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Shifting parental beliefs about child development to foster parental investments and improve school readiness outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • John A. List

    (University of Chicago
    NBER)

  • Julie Pernaudet

    (University of Chicago)

  • Dana L. Suskind

    (University of Chicago Medicine)

Abstract

Socioeconomic gaps in child development open up early, with associated disparities in parental investments in children. Understanding the drivers of these disparities is key to designing effective policies. We first show that parental beliefs about the impact of early parental investments differ across socioeconomic status (SES), with parents of higher SES being more likely to believe that parental investments impact child development. We then use two randomized controlled trials to explore the mutability of such beliefs and their link to parental investments and child development, our three primary outcomes. In the first trial (NCT02812017 on clinicaltrials.gov), parents in the treatment group were asked to watch a short educational video during four well-child visits with their pediatrician while in the second trial (NCT03076268), parents in the treatment group received twelve home visits with feedback based on their daily interactions with their child. In both cases, we find that parental beliefs about child development are malleable. The first program changes parental beliefs but fails to lastingly increase parental investments and child outcomes. By contrast, in the more intensive program, all pre-specified endpoints are improved: the augmented beliefs are associated with enriched parent-child interactions and higher vocabulary, math, and social-emotional skills for the children.

Suggested Citation

  • John A. List & Julie Pernaudet & Dana L. Suskind, 2021. "Shifting parental beliefs about child development to foster parental investments and improve school readiness outcomes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-25964-y
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25964-y
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    Cited by:

    1. Xu, Hui & Zhang, Zheyuan & Zhao, Zhong, 2023. "Parental socioeconomic status and children’s cognitive ability in China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    2. John A. List, 2024. "Optimally generate policy-based evidence before scaling," Nature, Nature, vol. 626(7999), pages 491-499, February.
    3. Zhang, Zheyuan & Xu, Hui & Liu, Ruilin & Zhao, Zhong, 2024. "Free Education and the Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive Skills in Rural China," IZA Discussion Papers 17314, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Michele Giannola, 2024. "Parental Investments and Intra-household Inequality in Child Human Capital: Evidence from a Survey Experiment," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(658), pages 671-727.
    5. John List & Julie Pernaudet & Dana Suskind, 2021. "It All Starts with Beliefs: Addressing the Roots of Educational Inequities by Changing Parental Beliefs," Framed Field Experiments 00740, The Field Experiments Website.
    6. Etienne Dagorn & David Masclet & Thierry Penard, 2022. "The Behavioral Determinants of School Achievement: A Lab in the Field Experiment in Middle School," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes & University of Caen) 2022-05, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes, University of Caen and CNRS.
    7. Francisco Gallego & Philip Oreopoulos & Noah Spencer, 2023. "The Importance of a Helping Hand in Education and in Life," Documentos de Trabajo 575, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
    8. Gabriella Conti & Michele Giannola & Alessandro Toppeta, 2024. "Parental beliefs, perceived health risks, and time investment in children," IFS Working Papers W24/15, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    9. Wang, Lei & Jiang, Dingjing & Zhang, Siqi & Rozelle, Scott, 2024. "Caregivers’ parenting beliefs, practices, and child developmental outcomes: Evidence from randomized controlled trials in rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    10. Annalisa Guarini & Alessandra Sansavini & Chiara Suttora & Stefania Bortolotti & Margherita Fort & Daniela Iorio & Chiara Monfardini & Maria Bigoni, 2022. "Mindful Parenting Intervention MinUTo App for Parents of Preschool Children: Study Protocol of a Randomised Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-16, June.

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