ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on the literature of developmental and educational psychologists and argues that these disciplines have a key role to play in the fight against poverty. The emphasis on this chapter is academic socialisation, that is parents’ attitudes, beliefs and expectations that enhance children’s academic achievement. A body of research argues that parental influence is limited by their socio-economic status (SES). However, more recent research argues that ethnicity and SES are so closely entwined that it is hard to isolate causation. This has important implications. If SES is solely responsible, policies should aim at reducing poverty and this will change parents’ behaviour. However, if important aspects of parenting are independent of SES, they must be targeted independently. The research indicates a number of key parental activities including spending time with children, concerted cultivation, cognitive stimulation, language development and the provision of structure and rules.
