Parental Involvement, Parenting Styles, and Children’s Academic Outcomes: A Second-Order, Three-Level Meta-Analysis

Notwithstanding the established literature on parental involvement and parenting styles, no research has used this scholarship to compare the effectiveness of these parenting variables on children’s academic outcomes. The present study addresses this knowledge gap by employing a second-order, three-level meta-analysis to synthesize findings from 22 first-order meta-analyses (published 2000–2020) that examine the associations between parenting (parental involvement and parenting styles) and children’s academic outcomes. Results showed that the mean effect size was r = .16. Effect sizes were larger for parental involvement practices (vis-à-vis parenting styles), subtle parental involvement (vis-à-vis home or school involvement), and parental warmth (vis-à-vis autonomy support and control). Only authoritative (not authoritarian, neglectful, or permissive) parenting was positively associated with children’s academic outcomes. Parental behavioral control was positively associated, whereas parental psychological and harsh control were negatively associated with children’s academic outcomes. Lastly, parenting was associated with children’s academic achievement (not achievement growth or combination of achievement and attainment).