Sabates, Richard;
Duckworth, Kate;
(2009)
The impact of mothers’ learning on their children’s academic performance at Key Stage 3: evidence from ALSPAC [Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No. 32].
Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning, Institute of Education, University of London: London.
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Abstract
Parental education is thought to be one of the key factors that promote children’s academic development. Empirical studies, using sophisticated analytical techniques and complex research designs, have concluded that parental education does have a causal impact on children’s educational achievement. However, the literature tends to focus on the achievement of educational qualifications or years of schooling, and has largely ignored the role of adult education. In the UK context, where a significant minority of the population continue to leave the educational system without educational qualifications (Cassen and Kingdon, 2007), the hypothesis that higher levels of parental education lead to wider benefits for their children needs to be analysed over the lifecourse as a whole. Do these intergenerational benefits, over and above the achievement of educational qualifications, actually exist? And are the returns to parental adult learning greatest for children of parents with low or high levels of education? Very few studies have investigated these issues, leaving a significant gap in the evidence base for education and family policy. This study addresses one of these issues: the impact of mothers’ learning during adulthood on the subsequent attainment of their children, looking in particular at: • the relationship between mothers’ participation in adult education and children’s improvement in Key Stage 3 (KS3) (age 14) English and mathematics test scores; • whether this relationship varies according to the type of adult learning course taken, the time spent in adult learning by mothers, and the previous educational background of mothers.
| Type: | Report |
|---|---|
| Title: | The impact of mothers’ learning on their children’s academic performance at Key Stage 3: evidence from ALSPAC [Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No. 32] |
| ISBN: | 978-0-9559488-3-1 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10019039 |
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