Peer-reviewed article
Does parental involvement improve learning outcomes of children? Evidence from India
Rajalaxmi Singh, Thiagu Ranaganathan ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines whether parental involvement improves learning outcomes for children in Indian government schools. Using data from a national household survey, the researchers found that children learn better when parents attend school meetings, discuss schoolwork with teachers, and help with homework. The benefits were stronger for government school students, but parental involvement was lower among families with lower socio-economic status, potentially widening achievement gaps.
Key points
- Parental involvement is positively associated with children's learning outcomes in Indian government schools
- Key forms of involvement include attending parent-teacher meetings, discussing schoolwork with teachers, and supervising homework
- Mechanisms include reduced school absenteeism and increased homework completion time
- Benefits of parental involvement are larger for government school children than private school children
- Parental involvement is lower among government school families and parents with lower socio-economic status
Limitations
The study uses cross-sectional data from 2011-12, which limits causal inference despite use of instrumental variables. The findings reflect historical data and may not represent current conditions in Indian schools.
Abstract
In recent decades, parental involvement has gained attention to address the learning crisis faced by children in the Global South. This paper examines whether parental involvement improves learning outcomes of children in India, with a focus on those enrolled in government schools. Using data from the India Human Development Survey (2011–12) and employing ordinary least squares and instrumental variable regression, we find that parental involvement is positively associated with learning outcomes. Children perform better when parents attend parent-teacher association meetings, discuss schoolwork with teachers, and supervise homework. We highlight two potential mechanisms underlying these findings: reduced school absenteeism and increased time spent on homework. Notably, learning outcomes of children in government schools improve more with parental involvement. However, involvement is lower among government school children and parents with lower socio-economic status, which may contribute to achievement gaps. These findings call for action from policymakers to address this disparity.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Parental involvement in children's education through attending parent-teacher meetings, discussing schoolwork with teachers, and supervising homework
- Population
- Children enrolled in government schools in India
Key finding
Parental involvement is positively associated with learning outcomes