develop trusting relationships with parents to encourage parents to become more involved in their adolescent children’s education. All too often, interactions between teachers and parents only occur when students have academic or behavioural problems. In addition, as students get older, they generally have more than one teacher, and this may make it difficult for parents and teachers to forge strong relationships. Some secondary schools promote teacher-tutors, who co-ordinate the exchange of information between all the teachers that a student works with and his or her parents. Some schools allocate a small number of students to each teacher who, in addition to his

• Figure 4.3 • Parents are an important source of help for struggling students Before accounting for socio-economic background After accounting for socio-economic background

Score-point difference in reading performance between students whose parents help them with homework and those whose parents do not

30

This difference in performance is equivalent to:

20

Additional ½ year of school

10 0

No difference

-10 ½ a year less of school

-20 -30

1 year less of school

-40

Ital y (3 5% ) Cro atia (28 %) Ge rm any (35 %)

Ko rea (14 %) De nm ark (51 Ma %) cao -Ch ina (31 Ne %) wZ eal a nd Ho (47 ng %) Ko ngCh ina (27 %) Qa tar (53 %) Pan am a (7 3% ) Lith uan ia ( 43 %) Por tug al ( 41 %) Hu nga ry (45 %)

-50

Note: The percentage of parents who help their child with his/her homework is shown in parentheses after the country/ economy name. Countries/Economies are ranked in descending order of the difference in reading performance after accounting for socioeconomic background. Source: Table A4.1. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606587

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100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10

en

m

ar

k

ea D

Ko r

l ga tu

hi -C ao

M

ac

Po r

na

a am

d an al Ze

ew

Pa n

a ni ua th N

H on g

Li

at ar Ko ng -C hi na

Q

ly Ita

ry ga un H

G

er

Cr

m

an y

tia

0

oa

Percentage of parents who have discussed their child’s behaviour or progress with a teacher at the teacher's initiative

• Figure 4.4 • Don’t wait for academic or behaviour problems to get to know your child’s teachers

Countries/Economies are ranked in ascending order of the percentage of parents who discussed their child’s progress or behaviour with a teacher at the teacher’s initiative. Source: Table A4.1. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606606

• Figure 4.5 • Make the effort and get involved: Volunteer!

Percentage of parents who volunteered in extracurricular activities at school

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10

d

a

al

an

am N

ew

Ze

Pa n

ar at Q

na -C hi

ly Ita

ao

G

er

m

an y

a Ko re

k D

en m

ar

ia ua n th

tia oa Cr

ry un ga H

Li

M ac

H on g

Po rtu

ga

l

Ko ng -C hi na

0

Countries/Economies are ranked in ascending order of the percentage of parents who volunteered in extracurricular activities. Source: Table A4.2. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606625

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or her normal teaching load, is also the tutor figure for these students. Other schools have dedicated tutors whose role is not to teach, but to co-ordinate relationships between teachers – and the school, in general – and parents. Teachers can engage families in many ways. For example, here is a sequence of family-outreach efforts in increasing order of complexity – and effectiveness:1

•• Phase 1 – Teachers make little or no effort to get to know families or to communicate with them throughout the year. If they do have contact with families, it is because they have a problem with or concern about the child. Families do not know how to get in touch with the teacher.

•• Phase 2 – Teachers make some effort to get to know families throughout the year. They share their contact information with families, as well as information on classroom rules and expectations. They contact families throughout the year when problems arise and/or to remind them to attend school events and meetings.

•• Phase 3 – Teachers reach out to families at the beginning of the year to share information and to learn basic information about the family, including their contact information and their expectations for their children. They contact families throughout the year when problems arise and to report positive news.

•• Phase 4 – Teachers reach out to families throughout the year to share information, including what is going on in the classroom, as well as to learn families’ hopes and dreams for their child and their communication preferences. Families and the teacher contact each other regularly when problems arise and to share positive news. Teachers can also organise “just drop in” sessions, establish an open-door policy in their classrooms, create a class website with a dedicated space for questions and answers from parents, and organise home visits. They should invest the most effort in forging relationships with those families that are reluctant to do so, rather than with families that are already open and engaged with schools and teachers. Outreach

Box 4.4 Japan: Homeroom teachers

Teachers are a crucial feature of the success of the Japanese education system. When the Meiji Restoration began and the state modernised its education system, most of the teachers were members of Japan’s upper classes; some were even Samurai. In the Confucian tradition, great honour accrued to teachers. Teachers in Japan are, by law, among the better paid of Japan’s civil servants, but they work long hours, especially because in addition to the time they spend on preparing classes and teaching, they are expected to visit their students’ homes regularly and be in continuous contact with their students’ families. In Japan’s education system, homeroom teachers follow students as they progress through grades and are involved in their students’ lives outside of school. They are accountable to parents in a unique way: for example, if a student violates the law, the law enforcement authorities call that student’s homeroom teacher, and all faculty members apologise for the student’s behaviour.

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programmes should be universal, so that they do not signal poor student performance or poor family environment, which, in turn, can stigmatise both students and parents. Those families that need extra support and guidance can be targeted with personalised follow-up activities. Once teachers have developed a relationship with their students’ families, they can devise projects and activities that require direct parental involvement. By doing so, they will not only help their students directly, but indirectly, as well, by supporting their students’ parents. Many parents have very little direct knowledge of what happens in school every day. Indeed, in most countries parents rarely – if ever – enter school buildings to observe the normal school routine. But schools can change that: they could organise small group visits, so as not to disrupt classes; a few countries open their classrooms to parents on a regular basis. Just as parents have little knowledge of their children’s daily lives, teenagers may know very little about what their parents actually do all day. Schools can help here, too, by opening their doors to parents and inviting them to share their life and work experiences, such as introducing students to certain careers and jobs, discussing their main struggles and rewards at work, etc. Such talks could be a valuable learning opportunity for these older students as they will soon have to make decisions about whether to continue in education or enter the labour market, and about in which field they want to study and work. Several schools in the same area, with students from diverse socio-economic

Box 4.5 New Zealand: Working with Maˉori extended families

About one in five students in New Zealand’s education system is identified as Maˉori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. The Parents, Families and Whaˉnau (extended family, in Maˉori, PFW) team was established to work with whaˉnau, which includes parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents, in target communities to help them become actively engaged in their children’s education. Working with other government and non-government agencies, the PFW team provides whaˉnau with information about: the benefits of early childhood education; the roles and responsibilities of whaˉnau and teachers concerning the National Standards (the expected outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics after eight years in compulsory education); how to support literacy and numeracy development at home; what is required to earn the National Certificate of Educational Attainment, the main secondary-school qualification; and the opportunities available through the Youth Guarantee, an initiative to increase the educational achievement of targeted 16- and 17-year-olds by making the education system more responsive to their needs. The Ministry of Education also promotes the Reading Together programme among whaˉnau. Through this programme, whaˉnau learn the reading strategies that teachers use to teach children how to read and are introduced to literacy resources available in their community. By improving the extended family’s understanding of how children learn to read, they will be in a better position to work in a learning partnership with both their children and their children’s teachers and schools.

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backgrounds, could pool their roster of parent speakers to get a good mix of careers and jobs to be presented, and to reduce possible awkwardness among both students and parents. Schools can also open themselves to local businesses so that students can join their parents in “Take your child to work” initiatives.2 These activities have been introduced in many countries, but schools are rarely involved. While co-ordinating between schools and local businesses will no doubt make these initiatives more complex to run, such partnerships can provide a great opportunity for students to get to know the local business environment, develop informed expectations and aspirations for their futures, and learn more about their parents (and talking about parents’ work can spark parent-child discussions about a wealth of other related, and un-related, topics). These types of programmes can be part of businesses’ work-life balance schemes; they can also offer business leaders a chance to meet potential new employees.

