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The impact of mothers’ adult learning on their children’s academic performance at Key Stage 3: evidence from ALSPAC

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 09:06 authored by Ricardo Sabates, Kathryn Duckworth, Leon Feinstein
This paper investigates whether the inter-generational benefits of parental adult education exists over and above the achievement of parental educational qualifications during schooling and whether returns to parental adult learning are greatest for children of parents with low levels of education. Using data from the UK Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, ALSPAC, results show that mothers' participation in adult education is not associated with improvements in their children's academic attainment in English and maths at age 14 once the previous parental academic qualifications are included. This lack of relationship was found for the overall sample, and for subgroups defined by the type of adult education (accredited, unaccredited or informal learning), the intensity of learning (duration and engagement) and by mothers' prior educational qualifications. Although our results suggest the maternal adult learning is not a key factor for improvement in children test scores at age 14, further research is needed to investigate the role of parental adult learning at other stages of children's cognitive development.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Oxford Review of Education

ISSN

0305-4985

Publisher

Routledge

Issue

4

Volume

37

Page range

485-504

Department affiliated with

  • Education Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-02-06

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