Educational Inequality in Secondary Education: The Importance of Parental Practices for Educational Success

Abstract International research shows that parental practices can explain a relevant part of social inequality in the educational system. These practices vary by parental endowment with education-relevant capital and are strongly connected to the social origin and habitus of the parental home. In explaining educational inequality in Germany, sociological researchers have so far paid little attention to parental support in everyday life. Little is known about how parental practices differ by social origin and what impact they have on educational outcomes, especially in secondary education. Building on the social reproduction theory, we expected parental practices to play an important role in explaining social inequality in educational achievement. Using multiple linear regression models (OLS), we analyzed the association of parental practices during lower secondary schooling with (a) attaining an upper secondary school leaving certificate ( Abitur ; N = 5048) and also, for those who attained the Abitur ( N = 2959), (b) students’ competencies in upper secondary school and (c) students’ final grade point averages (GPAs). We used data from the starting cohort of fifth-graders (SC3) of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). The results showed that students whose parents engaged in certain parental practices were more likely to attain an Abitur and had higher competencies and a higher final GPA. Parental practices involving educational and cultural dialogue, such as discussing books, in particular, showed small but statistically significant positive associations with these outcomes. However, parental practices only marginally contribute to explaining social inequalities in educational outcomes since social differences continue to persist relatively independently of these practices.