A Parent's Role In Educating Children: A summary of Laurence Steinberg's work - Part 1
In the next four clipboard articles that focus on research and experience, I plan to discuss the findings of Laurence Steinberg’s highly regarded research in his book Beyond the Classroom: Why School Reform Has Failed and What Parents Need To Do. The reason I would like to share the findings of this research with the Birchwood community is because it echoes our own experience at Birchwood in the past twenty-five years and I believe the findings can help all parents inspire their children to do well in school.
Steinberg’s ten-year research project involving three universities and research teams, dating from the late 1980’s through the mid-1990’s, drew its conclusions from factors that lay outside schools. This study found that student engagement was the single most important factor for academic success, that is, to the degree that students understood why they are in school, why it is important to do well in school, and then assume the responsibility to achieve to the best of their ability, determined their success. Engagement describes “the degree to which students are psychologically ‘connected’ to what is going on in their classes.”
Not only did the degree of engagement predict educational achievement, but it also indicated a child’s “well-being, because educational commitment is highly correlated with other psychological and behavior indicators of successful functioning…engagement can be a buffer against psychological problems… in much the same way that satisfaction with work is associated with better mental health among adults. . . Children who are interested and involved in school score higher on measures of psychological adjustment, such as assessments of self-esteem, responsibility, and competence in social relationship.”
Steinberg points out that the highest forms of engagement correlate directly to the extent that education is valued by family and student. This correlation is not only based upon getting good grades whereby a student gains acceptance to a better high school and college, but even more importantly, the correlation is even stronger when students understand the connection between becoming an educated person and leading a personally enriched life that makes significant contributions to others and society at large.
Certainly schools can and should do as much as possible to help children become engaged in their education, but Steinberg’s research also shows that deeper levels of motivation and purpose are more often than not established outside the school setting. Too often schools that hope to inspire student achievement must first overcome attitudes and habits that are pushing students in the opposite direction.
After establishing the case for student engagement, Steinberg spends time explaining the important role that parents play. He lists three factors for parents to consider in the home environment: acceptance, firmness, and autonomy. I will take up each of these topics in the next three months and related my own experiences working with young people for more than 30 years.
By Charles Debelak
