Search

Search Results

• 1. [Article] The effects of the family context and parent involvement on perceptions of children's school achievement

  The study examined dimensions of the family context associated with variations in parent involvement and parent perceptions of children's school achievement using data from 1,085 male and 2,239 female respondents ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The effects of the family context and parent involvement on perceptions of children's school achievement Author: Katzev, Aphra R. The study examined dimensions of the family context associated with variations in parent involvement and parent perceptions of children's school achievement using data from 1,085 male and 2,239 female respondents with a child between the ages of 5 and 18 years collected in the 1987-88 National Survey of Families and Households. Small but significant differences in parent perceptions of school achievement were found in favor of children being raised in a first-married two-parent home. Negative effects on school outcomes were centered on children who experienced family disruption. Living in a one-parent household with a parent who was previous married was associated with parent reports of poorer performance for elementary school children and lower grades for adolescents. Neither living in a one-parent household with a continuously single parent nor living in a stepfamily was significantly related to achievement. Parent employment status was not directly related to children's achievement but did have indirect effects through parent involvement both at home and school. Parent involvement at school and in child-centered home activities was associated with perceptions of improved school performance for elementary school children and higher grades for adolescents. Mothers were more likely to be involved in children's schooling than fathers. Single and cohabiting mothers were less involved at school than first-married mothers, but single fathers tended to be more likely to participate than their first-married counterparts. There were no significant differences between the home involvement of single mothers and their first-married counterparts but single fathers were more involved at home than first-married fathers. For both mothers and fathers, receiving tangible aid from a wide network of relatives and friends was associated with higher levels of school and home involvement. Findings suggest that educators who have negative beliefs about single parents' engagement in school-family partnerships may be influenced by these parents' low presence at school. Recognizing that single parents are as involved with their children at home as parents in traditional families can lead to educational practices that support home involvement and result in positive effects on children's academic progress. Title: The effects of the family context and parent involvement on perceptions of children's school achievement Author: Katzev, Aphra R. The study examined dimensions of the family context associated with variations in parent involvement and parent perceptions of children's school achievement using data from 1,085 male and 2,239 female respondents with a child between the ages of 5 and 18 years collected in the 1987-88 National Survey of Families and Households. Small but significant differences in parent perceptions of school achievement were found in favor of children being raised in a first-married two-parent home. Negative effects on school outcomes were centered on children who experienced family disruption. Living in a one-parent household with a parent who was previous married was associated with parent reports of poorer performance for elementary school children and lower grades for adolescents. Neither living in a one-parent household with a continuously single parent nor living in a stepfamily was significantly related to achievement. Parent employment status was not directly related to children's achievement but did have indirect effects through parent involvement both at home and school. Parent involvement at school and in child-centered home activities was associated with perceptions of improved school performance for elementary school children and higher grades for adolescents. Mothers were more likely to be involved in children's schooling than fathers. Single and cohabiting mothers were less involved at school than first-married mothers, but single fathers tended to be more likely to participate than their first-married counterparts. There were no significant differences between the home involvement of single mothers and their first-married counterparts but single fathers were more involved at home than first-married fathers. For both mothers and fathers, receiving tangible aid from a wide network of relatives and friends was associated with higher levels of school and home involvement. Findings suggest that educators who have negative beliefs about single parents' engagement in school-family partnerships may be influenced by these parents' low presence at school. Recognizing that single parents are as involved with their children at home as parents in traditional families can lead to educational practices that support home involvement and result in positive effects on children's academic progress. Close

• 2. [Article] Conscience orientation in children and parental attitudes toward independence granting and achievement inducement

