A family course made kids keener on school only in a roundabout way
MixedThe short version
Next to leaflets, the course made kids keener on school only in a roundabout way, and keenness fell for both.
- 445
- rural US families of sixth graders
- Randomised
- groups picked at random
- Self-rated
- people rated themselves
- 2 tools
- tested
The study
Who took part
445 families of sixth graders from small rural towns in the US Midwest. Most had two parents at home and nearly all were White.
What they did
Families went to seven weekly evening group sessions at school, 13 hours in all. Parents and children first met apart. Parents worked on rules and support, and children on goals, stress and peer pressure. Then they practised as a family. The other families got four leaflets by post about growing up.
What happened
Two years later, the course was linked to children being more keen on school only in a roundabout way. It worked through better parenting and less risk of drink or drugs. The paper shows no direct gap between the groups. Children's own ratings of how keen they were on school fell in both groups.
What the study found
- Mixed
Next to leaflets, the course made kids keener on school only in a roundabout way, and keenness fell for both.
- Action: Learn how the problem workstested
- Action: Solve problems step by steptested
- Rule: Practise with a groupused
Randomised trial of 445 rural US families of sixth graders · vs families who got four leaflets by post · they rated themselves · ⚠ whole groups were assigned, not people
How solid is this?
- Groups picked at random
- People rated themselves
- Whole groups were assigned, not people
Source
Increasing school success through partnership-based family competency training: Experimental study of long-term outcomes. (2008)
DOI: 10.1037/1045-3830.23.1.70 (opens in a new tab)
