Parental involvement in children's education. Poland compared to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe on the basis of PISA 2018 data

Abstract

The article is an attempt to compare the characteristics and correlates of parental involvement (PI) in the education of their children in 11 countries of Central and Eastern Europe: Belarus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine and Hungary. The data comes from the PISA 2018 survey and is based on representative, nationwide samples of 15-year-old students and their parents. The study used an analysis of variance and a series of logistic regression models. The three countries with the highest PI level among the CEE countries are Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Poland turned out to be a leader only in terms of passive involvement (talks about the child's progress at the teacher's initiative). On average, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe are characterized by a high level of passive and low active involvement, and at the same time parents are more involved in material and non-material support for the school than in Western European countries. The feeling of being supported by 15 year old students is common. Even in Poland, where the rate was the lowest among the 11 surveyed countries, it was around 80%. PI is strongly associated with two variables: the gender of the student and the material status of the household. Students are more likely to receive support and as their economic status increases. The latter exceeds the influence of educational status.