Parental Educational Expectations

Parental educational expectations have often been measured in terms of the highest degree parents expect their children to obtain. Research has consistently found parent expectations to be a robust predictor of children's achievement. Parental educational expectations form during early childhood and have long-term effects on children's achievement, partly via an effect on children's expectations for success. Parents may unnecessarily lower their expectations when their children exhibit behavior problems. In the long run, parent expectations have a greater effect on children's achievement than parent involvement in educational activities at home or school, indicating that educators and school mental health professionals would be wise to promote strong positive educational expectations among parents.