What can education systems do? In most schools, initiatives to encourage family engagement depend on the good will of individual teachers or on the leadership and vision of individual school principals.3 Working directly with parents as partners is not usually covered in teachers’ formal professional training and development. As a result, most teachers either do not feel that it is their role to foster family engagement or they feel illequipped to do so.4

Box 4.6 Korea: School support for parental involvement

Korea has a comprehensive system in place to include parents in their children’s education. Parents are invited to visit schools to see how education policies are implemented and to comment on implementation. In 2011, the country’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) selected 500 offline monitors and 3 200 online monitors – around 30 people for each of the 16 provincial and municipal offices of education – through a public recruitment process. They are to monitor the implementation of the government’s education policies and report their findings to MEST. The monitors will be notified if MEST proposed any follow-up action as a result of their reports. Municipal and provincial education offices and schools also run programmes for parents on education policies. The minister and vice minister of MEST have participated in these “Education Policies Presentation for Parents”, which have been held in more than 20 locations since November 2011. In addition, parent-support centres and educational institutions in each region offer various programmes to help parents improve their parenting skills in such areas as communication and career guidance. The National Parent Support Center (NPSC), under the auspices of the National Institute for Lifelong Education, was established in October 2010 to provide information on education, disseminate best practices of parent involvement in schools, establish a network of municipal and provincial parent-support centres and support counseling services for parents. www.parents.go.kr

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Education systems can help teachers and other education professional develop family-outreach programmes by:

•• identifying milestones and expected outcomes that teachers/school administrators/other education professionals should aim for with respect to engaging families;

•• providing training, both initial and development, in how to build strong partnerships with families; •• assessing what resources are needed to meet objectives on family engagement and allocating adequate resources to meet those objectives;

•• developing partnerships, or granting individual schools autonomy to develop partnerships, with non-governmental organisations, civil society groups, and non-profit organisations to increase the capacity and diversity of available staff; and

•• evaluating teachers and schools on the basis of their skills and competencies in working with families.

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Notes

50

1.

The Flamboyan Foundation in the United States developed a rubric targeted at teachers, http://flamboyanfoundation. org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Classroom-Family-Engagement-Rubric-7-29-2011.pdf.

2.

Many companies have “Take your child to work” initiatives. The Working Families organisation in the United Kingdom is one of the many non-profit organisations that have developed a set of tips and guidelines so that employers, employees and children make the most of such initiatives. Available at www.workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/employers/ national-work-life-week/take-your-child-to-work-day.

3.

Graue, E. and C.P. Brown (2003), “Preservice teachers’ notions of families and schooling”, Teaching and Teacher Education, Vol.  19, pp.  719-735. Denessen, E., et al. (2009), “Teacher-parent partnerships: Preservice teacher competences and attitudes during teacher training in the Netherlands”, International Journal about Parents in Education, Vol. 3(1), pp. 29-36.

4.

According to the 2005 MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, teachers find family engagement to be their biggest challenge. Markow, D. and S. Martin (2005), The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, 2004–2005: Transitions and the Role of Supportive Relationships, MetLife, Inc., New York. Available at www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED488837.pdf.

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Show Your Children that You Value Reading, too Children – even older children, although they may not want to admit it – look to their parents as role models. This chapter explores how children whose parents have more positive attitudes towards reading are better at reading, themselves, and enjoy reading more.

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As children age, the influence of parents diminishes while that of peers and others outside the family grows. But that doesn’t mean that adolescents don’t still need – and want, even if they may deny it – their parents’ genuine interest in their lives. While adolescents may observe their parents more critically than they did when they were younger, they still absorb their parents’ attitudes and note their parents’ actions. So in addition to being actively involved in their child’s academic lives, by helping to guide their decisions about their education, monitoring their school work and engaging with them intellectually, parents can also be implicitly involved by acting as role models. Imitation is not only the greatest form of flattery; it is also one of the tools children use to make their way into the adult world. Their parents’ habits and attitudes towards intellectually engaging activities, and towards books and academic achievement, shape their own attitudes towards reading, school and learning, and may ultimately be related to school performance, as well.

• Figure 5.1 • Set a good example for your children by reading yourself Before accounting for socio-economic background

This difference in performance is equivalent to:

70 60

1½ additional years of school

50 40

1 additional school year

30 20

Additional ½ year of school

10 0

No difference

-10 ½ a year less of school

Ital y (3 9% Ne wZ ) eal and (55 %) Ge rm any (53 %) Hu nga ry (45 %) Por tug al ( 29 %) Lith uan ia ( 47 %) Cro a tia Ho (35 ng %) Ko ngCh ina (32 Ma %) cao -Ch ina (29 %) De nm ark (51 %) Ko rea (27 %)

-20 Qa tar (33 %) Pan am a (2 8% )

Score-point difference in reading performance between students whose parents spend time at home reading for enjoyment and those whose parents do not

After accounting for socio-economic background

Note: The percentage of parents who spend time reading for enjoyment is shown in parentheses after the country/economy name. Countries/Economies are ranked in descending order of the difference in reading performance after accounting for socioeconomic background. Source: Table A5.1. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606644

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To find out if there is any association between parents’ attitudes towards reading and their children’s reading proficiency, PISA asked parents whether they consider reading a hobby or a waste of time, whether they spend time reading at home for pleasure, and whether they enjoy going to a library or bookstore. Children whose parents are more inclined to read and hold positive attitudes towards reading are better at reading than children whose parents do not share those positive attitudes. In all countries and economies assessed, the children whose parents do not think reading is a waste of time or who spend more time reading at home for enjoyment have significantly higher scores in reading. For example, in Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Panama, Portugal and Qatar, children whose parents think that reading is a waste of time score more than 50 points – or more than one full school year – lower in reading than children whose parents do not think reading is a waste of time. Similarly, in these countries, children whose parents spend time reading for enjoyment at home score more than 30 points – the equivalent of nearly a full school year – higher in reading than children whose parents do not. Socio-economically advantaged parents are more likely than other parents to hold these kinds of positive attitudes towards books and reading. Yet even when families of similar socio-economic backgrounds are considered, there is still a strong link between parents’ habits and attitudes towards reading and student reading performance. That means that the relationship is not dependent on the socio-economic background of the family. Not surprisingly, in all countries and economies surveyed, children whose parents consider reading a hobby, enjoy going to the library or bookstore, and spend time reading for enjoyment at home are more likely to enjoy reading themselves. This is true even when comparing children from similar socio-economic backgrounds, which indicates that children are more likely to enjoy reading when their home environment is conducive to reading. This relationship is found to be particularly strong in Hungary, Italy, Lithuania and Qatar. Box 5.1 United States: Cool Culture

Cool Culture, a non-profit organisation in New York City, offers low-income families with young children free access to cultural institutions. The initiative, launched in 1999, is rooted in the belief that exposure to cultural activities helps to develop language proficiency in children as they express their observations and opinions about what they experience in museums, gardens and zoos. Families with a child enrolled in one of the member early-childhood programmes receive a personalised “Cool Culture Family Pass” that grants them free entry, for up to five family members, to 91 cultural institutions in the city. Cool Culture also develops “Culture Hunt Cards”, available in several languages, that prompt families to find particular objects in the cultural institutions they visit – and to discuss both the objects and the institutions before, during and after the visits. Cool Culture is two-thirds funded by private donations and one-third funded by public institutions. All publicly funded early childhood education centres in New York City that serve low-income families are invited to enrol in the programme. The organisation now works with over 400 Head Start, child care and universal pre-kindergarten programmes in the city. In 2010-11, some 180 000 adults and children visited cultural institutions using a Cool Culture Family Pass. www.coolculture.org

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PISA also found an association between parents’ positive attitudes towards reading and their child’s awareness of which strategies are the most effective for summarising information they have read. But much of this relationship is linked to students’ socio-economic background. For example, in 11 countries and economies, when students from different socio-economic backgrounds are compared, children whose parents read at home for enjoyment are more aware of effective summarising strategies. But when students from similar socio-economic backgrounds are compared, this relationship only holds in Hungary, Italy, Panama and Qatar. This indicates that parents’ reading habits are related to socioeconomic status (advantaged parents are more likely to read at home for enjoyment) and that, in most countries and economies, any relationship between parents’ habits and students’ awareness of effective summarising strategies largely reflects the family’s socio-economic background.

