The Relationship between Parenting and Self-Regulated Learning of Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Childhood and adolescence as the critical periods for people to form many learning and behavioral patterns, have lasting effects into adulthood. Thus, parents should give their children proper education and guidance at these stages. Self-regulated learning (SRL) is a skill that can promote long-term personal development. Based on earlier research that identified various aspects of parenting, this paper reviewed the link of parenting to SRL and other related factors. The effect of parenting on SRL was discussed from three perspectives: the general relationship, the mediational roles, and the impact of other factors. Among them, the parenting style (i.e., authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved styles) as one of the particular representative dimensions of parenting was found that different types of it are correlated with different SRL skills. Therefore, depending on the specificity of the different dimensions, parents can consciously choose the more appropriate parenting style. Apart from the interaction between parenting and SRL, there are also other mediators. Plus, SRL can play a mediational role between parenting and other related factors. As these studies reviewed have limitations in terms of parenting context, such as ethnic homogeneity, future research could explore a more generalized hybrid parenting style in corresponding ethnic groups. The current review can provide some guidance to relevant parent education programs and research.