Parents’ Conceptions of School Readiness, Transition Practices, and Children's Academic Achievement Trajectories

The author empirically tests the conceptual model of academic socialization, which suggests that parental cognitions about schooling influence parenting practices and child outcomes during the transition to school (Taylor, Clayton, & Rowley, 2004). More specifically, the author examines associations among parents’ conceptions of school readiness, transition practices, and children's academic achievement in reading and mathematics from kindergarten through Grade 1 using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (N = 12,622). A latent growth curve model was estimated, and results show that parents’ school readiness beliefs were positively associated with children's beginning achievement and growth. Parents’ transition practices were positively associated with children's achievement at the onset of kindergarten. Parents’ beliefs also positively predicted their use of transition practices. The analysis largely confirmed the conceptual model of academic socialization. Furthermore, findings suggest that early interventions seeking to change parenting practices should consider parents’ school readiness beliefs and expectations.