• Figure 5.2 • Disadvantaged students more often lack adult role models for reading Socio-economically advantaged students Socio-economically disadvantaged students 100

Percentage of parents who spend time at home reading for enjoyment

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10

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(36 al

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Note: The difference between the percentage of socio-economically advantaged parents who spend time at home reading for enjoyment and the percentage of disadvantaged parents who do appears in parentheses after the country/economy name. Countries/Economies are ranked in ascending order of the difference between the percentage of socio-economically advantaged parents who spend time at home reading for enjoyment and the percentage of disadvantaged parents who do. Source: Table A5.1. 12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606663

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Show your children that you value reading, too

5

On average across the PISA countries and economies that measured parental involvement, only 4 out of 10 parents regularly read at home for enjoyment. In all countries and economies, those parents who read at home for enjoyment are more likely to be socio-economically advantaged, and this partly explains the differences in reading performance between students from an advantaged background and those from a disadvantaged background. Mothers are marginally more likely than fathers to have positive attitudes towards reading. PISA finds that mothers are more likely to consider reading a favourite hobby, to feel happy when receiving a book as a present, and are more likely to enjoy going to a library or a bookstore. In some countries and economies these differences are particularly marked: in Germany, around three-quarters of mothers, but only around half of fathers consider reading a favourite hobby or enjoy going to a bookstore or a library. Differences are also large in New Zealand. In most countries and economies, neither mothers nor fathers are avid readers: only in Denmark, Germany and New Zealand does the majority of mothers read for enjoyment, while in most countries and economies only about a third of mothers and fathers does so.

What can parents do? Read. It’s that simple. If parents – both mothers and fathers – don’t like to read novels, say, but prefer to read newspapers and magazines, that’s fine. What is important is showing children – of all ages – that reading is a daily, enjoyable, valuable activity, and that it is made even more pleasurable when people discuss what they have read with others. Those parents who do not like to read, or feel they do not have enough time to read for pleasure, can still encourage their children to read by offering books as presents, taking their young children to the library, and talking with their children about what their children are reading, either for their own pleasure or at school.

Box 5.2 What can businesses and governments do?

Encouraging greater parental involvement in children’s education will be more effective if society perceives that engagement as a worthwhile investment, and if some of the constraints on parents’ time are loosened. Governments can play a direct role by designing and implementing policies that can help parents reconcile work and care responsibilities. They can play an indirect role by, for example, providing financial support, either through grants/subsidies or tax incentives to non-profit organisations or local businesses, to communities that foster parental involvement. Businesses can help, too, by implementing these policies. Most children in OECD countries grow up in families where both parents are in paid work. To help parents achieve a better work-family balance, policies in many OECD countries now provide for family-friendly working arrangements.1 These include:

•• Flexibility to adjust working practices, including reducing working hours (part-time work); flexitime arrangements (flexibility to define starting and finishing hours, and “time-saving accounts”, in which the length of the working day or week can be adjusted); and teleworking or working from home.2 (continues…)

Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education  © OECD 2012

55

5

Show your children that you value reading, too

Box 5.2 What can businesses and governments do? (continued)

•• Leave from work, including holidays, parental leave support and sick-day entitlements to help parents deal with unpredictable family emergencies.

•• Support for child and out-of-school care services. Increasingly, OECD countries provide formal out-of-school-hours (OSH) care services at some point during the day, as well as during school holidays. These are frequently, but not always, based in school facilities or youth centres, and involve recreational activities and/or help with homework. OSH care activities have received considerable attention because, besides offering a care solution for working parents, they have been associated with positive school performance, including regular school attendance, higher academic achievement and lower dropout rates. In most countries, OSH-type schemes are still in the early stages of development and coverage is limited. In Germany, Italy, Korea, Poland and Spain, for example, fewer than 10% of primary school children participate in such schemes. But in Australia, Denmark, Hungary and Sweden, more than 50% of young children do. OSH services are most important for 6-9-year-olds; enrolment rates for teenagers drop off sharply as these students become more independent and prefer to spend their time with their peers outside of an organised activity.3 Not all parents work in places that offer family-friendly working arrangements; and even if they do, some parents, particularly fathers, do not always feel comfortable using them. They may feel that if they do, their careers and earnings potential may suffer. These kinds of arrangements should thus be offered as part of a general workplace culture that supports parents’ need to better balance their family responsibilities with their work responsibilities. Several OECD governments have implemented policies to encourage fathers to take leave to care for young children; many of these schemes include a non-transferable paid-leave entitlement for the exclusive use of fathers. So far, take-up has been low, however. Still, men who use more parental leave entitlements may be more likely to share childcare and housework responsibilities with their partners, and may be more inclined to become engaged in the kinds of parent-child activities described in this report.4

56

© OECD 2012  Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education

Show your children that you value reading, too

5

Notes

1.

OECD (2011), Doing Better for Families, OECD Publishing.

2.

One type of flexibility measure that can be particularly useful for working parents is teleworking, i.e. work that can be carried out at a distance from the usual workplace. Its use, however, remains limited. Available information on teleworking suggests that a maximum of 15% of employees in OECD countries use this form of workplace flexibility on a regular basis (OECD Family Database - Indicator LMF2.4) www.oecd.org/social/family/database.

3.

OECD (2011), Doing Better for Families, OECD Publishing.

4.

Nepomnyaschy and Waldfogel (2007) show that fathers in the United States who take two or more weeks off work after childbirth are much more likely to participate in childcare activities nine months later. In addition, Haas and Hwang (2008) show that the amount of parental leave taken by Swedish fathers was positively associated with many aspects of childcare. In addition, the more leave fathers took, the more they reported higher satisfaction with their father-child relationship. Men are more likely to bond with their children if they spend time caring for them from an early age (Nepomnyaschy, L. and J. Waldfogel [2007], “Paternity Leave and Fathers’ Involvement with their Young Children”, Community, Work and Family, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 427-453; Haas, L. and P.C. Hwang [2008], “The impact of taking parental leave on fathers’ participation in childcare and relationships with children: Lessons from Sweden”, Community, Work and Family, No. 11, pp. 85-104).

Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education  © OECD 2012

57

6

Checklists

These checklists recommend specific ways in which parents can become more involved in their children’s education, and teachers, school leaders and policy makers can promote greater parental involvement.

Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education  © OECD 2012

59

Checklists

Parents for both mothers and fathers – male and female guardians FFTalk

and read to your children from an early age

FFDevelop

channels of communication with children that motivate them to take and justify a position (e.g.  discuss political or social issues or books, films and television programmes, eat dinner together)

FFShow

interest in what happens at school, even when your child is doing well; participate in school activities and contact your child’s teachers

FFAsk

your child’s teachers what you can do to help your child learn

FFSet

an example: read at home, show interest in intellectually engaging activities

60

© OECD 2012  Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education

Checklists

6

Schools and teachers FFDevelop

the habit of reading among young children

FFSurvey

parents on the ways they can and want to be involved and encourage them to do so a frequent and constant dialogue with all parents to forge partnerships and consider various channels of communication; do not wait until children are struggling to call parents

FFInitiate

FFDiversify

the forms of involvement to cater to parents’ time and

interests FFProvide

teachers with the opportunity to engage in professionaldevelopment programmes specifically oriented towards parental involvement

FFOrganise

staff such that one member is the communications point for each parent throughout their child’s school career to avoid recreating relationships every year

FFProvide

individualised support for children whose parents have only limited possibilities for involvement

Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education  © OECD 2012

61

Checklists

Education systems FFInclude

parental communication and involvement in teacher-training and development programmes

FFConsider

family engagement and support part of formal evaluation

processes FFAllow

for some flexibility in teachers’ and principals’ schedules so they can be available to meet with parents

FFSupport

parents that are unable to participate as much as they would like by offering child care, flexible hours and transportation for school meetings or activities

FFAllow

parents to participate in governing schools

FFEnsure

that all children – especially disadvantaged children – have access to books that they can read and share with their parents

FFOrganise

reading events in public spaces, like libraries, that children can attend with their parents

FFDevelop

partnerships with organisations outside school to promote reading and parental involvement

62

© OECD 2012  Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading Table A2.1 Reading books to young children and the relationship with reading performance Table A2.2 Telling stories to young children and the relationship with reading performance Table A2.3 Reading books to young children and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies Table A2.4 Telling stories to young children and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies Table A3.1 Discussing social or political issues with 15-year-olds and the relationship with reading performance Table A3.2 Discussing books, films or television programmes with 15-year-olds and the relationship with reading performance Table A3.3 Helping 15-year-olds with their homework and the relationship with reading performance Table A3.4 Discussing social or political issues with 15-year-olds and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies Table A3.5 Discussing books, films or television programmes with 15-year-olds and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies Table A3.6 Helping 15-year-olds with their homework and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies Table A4.1 Discussing children’s progress or behaviour with teachers and the relationship with reading performance Table A4.2 Parents volunteering at school and their child’s reading performance Table A4.3 Discussing children’s progress or behaviour with teachers and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies Table A4.4 Parents volunteering at school and their child’s enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies Table A5.1 Parents who read for enjoyment and the relationship with their child’s reading performance Table A5.2 Parents who read for enjoyment and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies

Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education  © OECD 2012

63

64

S.E.

