Predictors of the quantity and different qualities of home-based parental involvement: Evidence from parents of children with learning disabilities

Although home-based parental involvement (HPI) remains critical to children's learning and achievement, there is limited evidence for children with learning disabilities (LD). The present study explores and examines parental characteristics that may predict the quantity and different qualities of HPI in LD children. Predictor constructs include SES, educational aspiration, parental role conception, and shame in having an LD child. Using self-determination theory, qualities of HPI were defined in terms of parental control and structure. As a secondary issue, this study also examines the mediating roles of parental aspiration and shame in the relationship between school setting (exclusion versus inclusion) and parental control. A sample of 357 German parents of LD children participated. Path analyses indicated that SES, parental aspiration, and role conception were predictive of the amount of involvement. Higher degrees of role conception determined parents' use of structure. Higher aspirations and feelings of shame motivated parents to be more controlling. Bootstrap analyses confirmed the fully mediating effects of aspiration and shame on an inclusive setting through parental control.