  This study focused on the relationship between parental attitudes and the conscience orientation of children, testing the hypotheses that (1) parents who had children with an external conscience orientation would ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Conscience orientation in children and parental attitudes toward independence granting and achievement inducement Author: Draper, Henry E. This study focused on the relationship between parental attitudes and the conscience orientation of children, testing the hypotheses that (1) parents who had children with an external conscience orientation would show significantly greater disparity between their independence granting and achievement inducement attitudes than parents whose children had conventional or humanistic orientations, (2) that parents who had children with a humanistic conscience orientation would show significantly less disparity between their independence granting and achievement inducement scores than parents whose children had external or conventional conscience orientations, and (3) that parents whose children had conventional conscience orientations would show a disparity between independence granting and achievement inducement scores which would fall midway between the parents of children with external or humanistic conscience orientations. Fifteen students representative of each of three conscience types were identified from 325 sixth grade children from various school districts in central and south eastern Utah. The identification and measurement of conscience orientations was achieved with a projective story completion battery adapted from a measure developed by Hoffman. Parental attitudes toward independence granting and achievement inducement were obtained by means of an interview, using the Parental Developmental Timetable, a paper and pencil instrument designed for this purpose by Torgoff . These instruments provided a single independence granting and single achievement inducement score for each parent. The achievement inducement score of each parent was divided into the independence granting score to obtain a ratio of these two variables (the I/A ratio). To determine if there was a significant difference in the I/A ratio scores of parents whose children held different conscience orientations, the parental data were treated by an analysis of variance. Using raw score data no differences were found in the I/A ratios between the three parental groupings, and the three hypotheses stated above were rejected. A derived score transformation technique of handling the data was then developed which permitted a more precise method of determining the difference between the relationship of independence granting to achievement inducement. The rationale permitted a high score theoretically to represent parents whose children had a humanistic conscience orientation, a low score to represent parents whose children had an external conscience orientation, and the scores in between to represent parents whose children had a conventional conscience orientation. When an analysis of variance was applied to these data, the hypotheses were again rejected. The data also were tested to determine the influence of the parental independence granting and achievement inducement variables independently on the conscience orientation of children. This analysis also revealed a lack of relationship between independence granting or achievement inducement orientations on the part of parents and the conscience orientation of children. It was concluded, within the limits of these data, that the independence granting and achievement orientations of parents are unrelated to the conscience orientations of sixth grade children from selected school districts in Utah. In an effort to account for the negative findings corning from the study, an examination of the sampling procedures, the measurement procedures, and the conceptual framework was undertaken. In spite of weakness in the sampling procedure, and the limitations of measurement, it is the opinion of the investigator that the major factor accounting for the negative findings was the inadequacy of the conceptual framework. Had a conceptual framework been developed which included a three-dimensional model, taking into account the influence of parental warmth in relation to the ratio of independence granting and achievement inducement, results in the direction predicted may have occurred. Title: Conscience orientation in children and parental attitudes toward independence granting and achievement inducement Author: Draper, Henry E. This study focused on the relationship between parental attitudes and the conscience orientation of children, testing the hypotheses that (1) parents who had children with an external conscience orientation would show significantly greater disparity between their independence granting and achievement inducement attitudes than parents whose children had conventional or humanistic orientations, (2) that parents who had children with a humanistic conscience orientation would show significantly less disparity between their independence granting and achievement inducement scores than parents whose children had external or conventional conscience orientations, and (3) that parents whose children had conventional conscience orientations would show a disparity between independence granting and achievement inducement scores which would fall midway between the parents of children with external or humanistic conscience orientations. Fifteen students representative of each of three conscience types were identified from 325 sixth grade children from various school districts in central and south eastern Utah. The identification and measurement of conscience orientations was achieved with a projective story completion battery adapted from a measure developed by Hoffman. Parental attitudes toward independence granting and achievement inducement were obtained by means of an interview, using the Parental Developmental Timetable, a paper and pencil instrument designed for this purpose by Torgoff . These instruments provided a single independence granting and single achievement inducement score for each parent. The achievement inducement score of each parent was divided into the independence granting score to obtain a ratio of these two variables (the I/A ratio). To determine if there was a significant difference in the I/A ratio scores of parents whose children held different conscience orientations, the parental data were treated by an analysis of variance. Using raw score data no differences were found in the I/A ratios between the three parental groupings, and the three hypotheses stated above were rejected. A derived score transformation technique of handling the data was then developed which permitted a more precise method of determining the difference between the relationship of independence granting to achievement inducement. The rationale permitted a high score theoretically to represent parents whose children had a humanistic conscience orientation, a low score to represent parents whose children had an external conscience orientation, and the scores in between to represent parents whose children had a conventional conscience orientation. When an analysis of variance was applied to these data, the hypotheses were again rejected. The data also were tested to determine the influence of the parental independence granting and achievement inducement variables independently on the conscience orientation of children. This analysis also revealed a lack of relationship between independence granting or achievement inducement orientations on the part of parents and the conscience orientation of children. It was concluded, within the limits of these data, that the independence granting and achievement orientations of parents are unrelated to the conscience orientations of sixth grade children from selected school districts in Utah. In an effort to account for the negative findings corning from the study, an examination of the sampling procedures, the measurement procedures, and the conceptual framework was undertaken. In spite of weakness in the sampling procedure, and the limitations of measurement, it is the opinion of the investigator that the major factor accounting for the negative findings was the inadequacy of the conceptual framework. Had a conceptual framework been developed which included a three-dimensional model, taking into account the influence of parental warmth in relation to the ratio of independence granting and achievement inducement, results in the direction predicted may have occurred. Close

