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Checking homework, studying together for a class test, preparing presentations, checking vocabulary: many parents invest a lot of time and effort so that their children get along well in school.
What kind of support is useful - and which one might even cause harm?
A team of researchers from the Center for International Comparative Educational Studies at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has dealt with these questions.
In an extensive meta-study, the scientists processed findings from around 1,700 scientific studies, including the PISA studies.
Learning together hardly brings better performance, but it is motivating
Central finding: The most obvious form of help - helping the youngsters at home to learn at home - has little impact on school performance, according to the researchers' findings.
However, it can increase motivation.
"Children develop a more positive attitude towards learning when they are encouraged to work independently, for example to try out their own solutions," the researchers write.
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It could also be helpful if parents express “positive expectations”: by talking about possible achievements, school qualifications or career paths, by discussing learning strategies or by referring praise and criticism to individual school work in as differentiated a manner as possible.
This contributes to the fact that children have more confidence in themselves.
However, the experts advise against checking homework.
"It is more rewarding when parents lay down rules as to when and where the tasks are completed, when they offer assistance and give feedback on the accuracy of processing."
Parents' involvement in school often pays off
If parents get involved in their children's school, it has a positive effect, the studies show.
For example, if the parents attend theater performances or participate in the parents' council, the children achieve better results on average.
"The results show that the participation of parents can strengthen the performance and motivation of students across all age groups and regardless of their socio-economic status," says study director Doris Holzberger.
»It is all the more important to have good, long-term cooperation between schools and parents.
If teachers reach out to their fathers and mothers, they can also support children outside of the classroom, for whom parents cannot take a positive role for granted. ”This could also help to reduce educational inequality.