0.01

© OECD 2012  Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education

0.65

0.72

Portugal

Qatar

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.66

0.53

0.78

0.94

0.44

0.81

0.50

0.57

0.83

0.66

0.34

0.87

0.77

Prop.

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

S.E.

Socioeconomically disadvantaged students

0.79

0.78

0.80

0.97

0.63

0.85

0.76

0.74

0.91

0.75

0.68

0.95

0.92

Prop.

0.01

0.01

0.03

0.00

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

S.E.

Socioeconomically advantaged students Diff.

S.E.

0.01

0.13

0.26

0.01

0.03

0.19

0.04

0.01

0.02

0.04

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.17 0.25

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.07

0.09

0.34

0.08

0.15

0.73

0.68

0.82

0.97

0.54

0.83

0.68

0.69

0.88

0.73

0.53

0.92

0.88

Mean

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

S.E.

Students whose mother read books to them

0.71

0.54

0.72

0.91

0.53

0.73

0.51

0.55

0.82

0.63

0.45

0.87

0.79

Mean

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

S.E.

-0.02

-0.14

-0.09

-0.06

-0.02

-0.10

-0.17

-0.14

-0.06

-0.10

-0.08

-0.06

-0.09

Diff.

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

S.E.

Difference between the proportion of students whose Students whose fathers read books father read books to them and to them whose mothers did

Proportion of students whose mother or father read books to them during their first year in primary school

Read books

35.79

22.77

22.39

63.06

5.26

4.24

24.60

21.36

32.59

8.60

11.42

29.73

51.07

Coef.

2.93

3.38

8.71

8.74

2.05

3.72

3.63

1.88

5.49

3.48

3.10

5.40

5.20

S.E.

Before accounting for socio-economic background

27.26

5.57

11.89

43.56

1.54

-0.45

13.20

10.94

18.80

1.81

0.86

17.47

29.22

Coef.

2.95

2.97

8.04

8.36

2.04

3.48

3.32

1.77

4.78

3.19

2.95

5.62

4.83

S.E.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

How reading books is associated with students’ reading performance

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606701

Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient or difference is statistically significant.

The proportion of students whose mother/father read books to them during their first year in primary school is calculated using information on who responded to the parental questionnaire and whether respondents reported that their child was read to by them or by another person in the household. For the full details, see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

“Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA reading score that is associated with students whose parents read stories to them during their first year in primary school.

Notes: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model.

0.96

0.79

Panama

Macao-China

New Zealand

0.82

0.54

Lithuania

0.66

0.64

Italy

0.87

Hungary

Korea

0.01

0.71

Croatia

0.01

0.00

0.92

0.51

Hong Kong-China

0.01

Denmark

0.86

Prop.

Proportion of parents who read books to their young children

Difference between socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged students

Proportion of socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged students whose parents read books to them during their first year in primary school

Reading books to young children and the relationship with reading performance

Germany

Table A2.1

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

0.39

0.82

0.63

0.70

0.64

Macao-China

New Zealand

Panama

Portugal

Qatar

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.71

0.51

0.55

0.57

0.77

0.27

0.66

0.56

0.65

0.77

0.72

0.22

S.E.

0.01

0.01

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.76

0.82

0.70

0.85

0.53

0.78

0.74

0.82

0.89

0.83

0.59

0.74

0.78

Prop.

0.01

0.01

0.03

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

S.E.

Socioeconomically advantaged students Diff.

S.E.

0.25

0.26

0.13

0.08

0.27

0.01

0.02

0.04

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.01 0.02

0.17 0.18 0.12

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.12

0.11

0.38

0.03

0.07

0.70

0.72

0.65

0.83

0.41

0.72

0.69

0.75

0.85

0.79

0.41

0.72

0.76

Mean

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

S.E.

Students whose mother told them stories

0.60

0.62

0.56

0.77

0.35

0.70

0.58

0.68

0.83

0.71

0.34

0.74

0.73

Mean

0.01

0.02

0.04

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

S.E.

Students whose father told them stories S.E.

0.02

-0.10

0.01

0.04

-0.10

-0.09

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

-0.07

-0.06

-0.02

-0.11

-0.07

-0.02

-0.07

-0.07

0.02

-0.02

Diff.

Difference between the proportion of students whose fathers told them stories and whose mothers did

Proportion of students whose mother or father told them stories during their first year in primary school

Tell stories

48.90

28.48

33.36

22.45

9.31

6.10

12.58

29.21

29.36

11.82

14.35

1.14

7.23

Coef.

2.78

3.37

7.56

5.25

2.32

3.32

3.18

2.10

5.08

3.34

3.27

3.60

4.11

S.E.

Before accounting for socio‑economic background

37.18

10.31

19.85

11.73

4.56

-2.10

3.85

16.54

10.42

2.73

3.05

-1.14

-1.17

Coef.

2.86

3.05

7.12

4.61

2.45

3.45

3.01

1.91

3.58

3.07

3.07

3.55

3.78

S.E.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

How parents telling stories is associated with students’ reading performance

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606720

The proportion of students whose mother/father told stories to them during their first year in primary school is calculated using information on who responded to the parental questionnaire and whether respondents reported that their child was told stories by them or by another person in the household. For the full details, see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient or difference is statistically significant.

“Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA reading score that is associated with students whose parents told them stories during their first year of primary school.

Notes: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model.

0.72

Lithuania

0.00

0.74

0.66

Italy

0.85

Hungary

Korea

0.01

0.78

Croatia

0.01

Hong Kong-China

0.01

0.72

0.40

Denmark

0.71

Prop.

0.01

S.E.

Prop.

0.75

Socioeconomically disadvantaged students

Proportion of parents who told stories to their young children

Difference between socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged students

Proportion of socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged students whose parents told them stories during their first year in primary school

Telling stories to young children and the relationship with reading performance

Germany

Table A2.2

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education  © OECD 2012

65

66

© OECD 2012  Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education

0.17

Portugal

Qatar

S.E.

0.02

0.03

0.05

0.09

0.02

0.04

0.02

0.02

0.05

0.03

0.02

0.05

0.05

0.15

0.23

0.12

0.19

0.01

0.12

0.21

0.18

0.32

0.08

0.12

0.23

0.39

Coef.

0.02

0.03

0.05

0.09

0.02

0.04

0.02

0.02

0.05

0.03

0.02

0.05

0.06

S.E.

After accounting for socio-economic background

0.08

0.08

0.01

0.17

0.01

0.06

0.17

0.08

0.19

0.07

0.09

0.22

0.29

Coef.

0.03

0.03

0.05

0.08

0.02

0.04

0.04

0.02

0.05

0.04

0.03

0.06

0.05

S.E.

Before accounting for socio-economic background

0.05

-0.02

-0.02

0.06

-0.03

0.04

0.09

0.04

0.12

0.03

0.04

0.15

0.19

Coef.

0.03

0.03

0.05

0.08

0.02

0.04

0.04

0.02

0.05

0.04

0.03

0.06

0.05

S.E.

After accounting for socio-economic background

How reading books is associated with students’ awareness of effective summarising strategies

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606739

Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient is statistically significant.

“Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA enjoyment of reading index and the awareness of effective summarising strategies index that is associated with students whose parents read stories to them during their first year in primary school. For full details see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

Notes: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model.

0.12

0.28

Panama

0.05

0.30

0.14

Lithuania

New Zealand

0.27

Korea

Macao-China

0.39

0.11

Croatia

0.23

0.18

Hong Kong-China

Italy

0.32

Denmark

Hungary

0.53

Coef.

Before accounting for socio-economic background

How reading books is associated with students’ enjoyment of reading

Read books

Reading books to young children and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies

Germany

Table A2.3

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

0.20

Portugal

Qatar

0.02

0.03

0.03

0.04

0.02

0.04

0.02

0.01

0.04

0.04

0.19

0.16

0.06

0.15

0.03

0.09

0.14

0.17

0.17

0.08

0.08

0.06

0.16

Coef.

