Parenting and cultural socialization as predictors of African American children's science and social studies achievement

This study examined predictive relations between early parenting and African American children's science and social studies achievement in kindergarten (n=2,461). Early parenting was defined as parents' participation in home learning stimulation (e.g., shared book reading) and cultural socialization (e.g., discussing cultural heritage). Hierarchical regression analyses including early parenting and demo-graphic characteristics explained nearly a quarter (i.e., 23 %) of the variance in African American children's science and social studies achievement in kindergarten. Mother age, education, and family income positively predicted achievement while single-parent status and more siblings in the home negatively predicted achievement. Notably, even after these demographic controls were entered into the regression equations, parenting and cultural socialization also predicted achievement. African American parents who engaged in more frequent home learning stimulation and cultural socialization had children with more advanced science and social studies scores in kindergarten. Keywords Parenting * Cultural socialization * Science * Social studies * African American * ECLS-K
The transition to elementary school represents an important milestone for young children and their parents. During the kindergarten year children are presented with new curricular challenges that emphasize competence in [...]