Psychologists and sociologists have long been interested in parents' expectations about their children's achievement in school and their future occupational attainment. Although the term expectations has been defined in various ways in the literature, most current research tends to characterize parent expectations as realistic beliefs or judgments that parents have about their children's future achievement. Parent expectations can be distinguished from aspirations, which refer to idealistic hopes or goals that parents may form regarding future attainment. In some studies, parents are asked directly about their expectations, but it is also common to ask students to articulate what they perceive to be their parents' expectations.

Early work on parental expectations was conducted by sociologists interested in ...