Article

Household Socioeconomic Status and Parental Investments

Direct and Indirect Relations With School Readiness in Ghana

Child Development

This study examines how parent socioeconomic status (SES) directly and indirectly predicts children's school readiness through pathways of parental investment.

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Author: Sharon Wolf, Dana Charles McCoy
Organizations: Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania
Date: July 14, 2017
Country: Ghana

Abstract

This study examines how parent socioeconomic status (SES) directly and indirectly predicts children’s school readiness through pathways of parental investment. Data come from direct assessments with preschool children and surveys with their primary caregivers in Ghana at the start of the 2015–2016 school year. Results revealed SES-related gaps in all parental investment characteristics and child school readiness skills. Preschool involvement served as the primary mediating mechanism in the path from SES to most school readiness skills, though it did not predict executive function. The number of books in the household was marginally positively predictive of early literacy, whereas at-home stimulation was negatively related to motor, literacy, and numeracy skills.