S.E.

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.04

0.02

0.04

0.02

0.01

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.04

0.05

0.13

0.11

0.11

0.06

0.11

0.11

0.09

0.14

0.17

0.05

0.10

0.10

0.02

Coef.

S.E.

0.03

0.04

0.06

0.05

0.03

0.04

0.04

0.02

0.05

0.04

0.03

0.04

0.04

Coef.

0.08

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.05

0.06

0.03

0.08

0.08

0.00

0.05

0.09

-0.02

S.E.

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.05

0.03

0.04

0.04

0.02

0.05

0.04

0.03

0.04

0.04

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606758

Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient is statistically significant.

“Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA enjoyment of reading index and the awareness of effective summarising strategies index that is associated with students whose parents told them stories during their first year in primary school. For full details see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

Note: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model.

0.05

0.22

Panama

0.09

0.20

0.13

Lithuania

New Zealand

0.19

Korea

Macao-China

0.26

0.24

Hungary

0.12

Croatia

Italy

0.15

Hong Kong-China

0.02

0.04

0.08

Denmark

S.E.

0.05

0.21

Coef.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

Before accounting for socio‑economic background

Before accounting for socio-economic background

After accounting for socio‑economic background

How parents telling stories is associated with students’ awareness of effective summarising strategies

How parents telling stories is associated with students’ enjoyment of reading

Tell stories

Telling stories to young children and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies

Germany

Table A2.4

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education  © OECD 2012

67

68

© OECD 2012  Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education

0.40

0.53

0.65

0.18

0.51

0.32

0.68

0.46

0.55

0.52

Hong Kong-China

Croatia

Hungary

Italy

Korea

Lithuania

Macao-China

New Zealand

Panama

Portugal

Qatar

S.E.

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.43

0.38

0.35

0.59

0.23

0.41

0.13

0.51

0.45

0.29

0.46

0.59

0.46

Prop.

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

S.E.

Socioeconomically disadvantaged students

0.62

0.72

0.55

0.77

0.41

0.62

0.24

0.78

0.64

0.52

0.65

0.80

0.72

Prop.

0.01

0.01

0.03

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

S.E.

Socioeconomically advantaged students

0.02

0.11

0.19

0.34

0.20

0.18

0.18

0.02

0.02

0.04

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.21

0.02

0.19

0.02

0.27

0.23

0.02

0.02

0.18

0.21

S.E. 0.03

Diff. 0.26

0.58

0.54

0.48

0.70

0.31

0.51

0.19

0.65

0.53

0.40

0.56

0.71

0.61

Mean

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

S.E.

Students whose mother discusses social or political issues with them

0.48

0.58

0.47

0.62

0.33

0.44

0.15

0.65

0.56

0.40

0.50

0.66

0.62

Mean

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.03

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

S.E.

-0.10

0.03

-0.01

-0.08

0.02

-0.07

-0.04

0.01

0.03

0.00

-0.06

-0.05

0.01

Diff.

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.03

0.02

S.E.

Difference between the proportion of students whose fathers discuss Students whose social or political father discusses issues with them social or political and whose mothers issues with them do

Proportion of students whose mother or father discusses social or political issues with them

32.24

36.77

37.50

32.26

13.98

22.39

22.25

41.86

21.30

25.71

15.12

25.74

30.62

Coef.

3.12

3.48

6.79

3.91

2.05

2.62

3.63

2.12

4.08

2.86

3.10

4.13

3.54

S.E.

Before accounting for socio-economic background

23.82

16.95

17.84

17.03

10.72

11.58

14.68

27.00

5.62

14.78

9.31

14.86

12.55

Coef.

3.14

2.88

4.74

3.21

2.04

2.38

3.23

1.97

3.41

2.65

2.93

3.89

3.14

S.E.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

How discussing social or political issues is associated with students’ reading performance

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606777

The proportion of students whose mother/father discusses social or political issues with them is calculated using information on who responded to the parental questionnaire and whether respondents reported that they or someone else in their household discuss social or political issues with the student. For the full details, see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient or difference is statistically significant.

“Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA reading score that is associated with students whose parents discuss social or political issues with them.

Notes: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model.

0.70

0.55

Denmark

0.62

Prop.

Proportion of parents who discuss social or political issues with their children

Difference between socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged students

Proportion of socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged students whose parents discuss social or political issues with them

Discuss social or political issues

Discussing social or political issues with 15-year-olds and the relationship with reading performance

Germany

Table A3.1

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

0.01

0.02

0.36

0.78

0.53

0.84

0.66

0.81

0.61

Korea

Lithuania

Macao-China

New Zealand

Panama

Portugal

Qatar

0.01

0.76

0.55

0.72

0.59

0.82

0.44

0.76

0.33

0.80

0.88

0.70

0.57

S.E.

0.01

0.01

0.03

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.67

0.87

0.69

0.87

0.61

0.80

0.40

0.87

0.89

0.82

0.69

0.86

0.77

Prop.

0.01

0.01

0.04

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

S.E.

Socioeconomically advantaged students

0.02

0.06

0.12

0.15

0.09

0.06

0.17

0.02

0.02

0.05

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.05

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.07

0.11

0.02

0.02

0.10 0.12

S.E. 0.02

Diff. 0.09

Difference between socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged students

0.68

0.82

0.72

0.85

0.55

0.78

0.37

0.85

0.88

0.77

0.65

0.82

0.74

Mean

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

S.E.

Students whose mother discusses books, films or television programmes with them

0.54

0.75

0.59

0.80

0.48

0.74

0.32

0.80

0.88

0.73

0.58

0.79

0.72

Mean

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.02

S.E.

S.E.

0.03

-0.13

0.01

0.02

-0.12 -0.07

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

-0.05

-0.06

-0.05

-0.05

-0.05

0.00

-0.03

-0.07

-0.03

-0.02

Diff.

Difference between the proportion of students whose Students whose fathers discuss father discusses books, films books, films or television or television programmes with programmes with them and whose them mothers do

Proportion of students whose mother or father discusses books, films or television programmes with them

29.22

27.18

23.37

27.12

8.95

4.11

8.75

26.67

6.85

17.52

10.25

21.99

17.30

Coef.

3.56

3.61

10.42

5.04

2.02

3.26

2.54

2.51

5.72

3.51

2.87

3.95

3.86

S.E.

Before accounting for socio-economic background

22.87

12.81

4.99

16.20

6.07

0.07

5.51

19.53

6.07

10.46

6.16

14.84

8.23

Coef.

3.37

3.27

8.10

4.09

2.11

3.11

2.42

2.39

4.48

3.35

2.76

3.94

3.41

S.E.

After accounting for socioeconomic background

How discussing books, films or television programmes is associated with students’ reading performance

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606796

The proportion of students whose mother/father discusses books, films or television programmes with them is calculated using information on who responded to the parental questionnaire and whether respondents reported that they or someone else in their household discuss books, films or television programmes with the student. For the full details, see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient or difference is statistically significant.

“Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA reading score that is associated with students whose parents discuss books, films or television programmes with them.

Notes: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model.

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.88

0.84

Hungary

0.01

0.01

0.01

Italy

0.76

Hong Kong-China

Croatia

0.82

0.64

Denmark

0.68

Prop.

0.01

S.E.

Prop.

0.74

Socioeconomically disadvantaged students

Proportion of parents who discuss books, films or television programmes with their children

Proportion of socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged students whose parents discuss books, films or television programmes with them

Discuss books, films or television programmes

Discussing books, films or television programmes with 15-year-olds and the relationship with reading performance

Germany

Table A3.2

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education  © OECD 2012

69

70

0.01

© OECD 2012  Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education

0.41

0.53

Portugal

Qatar

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.01

0.01

0.50

0.38

0.76

0.45

0.26

0.47

0.12

0.28

0.51

0.30

0.22

0.50

0.39

Prop.

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

S.E.

Socioeconomically disadvantaged students

0.55

0.43

0.65

0.49

0.35

0.39

0.17

0.41

0.40

0.28

0.33

0.54

0.33

Prop.

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

S.E.

Socioeconomically advantaged students Diff.

S.E.