• 3. [Article] Children's preceptions of parental responses to sibling quarrels and the qualities of sibling relationships

  Children in middle childhood were surveyed in elementary schools to explore possible associations between their perceptions about certain characteristics of their sibling relationships and the ways in ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Children's preceptions of parental responses to sibling quarrels and the qualities of sibling relationships Author: Ozretich, Rachel A. Children in middle childhood were surveyed in elementary schools to explore possible associations between their perceptions about certain characteristics of their sibling relationships and the ways in which their parents responded to sibling quarrels. An instrument was developed to measure perceptions of types of parental responses and the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire was used to assess sibling conflict, warmth/closeness, and perceptions of parental partiality. Factor analyses revealed that the parental responses of punishing, prohibiting, and group discipline were closely related, reflecting a single dimension (alpha=.81). Labeled restricting, regression analyses indicated that this type of parental response to sibling quarrels was a strong positive predictor of sibling conflict, a negative predictor of sibling warmth/closeness, and unrelated to perceptions of parental partiality. The contributions of the other types of parental responses to the aspects of sibling relationships studied were different for girls and boys. Parental referring to family rules contributed positively to girls' sibling conflict, and negatively to sibling warmth/closeness. Parental mediating conciliation, particularly by mothers, was a strong positive predictor of boys' sibling warmth/closeness. Parental mediating conciliation negatively contributed to boys' sibling conflict, particularly fathers' mediating conciliation. Nonintervention by parents, particularly fathers' nonintervention, was a strong positive predictor of boys' sibling conflict, and contributed positively to boys' perceptions of parental partiality, as well. However, among girls, fathers' nonintervention positively contributed to sibling warmth/closeness and negatively contributed to partiality. Boys perceived more sibling conflict than girls, but other sibling constellation and family structure variables did not contribute significantly to the aspects of sibling relationships studied. Title: Children's preceptions of parental responses to sibling quarrels and the qualities of sibling relationships Author: Ozretich, Rachel A. Children in middle childhood were surveyed in elementary schools to explore possible associations between their perceptions about certain characteristics of their sibling relationships and the ways in which their parents responded to sibling quarrels. An instrument was developed to measure perceptions of types of parental responses and the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire was used to assess sibling conflict, warmth/closeness, and perceptions of parental partiality. Factor analyses revealed that the parental responses of punishing, prohibiting, and group discipline were closely related, reflecting a single dimension (alpha=.81). Labeled restricting, regression analyses indicated that this type of parental response to sibling quarrels was a strong positive predictor of sibling conflict, a negative predictor of sibling warmth/closeness, and unrelated to perceptions of parental partiality. The contributions of the other types of parental responses to the aspects of sibling relationships studied were different for girls and boys. Parental referring to family rules contributed positively to girls' sibling conflict, and negatively to sibling warmth/closeness. Parental mediating conciliation, particularly by mothers, was a strong positive predictor of boys' sibling warmth/closeness. Parental mediating conciliation negatively contributed to boys' sibling conflict, particularly fathers' mediating conciliation. Nonintervention by parents, particularly fathers' nonintervention, was a strong positive predictor of boys' sibling conflict, and contributed positively to boys' perceptions of parental partiality, as well. However, among girls, fathers' nonintervention positively contributed to sibling warmth/closeness and negatively contributed to partiality. Boys perceived more sibling conflict than girls, but other sibling constellation and family structure variables did not contribute significantly to the aspects of sibling relationships studied. Close

