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Executive summary

Executive Summary

Purpose of the report

The intergenerational transmission of educational success is a key driver of the
persistence of social class differences and a barrier to equality of opportunity.
Although each child should be supported to achieve his or her objectives, differences
in the capabilities of families to take advantage of educational opportunities
exacerbate social class differences and limit actual equality of opportunity for many.
Understanding the causes of this transmission is key to tackling both social class
inequality and to expanding the skill base of the UK economy.

This report provides a review of the role of parental education in child development,
particularly though not exclusively in terms of school attainments.

Parental education is a major influence both directly and via other channels such as
income and parenting skills. However, there are many other important elements.
These factors and the interactions between them are comprehensively reviewed in this
report. Part of the effect of parents’ education is in moderating the effects of other
elements.

A theoretical framework

To structure our presentation of the theory and evidence we draw on the multilevel
ecological model of developmental psychology. This provides a framework for
presenting ideas not just from psychology but also from economics and other social
sciences. It also enables a focus on the interaction between factors.

The framework has at its centre interactions between parents and children, in which
dynamic processes support, sustain or hinder successful development. These
processes are termed ‘proximal’ in the ecological model.

These processes are constrained and influenced by the characteristics of the family.
Factors such as mental health, parents’ beliefs and the availability of resources
influence the more proximal interactions between parents and children.

These characteristics are themselves influenced by more distant social, economic and
demographic features such as parental income, family structure and the education of
parents. These factors are termed ‘distal’ in the ecological model.

Other contexts beside the family are also important. Contexts such as schools, pre-
schools and neighbourhoods provide channels for effects of family background and so
contribute to the intergenerational transmission of educational success.

Therefore, this framework sets up three essential categories for effects of families on
children’s development, namely proximal processes, characteristics of contexts and
distal factors.

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