0.01 0.02

-0.09

0.04

0.05

0.05

-0.11

0.02

0.02

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.13 0.05

0.09

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.03

0.02

-0.10

-0.02

0.11

0.04

-0.06

0.53

0.41

0.73

0.46

0.31

0.43

0.14

0.33

0.44

0.25

0.25

0.47

0.33

Mean

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

S.E.

Students whose mother helps them with their homework

0.53

0.40

0.72

0.50

0.32

0.42

0.17

0.39

0.49

0.36

0.31

0.58

0.48

Mean

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.03

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.01

0.03

0.02

S.E.

Students whose father helps them with their homework

0.11

0.01

-0.01

-0.01

0.04

0.01

-0.01

0.03

0.06

0.05

0.02

0.02

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.03

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.01

0.03

0.05

0.11

S.E. 0.02

0.16

Diff.

Difference between the proportion of students whose fathers help them with their homework and whose mothers do

Difference between socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged students

-17.12

-27.78

-30.01

-15.45

-14.07

-32.98

-6.55

-28.89

-45.07

-41.71

-13.99

-13.46

-48.28

Coef.

2.85

2.93

9.10

4.00

2.32

3.12

4.78

1.89

3.76

3.38

2.99

2.91

4.26

S.E.

Before accounting for socio-economic background

-20.07

-30.60

-24.82

-18.40

-15.72

-29.17

-10.55

-37.53

-36.64

-40.03

-18.50

-15.40

-41.93

Coef.

2.81

2.65

7.99

3.49

2.34

2.79

4.45

1.77

2.82

3.00

2.93

2.74

3.49

S.E.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

How helping children with their homework is associated with students’ reading performance

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606815

The proportion of students whose mother/father helps them with their homework is calculated using information on who responded to the parental questionnaire and whether respondents reported that they or someone else in their household help the student with his or her homework. For the full details, see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient or difference is statistically significant.

“Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA reading score that is associated with students whose parents help them with their homework.

Notes: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model.

0.47

0.73

New Zealand

Panama

0.43

0.14

Korea

0.31

0.35

Italy

Lithuania

0.45

Hungary

Macao-China

0.00

0.28

Croatia

0.01

0.51

0.27

Denmark

0.01

S.E.

0.01

0.35

Prop.

Proportion of parents who help their child with his/her homework

Proportion of students whose mother or father helps them with their homework

Proportion of socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged students whose parents help them with their homework

Help the child with his/her homework

Helping 15-year-olds with their homework and the relationship with reading performance

Hong Kong-China

Germany

Table A3.3

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

0.15

0.15

Croatia

0.03

0.02

0.03

0.02

0.03

0.15

0.14

0.13

0.19

0.10

0.18

0.25

0.17

0.10

0.10

0.11

0.14

0.18

Coef.

0.02

0.04

0.03

0.04

0.02

0.03

0.03

0.02

0.03

0.03

0.02

0.04

0.04

S.E.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

0.05

0.23

0.22

0.17

0.07

0.16

0.20

0.20

0.11

0.11

0.06

0.27

0.14

Coef.

0.02

0.05

0.06

0.04

0.03

0.03

0.04

0.02

0.04

0.03

0.03

0.04

0.03

S.E.

Before accounting for socio‑economic background

0.01

0.13

0.13

0.11

0.03

0.10

0.14

0.13

0.03

0.05

0.03

0.21

0.05

Coef.

0.03

0.05

0.06

0.04

0.03

0.03

0.04

0.02

0.03

0.03

0.03

0.04

0.03

S.E.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

How discussing social or political issues is associated with students’ awareness of effective summarising strategies

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606834

“Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA enjoyment of reading index and the awareness of effective summarising strategies index that is associated with students whose parents discuss social or political issues with them. For full details see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient is statistically significant.

Notes: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model.

0.17

Qatar

0.03

0.11

New Zealand

0.20

0.15

0.27

Macao-China

Panama

0.23

Portugal

0.04

0.29

Korea

Lithuania

0.03

Italy

0.02

0.17

0.25

Hungary

0.03

0.02

0.04

0.23

Denmark

Hong Kong-China

S.E.

0.04

Coef.

Before accounting for socio-economic background

How discussing social or political issues is associated with students’ enjoyment of reading

Discuss social or political issues

Discussing social or political issues with 15-year-olds and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies

0.30

Germany

Table A3.4

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education  © OECD 2012

71

72

© OECD 2012  Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education

0.07

0.17

0.11

Panama

Portugal

Qatar

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.04

0.02

0.04

0.02

0.02

0.04

0.10

0.12

0.08

0.21

0.06

0.18

0.12

0.26

0.19

0.14

0.13

0.22

0.27

Coef.

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.02

0.04

0.02

0.02

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.04

0.05

S.E.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

0.05

0.15

0.13

0.16

0.05

0.03

0.10

0.14

0.11

0.07

0.05

0.25

0.04

Coef.

0.03

0.05

0.06

0.05

0.03

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.06

0.04

0.04

0.05

0.04

S.E.

Before accounting for socio‑economic background

0.02

0.07

0.05

0.11

0.01

0.00

0.07

0.11

0.10

0.03

0.03

0.21

-0.01

Coef.

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.05

0.03

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.06

0.04

0.04

0.05

0.04

S.E.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

How discussing books, films or television programmes is associated with students’ awareness of effective summarising strategies

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606853

“Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA enjoyment of reading index and the awareness of effective summarising strategies index that is associated with students whose parents discuss books, films or television programmes with them. For full details see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient is statistically significant.

Notes: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model.

0.10

0.25

0.20

Lithuania

New Zealand

0.13

Korea

Macao-China

0.29

Italy

0.03

0.17

0.19

Croatia

Hungary

0.02

0.16

Hong Kong-China

0.04

0.28

Denmark

S.E.

0.05

0.33

Coef.

Before accounting for socio‑economic background

How discussing books, films or television programmes is associated with students’ enjoyment of reading

Discuss books, films or television programmes

Discussing books, films or television programmes with 15-year-olds and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies

Germany

Table A3.5

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

-0.03

0.06

-0.02

-0.12

0.01

Macao-China

New Zealand

Panama

Portugal

Qatar

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.04

0.02

0.04

0.04

0.02

0.03

0.03

0.01

-0.13

-0.02

0.04

-0.05

-0.14

-0.01

-0.12

-0.09

-0.16

0.03

-0.03

-0.19

Coef.

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.04

0.02

0.04

0.04

0.02

0.03

0.03

0.03

0.04

0.05

S.E.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

-0.09

-0.22

-0.19

-0.05

-0.14

-0.17

-0.03

-0.15

-0.30

-0.27

-0.09

0.00

-0.28

Coef.

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.03

0.03

0.03

0.04

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.04

0.03

0.05

S.E.

Before accounting for socio‑economic background

-0.11

-0.23

-0.12

-0.06

-0.15

-0.15

-0.06

-0.19

-0.25

-0.27

-0.12

-0.01

-0.25

Coef.

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.03

0.03

0.03

0.05

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.04

0.03

0.05

S.E.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

How helping children with their homework is associated with students’ awareness of effective summarising strategies

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606872

“Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA enjoyment of reading index and the awareness of effective summarising strategies index that is associated with students whose parents help them with their homework. For full details see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient is statistically significant.

Notes: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model.

0.02

-0.07

Italy

-0.16

-0.13

Hungary

Lithuania

-0.16

Croatia

Korea

0.06

0.03

0.04

-0.01

Denmark

Hong Kong-China

S.E.

0.05

Coef.

Before accounting for socio‑economic background

How helping children with their homework is associated with students’ enjoyment of reading

Help the child with his/her homework

Helping 15-year-olds with their homework and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies

-0.23

Germany

Table A3.6

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education  © OECD 2012

73

74

© OECD 2012  Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education

0.78

0.53

0.59

0.54

0.55

0.62

0.51

Korea

Lithuania

Macao-China

New Zealand

Panama

Portugal

Qatar

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.48

0.68

0.63

0.54

0.58

0.55

0.67

0.50

0.47

0.33

0.48

0.76

0.48

Prop.

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.02

S.E.

Socioeconomically disadvantaged students

0.53

0.57

0.47

0.52

0.57

0.49

0.86

0.41

0.31

0.32

0.56

0.80

0.30

Prop.

0.01

0.02

0.04

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.01

S.E.

Socioeconomically advantaged students S.E.