• 4. [Article] Observer influence on the interaction of a mother and a single child in the presence of two other preschool siblings

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Observer influence on the interaction of a mother and a single child in the presence of two other preschool siblings Author: Thompson, Joanne Mann Title: Observer influence on the interaction of a mother and a single child in the presence of two other preschool siblings Author: Thompson, Joanne Mann Close

• 5. [Article] Attitudes of one hundred thirty single college men toward certain aspects of parenthood

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Attitudes of one hundred thirty single college men toward certain aspects of parenthood Author: Benjamin, Dayton Title: Attitudes of one hundred thirty single college men toward certain aspects of parenthood Author: Benjamin, Dayton Close

• 6. [Article] Observer influence on the interaction of a mother and a single child in the home

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Observer influence on the interaction of a mother and a single child in the home Author: Paul, Janet Smetts Title: Observer influence on the interaction of a mother and a single child in the home Author: Paul, Janet Smetts Close

• 7. [Article] An Examination of the Interrelationship Between Caregiver Behaviors, Infant Temperament and Perceptual-Cognitive Development

  The present study extended the Lewis and Goldberg (1968) study and included the parameter of infant temperament as defined by Thomas, Chess, Birch, Hertzig and Korn (1963). As in the Goldberg study, the ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: An Examination of the Interrelationship Between Caregiver Behaviors, Infant Temperament and Perceptual-Cognitive Development Author: Stauffer, Anita E. Year: 1976 The present study extended the Lewis and Goldberg (1968) study and included the parameter of infant temperament as defined by Thomas, Chess, Birch, Hertzig and Korn (1963). As in the Goldberg study, the index of response decrement was used as a measure of the infant’s development. It was hypothesized that response decrement would be positively correlated with high frequency of caregiver stimulation and negatively correlated with high infant intensity and activity ratings. Response decrement is the measured decrease in the amount of time an infant looks at a novel stimulus after several trials. It was computed by observing the infant’s fixation to a single blinking light over four trials, and subtracting the total amount of time looking on trial from trial one. Title: An Examination of the Interrelationship Between Caregiver Behaviors, Infant Temperament and Perceptual-Cognitive Development Author: Stauffer, Anita E. Year: 1976 The present study extended the Lewis and Goldberg (1968) study and included the parameter of infant temperament as defined by Thomas, Chess, Birch, Hertzig and Korn (1963). As in the Goldberg study, the index of response decrement was used as a measure of the infant’s development. It was hypothesized that response decrement would be positively correlated with high frequency of caregiver stimulation and negatively correlated with high infant intensity and activity ratings. Response decrement is the measured decrease in the amount of time an infant looks at a novel stimulus after several trials. It was computed by observing the infant’s fixation to a single blinking light over four trials, and subtracting the total amount of time looking on trial from trial one. Close