September 24, 2011 in Blog by Dee

How Parents Motivate Their Children Academically

Parent Involvement

Some research has found that the excessive involvement of parents with students who are at or above the desired achievement level can be damaging. However, low-achievers can greatly benefit from what may seem like too much parental involvement because they need the structure and that extra nudge.

Achieving the Right Amount of Involvement

For low-achievers, having a parent sit down with them to go over more difficult homework can be very helpful. Students who know that their parent finds their school work important and interesting are more likely to feel more motivated to strive to do better in school. Some extra attention from a parent could make a difference between a child staying a low-achiever and becoming an average-achiever (Cohen, 2001). A few extra hours a day with a low-achieving student might make a world of difference in years to come. Making a plan or a “to do” list with the low-achiever, as well as addressing those harder problems in homework together as a team could be helpful. Its important to let the student know that they have their parent’s support.

For an average-achiever, a parent who becomes “too involved” or who worries too much can result in the undermining of the child’s sense of “autonomy and motivation” (Cohen, 2001). With a student who has a grade point average of a B or higher, it may be best to occasionally ask that student if they need assistance.

Gender Differences

Research has been done that suggests that girls and boys attribute their success to different factors. “Specifically, girls were found to perceive the primary cause for their success [as well as failure] in schoolwork to be more internal and controllable relative to boys” (Leung,1993). This information should be taken into account when parents are trying to determine the best methods to motivate students. Also see the Helpful Hints section on this web site.

Reward and Punishment: Helpful or Hurtful?

“If you have not started the habit of rewarding with material prizes-don’t!” – (2001). Motivating Your Child To Learn. Parents and Children Together Series [Online]

A conception among some, parents and teachers alike, is that rewards and punishment can be useful and effective when trying to motivate a child to do a desired task, such as homework. However, research shows that students who are lured into doing something for a reward are less likely to do it again if no reward is given (Kohn, 1994). Similarly, according to James Kohn, punishment or “consequences” often evokes in a child feelings of “anger, defiance and a desire for revenge” (Kohn, 1994). This means that reward and punishment, even if it seems minor, could produce the opposite of the desired effect.

Robert E. Slavin, author of the Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice textbook, suggests that the most effective type of reward is giving praise. Giving contingent praise, or “praise that is effective because it refers directly to specific task performances”, is most effective because it emphasizes that success depends upon the amount of effort one puts in (Slavin, 2006). Receiving praise and good feedback assists students in evaluating themselves, helping them to create reachable goals. Once your student has established goals for homework or studying, they have already begun the process of becoming a self-regulated learner, or a student who has “knowledge of effective learning strategies and how and when to use them” (Slavin, 2006). A parent’s goal should be to help their child become a self-regulated learner.

Overall, I would say that rewards and punishments should be avoided if at all possible. They are quick fixes for parents who want to motivate their children to do well in school. In the long run, students will be more motivated and eager to learn if their motivation is not determined by conditional extrinsic factors, but intrinsic ones. Using “praise” only when the child has done well or improved, as Slavin suggests, is a mild form of reward that can teach that the amount of effort exerted and success are positively correlated.

Website https://sitemaker.umich.edu/356.benjamin/parent_involvement