0.01

0.04

-0.11

-0.16

-0.01

-0.01

-0.06

0.02

0.02

0.05

0.03

0.02

0.02

0.02

-0.08 0.19

0.02 0.02

-0.16

0.02

0.02

0.02

-0.02

0.08

0.04

-0.18

Diff.

Difference between socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged students

0.48

0.62

0.51

0.53

0.57

0.54

0.79

0.44

0.38

0.30

0.53

0.77

0.36

Mean

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

S.E.

Students whose mother discusses their progress or behaviour with a teacher

0.54

0.60

0.60

0.55

0.61

0.46

0.72

0.48

0.39

0.40

0.49

0.79

0.38

Mean

0.01

0.03

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.02

S.E.

Students whose father discusses their progress or behaviour with a teacher S.E.

0.02

0.04

0.06

-0.02

0.08

0.02

0.04

-0.07

-0.08

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.02

0.02

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.10 0.01

0.02

0.02

0.03

-0.05

0.02

0.02

Diff.

Difference between the proportion of students whose fathers discuss their progress or behaviour with a teacher and whose mothers do

Proportion of students whose mother or father discusses their progress or behaviour with a teacher at the teacher’s initiative

-6.83

-27.83

-20.13

-18.39

-20.70

-17.61

-5.27

-3.69

-27.85

-13.33

-12.53

-25.75

-26.17

Coef.

3.12

3.04

4.60

3.18

2.19

2.89

2.54

1.99

2.89

4.08

2.46

2.47

3.74

S.E.

Before accounting for socio-economic background

-11.75

-34.48

-33.93

-25.25

-21.19

-28.34

1.11

-35.91

-39.33

-29.37

-20.07

-3.15

-46.55

Coef.

2.94

2.82

4.88

3.31

2.02

2.82

3.32

1.69

3.57

2.95

2.91

3.61

3.68

S.E.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

How discussing a student’s progress or behaviour with a teacher at the teacher’s initiative is associated with the student’s reading performance

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606891

The proportion of students whose mother/father discusses the child’s progress or behaviour with a teacher at the teacher’s initiative is calculated using information on who responded to the parental questionnaire. For the full details see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

“Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA reading score that is associated with students whose parents discuss their progress or behaviour with a teacher at the teacher’s initiative.

Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient or difference is statistically significant.

Notes: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model.

0.45

Italy

0.01

0.32

0.38

Croatia

Hungary

0.01

Hong Kong-China

0.01

0.78

0.52

Denmark

S.E.

0.01

0.37

Prop.

Proportion of parents who discuss the child’s progress or behaviour with a teacher at the teacher’s initiative

Proportion of socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged students whose parents discuss their progress or behaviour with a teacher at the teacher’s initiative

Discuss the child’s progress or behaviour with a teacher at the teacher’s initiative

Discussing children’s progress or behaviour with teachers and the relationship with reading performance

Germany

Table A4.1

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

0.01

0.33

0.22

0.07

0.20

New Zealand

Panama

Portugal

Qatar

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.13

0.19

0.08

0.24

0.24

0.18

0.13

0.14

0.19

0.12

0.15

0.06

S.E.

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.20

0.08

0.20

0.41

0.22

0.17

0.21

0.20

0.15

0.15

0.10

0.20

0.23

Prop.

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

S.E.

Socioeconomically advantaged students S.E.

0.01

0.01

0.00

-0.04

0.17

0.04

0.01

0.01

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.06 0.03

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.04

0.00

0.04

0.08

0.09

Diff.

Difference between socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged students

0.17

0.07

0.21

0.33

0.20

0.15

0.18

0.18

0.13

0.14

0.08

0.17

0.18

Mean

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.01

0.01

S.E.

Students whose mother volunteered in extracurricular activities in their school

0.22

0.07

0.25

0.33

0.20

0.14

0.16

0.19

0.14

0.18

0.09

0.13

0.17

Mean

0.01

0.01

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

S.E.

Students whose father volunteered in extracurricular activities in their school

0.05

0.00

0.04

0.00

0.00

-0.01

-0.02

0.01

0.01

0.03

0.01

-0.03

-0.02

Diff.

0.01

0.01

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.02

S.E.

Difference between the proportions of students whose fathers volunteered in extracurricular activities in their school and whose mothers volunteered

Proportion of students whose mother or father volunteered in extracurricular activities in their school

-14.99

-21.67

-30.02

19.29

-20.14

-1.41

-2.87

-18.64

-7.67

-23.44

-20.11

10.44

-0.57

Coef.

4.34

6.45

6.69

4.22

2.54

4.27

4.40

2.47

5.70

4.23

6.24

4.15

4.49

S.E.

Before accounting for socio-economic background

-15.83

-23.19

-32.13

5.83

-20.96

-4.45

-8.21

-19.73

-14.14

-23.31

-24.71

3.70

-9.68

Coef.

4.05

5.43

5.42

3.87

2.57

4.16

4.03

2.20

4.67

3.84

6.06

3.86

3.90

S.E.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

How volunteering in extracurricular activities is associated with reading performance

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606910

Notes: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model. Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient or difference is statistically significant. “Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA reading score that is associated with students whose parents volunteer in extracurricular activities in their school. The proportion of students whose mother/father volunteers in extracurricular activities in their school is calculated using information on who responded to the parental questionnaire. For the full details, see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

0.20

Macao-China

0.01

0.17

0.15

Korea

Lithuania

0.00

0.19

Italy

0.01

0.01

0.15

0.13

0.00

Hungary

Hong Kong-China

Croatia

0.17

0.08

Denmark

0.14

Prop.

0.01

S.E.

Prop.

0.19

Socioeconomically disadvantaged students

Proportion of parents who volunteered in extracurricular activities in their child’s school

Proportion of socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged students whose parents volunteered in extracurricular activities in their school

Volunteer in extracurricular activities

Parents volunteering at school and their child’s reading performance

Germany

Table A4.2

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education  © OECD 2012

75

76

© OECD 2012  Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education

-0.22

0.03

-0.27

-0.05

New Zealand

Panama

Portugal

Qatar

S.E.

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.04

0.02

0.03

0.03

0.02

0.03

0.03

0.02

0.04

0.05

-0.03

-0.10

0.02

-0.09

-0.01

-0.09

0.02

-0.06

-0.04

-0.06

0.02

-0.04

-0.13

Coef.

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

S.E.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

-0.01

-0.32

-0.30

-0.18

-0.14

-0.20

0.16

-0.20

-0.35

-0.25

-0.06

-0.04

-0.40

Coef.

0.03

0.03

0.06

0.04

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.01

0.04

0.03

0.03

0.05

0.04

S.E.

Before accounting for socio‑economic background

-0.02

-0.28

-0.20

-0.17

-0.14

-0.18

0.07

-0.18

-0.28

-0.25

-0.08

-0.05

-0.35

Coef.

0.03

0.03

0.06

0.04

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.01

0.03

0.03

0.03

0.04

0.04

S.E.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

How discussing a student’s progress or behaviour with a teacher at the teacher’s initiative is associated with the student’s awareness of effective summarising strategies

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606929

“Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA enjoyment of reading index and the awareness of effective summarising strategies index that is associated with students whose parents discuss their progress or behaviour with a teacher at the teacher’s initiative. For full details see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient is statistically significant.

Notes: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model.

-0.26

0.12

Korea

-0.08

-0.22

Italy

Macao-China

-0.27

Hungary

Lithuania

0.03

-0.17

Croatia

0.01

Denmark

Hong Kong-China

-0.43

Coef.

Before accounting for socio‑economic background

How discussing a student’s progress or behaviour with a teacher at the teacher’s initiative is associated with the student’s enjoyment of reading

Discuss the child’s progress or behaviour with a teacher at the teacher’s initiative

Discussing children’s progress or behaviour with teachers and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies

Germany

Table A4.3

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

-0.01

0.01

0.02

Panama

Portugal

Qatar

S.E.

0.03

0.05

0.05

0.04

0.02

0.05

0.03

0.02

0.04

0.04

0.04

0.04

0.05

Coef.

0.01

0.03

-0.01

0.00

0.00

0.02

0.01

0.00

0.03

0.00

0.03

-0.01

-0.01

S.E.

0.01

0.03

0.04

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.03

0.02

Coef.

