Child-rearing Practices and Socio-economic Status: Possible Implications for Children's Educational Outcomes

Child-rearing practices and home environment are significant factors in shaping children's lives. In particular, socioeconomic status (SES) plays an important role in influencing parenting practices and children's development, whereby parents of high SES are able to provide a wider range of experiences, material resources, parental actions, and social interactions that many low SES children may not have access to. The underlying notion is that parents exert a powerful impact on the personality characteristics that children develop and influences the direction they take in their lives. This study attempted to investigate the connection between parents’ SES and their beliefs about parenting practices in two major domains of development, i.e. stimulation of cognitive functions and socio-emotional such as socialization. The research samples were 331 parents of children enrolled in 20 selected kindergartens and preschools in several towns in Peninsular Malaysia. The respondents were given a survey package to take home containing an instrument using a Likert-type scale which was later returned to the schools upon completion. The instrument examined several aspects of respondents’ parenting beliefs and practice, namely, parents’ SES and cognitive stimulation activities; parents’ SES and social emotional attachment; and parental beliefs in bringing up children in relation to their SES. Analyses of the results showed that there are significant differences in child- rearing practices and parental beliefs among the three groups – i.e. high, middle and low socio-economic background parents. These differences may facilitate our understanding of the different cognitive functioning and socialization among children from different socio-economic background. With these differences exposed, schools and societies may consider plans to deliver interventions to close the gap between the groups.