Multiple Appearances of Parental Interactions and Math Achievement on TIMSS International Assessment

This study aims to explore the different appearances of parental interactions based on principal, teacher, and student reports of the 8th grade Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2011 assessments in Israel and how the appearances of parental interactions relate to math achievements. We conducted a multilevel SEM on 147 principals, 147 teachers, and 4304 students nested in 147 schools. Different appearances of parental interactions emerged such as “parental involvement in student learning,” “direct communication on student progress,” and “providing general information of school principles and activities” based on student, teacher, and principal reports respectively. Significant negative relationships were found between these appearances that can be explained by compensation relationships. We found a positive relationship between student reports of parental involvement and student achievements. The negative relationships we found between teacher and principal reports of parental interactions and student achievements may reflect situations where teachers and principals interact with parents mostly in problematic cases. We also found that girls perceive their parents’ involvement higher than boys, immigrant students had lower achievements than native-born students, and children whose parents have higher educational levels had higher achievements. While most studies examined parental interactions from the teacher’s, student’s, or principal’s perspectives, this study is unique in that it applies an integrative approach that considers all the appearances simultaneously. Thus, this study leads to a broader view of parental interactions and can contribute to developing programs for encouraging parental interactions in school routines.