-0.03

-0.08

-0.16

0.14

-0.10

0.09

-0.04

-0.07

-0.04

-0.08

-0.06

0.12

-0.01

S.E.

0.03

0.07

0.07

0.03

0.03

0.04

0.06

0.02

0.05

0.05

0.06

0.05

0.05

Coef.

-0.03

-0.09

-0.14

0.08

-0.11

0.08

-0.08

-0.07

-0.08

-0.09

-0.08

0.08

-0.04

S.E.

0.03

0.06

0.07

0.03

0.03

0.04

0.06

0.02

0.05

0.04

0.06

0.05

0.05

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606948

“Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA enjoyment of reading index and the awareness of effective summarising strategies index that is associated with students whose parents volunteer in extracurricular activities. For full details see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient is statistically significant.

Notes: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model.

0.06

Korea

New Zealand

0.06

Italy

0.09

0.00

Hungary

-0.03

0.07

Croatia

Macao-China

0.02

Hong Kong-China

Lithuania

0.02

0.06

Denmark

0.09

Coef.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

Before accounting for socio‑economic background

Before accounting for socio‑economic background

After accounting for socio‑economic background

How volunteering in extracurricular activities is associated with awareness of effective summarising strategies

How volunteering in extracurricular activities is associated with enjoyment of reading

Volunteer in extracurricular activities

Parents volunteering at school and their child’s enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies

Germany

Table A4.4

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education  © OECD 2012

77

78

0.01

0.01

0.32

0.35

0.45

0.39

0.27

Hong Kong-China

Croatia

Hungary

Italy

Korea

© OECD 2012  Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education

0.01

0.01

0.42

0.24

0.13

0.20

0.46

0.19

0.35

0.19

0.24

0.32

0.24

0.20

S.E.

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.42

0.49

0.37

0.62

0.38

0.61

0.37

0.54

0.60

0.48

0.47

0.59

0.63

Prop.

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.02

S.E.

Socioeconomically advantaged students

0.26

0.03

0.18 0.01

0.02

0.16 0.36

0.02

0.16

0.01

0.02

0.18

0.20

0.01 0.01

0.30

0.02

0.02

0.28

0.24

0.02

0.02

0.27

0.17

S.E. 0.02

Diff. 0.22

0.31

0.29

0.27

0.57

0.26

0.46

0.27

0.38

0.45

0.34

0.31

0.51

0.54

Mean

0.01

0.01

0.02

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

S.E.

Students whose mother spends time at home reading for enjoyment

0.35

0.30

0.32

0.43

0.34

0.43

0.25

0.41

0.47

0.37

0.37

0.44

0.46

Mean

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.03

0.03

S.E.

0.04

0.01

0.05

-0.14

0.08

-0.04

-0.02

0.03

0.02

0.03

0.06

-0.08

-0.08

Diff.

0.01

0.02

0.04

0.02

0.02

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.02

0.03

0.03

S.E.

Difference between the proportions of students whose Students whose fathers read for father spends time enjoyment at at home reading home and whose for enjoyment mothers do

Proportion of students whose mother or father spends time reading for enjoyment at home

35.48

37.22

34.25

23.43

6.77

22.70

10.02

31.86

35.89

20.57

15.68

11.04

27.68

Coef.

3.33

3.81

7.74

3.70

2.39

3.01

3.27

2.00

3.76

3.44

2.88

3.42

3.52

S.E.

Before accounting for socio-economic background

26.14

11.58

16.52

13.26

2.87

8.68

0.53

15.80

12.23

7.60

6.58

2.65

12.51

Coef.

3.30

3.25

6.01

3.33

2.41

2.63

2.90

1.94

2.77

2.98

2.75

3.46

3.29

S.E.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

How parents’ reading habits are associated with their children’s reading performance

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606967

The proportion of students whose mother/father reads for enjoyment at home is calculated using information on who responded to the parental questionnaire. For the full details, see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

“Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA reading score that is associated with students having parents who read for enjoyment at home.

Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient or difference is statistically significant.

Notes: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model.

0.33

Qatar

0.01

0.28

0.29

Panama

Portugal

0.01

0.55

New Zealand

0.01

0.47

0.29

Lithuania

Macao-China

0.00

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.01

0.51

Denmark

0.01

0.53

0.41

Prop.

Prop.

S.E.

Socioeconomically disadvantaged students

Proportion of parents who spend time at home reading for enjoyment

Difference between socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged students

Proportion of socio-economically disadvantaged students who have parents who read for enjoyment at home

Spend time reading for enjoyment at home

Parents who read for enjoyment and the relationship with their child’s reading performance

Germany

Table A5.1

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

0.02

0.03

0.02

0.20

0.12

0.15

0.10

0.04

0.15

0.13

0.19

0.17

0.14

0.10

0.11

0.16

Coef.

S.E.

0.02

0.04

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.03

0.03

0.02

0.03

0.03

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.12

0.18

0.21

0.05

0.06

0.11

0.09

0.15

0.22

0.11

0.09

0.01

0.12

Coef.

S.E.

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.04

0.03

0.03

0.04

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.03

0.04

0.03

0.07

0.03

0.13

-0.01

0.01

0.03

0.02

0.08

0.11

0.04

0.04

-0.03

0.05

Coef.

S.E.

0.03

0.04

0.06

0.04

0.03

0.03

0.04

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.03

0.04

0.03

12 http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932606986

“Coef.” refers to the change in the PISA enjoyment of reading index and the awareness of effective summarising strategies index that is associated with students having parents who read for enjoyment at home. For full details see OECD Education Working Paper No. 73.

Estimates in bold indicate that the coefficient is statistically significant.

Notes: Estimates from regression models. Models that do not account for socio-economic background include only the respective indicator of parental involvement. Models that account for socio-economic background include the indicator of parental involvement and the student’s PISA index of economic, social and cultural status as covariates in the regression model.

0.21

Qatar

0.03

0.14

0.21

Panama

0.15

New Zealand

Portugal

0.03

0.09

Macao-China

0.03

0.03

0.18

0.22

Lithuania

0.02

0.03

0.03

0.02

Korea

0.27

0.27

Hungary

0.19

Croatia

Italy

0.17

0.16

Denmark

0.03

S.E.

0.04

0.27

Coef.

After accounting for socio‑economic background

Before accounting for socio‑economic background

Before accounting for socio‑economic background

After accounting for socio‑economic background

How parents’ reading habits are associated with their children’s awareness of effective summarising strategies

How parents’ reading habits are associated with their children’s enjoyment of reading

Spend time reading for enjoyment at home

Parents who read for enjoyment and the relationship with enjoyment of reading and awareness of effective summarising strategies

Hong Kong-China

Germany

Table A5.2

Data Tables on Parental Involvement and Reading

Let’s read them a story! the parent factor in education  © OECD 2012

79

ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT The OECD is a unique forum where governments work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Union takes part in the work of the OECD. OECD Publishing disseminates widely the results of the Organisation’s statistics gathering and research on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as the conventions, guidelines and standards agreed by its members.

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Let’s Read Them a Story! The Parent Factor in Education Education begins at home. The first simple word a parent speaks to an infant opens the world of language to the child and sets the child on the path of exploration and discovery. When formal schooling begins, many parents believe that their role as educator has ended. But education is a shared responsibility and new findings from PISA show that parental involvement in education is pivotal for the success of children throughout their school years and beyond. Let’s Read Them a Story! not only documents PISA results and analysis, it also offers parents, educators and policy makers practical suggestions on how to improve parental involvement and describes the kinds of activities that are most strongly associated with better reading performance. It provides a wealth of examples of programmes that promote effective forms of parental involvement and successful partnerships between parents and schools from around the world. Most important, the report shows parents that it’s never too early – and never too late – to get involved in their child’s education. Contents Chapter 1. Get involved! Chapter 2. Read your children a story Chapter 3. Talk with your children about the world around them Chapter 4. Get involved at school because you want to, not because you have to Chapter 5. Show your children that you value reading, too

Please cite this publication as: OECD (2012), Let’s Read Them a Story! The Parent Factor in Education, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264176232-en This work is published on the OECD iLibrary, which gathers all OECD books, periodicals and statistical databases. Visit www.oecd-ilibrary.org and do not hesitate to contact us for more information.

2012 ISBN 978-92-64-17619-5 98 2012 08 1P