Research Article
Open access
Published on 7 April 2025
Download pdf
Deng,X. (2025). The Impact of Family Environment on Children's Education: An Analytical Study. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,86,12-15.
Export citation

The Impact of Family Environment on Children's Education: An Analytical Study

Xi Deng *,1,
  • 1 School of Broadcast and Television, Communication University of China, Nanjing, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 211199, China

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7048/2025.21814

Abstract

The family environment plays a pivotal role in shaping children's educational outcomes. This paper examines how socioeconomic status, parental involvement, emotional climate, and material resources within households influence academic achievement, cognitive development, and socioemotional skills. Drawing on empirical studies and theoretical frameworks, the analysis highlights the interplay between familial factors and educational trajectories. For instance, children from low-income families often face systemic barriers such as limited access to tutoring and technology, while parental over-involvement may inadvertently harm intrinsic motivation. Additionally, the emotional dynamics of households—such as conflict resolution and parental warmth—mediate children’s stress levels and executive functioning, further impacting learning capacities. The findings underscore the need for holistic interventions, including equitable resource allocation and culturally responsive pedagogies, to mitigate disparities arising from unequal family environments. Notably, cultural capital, manifested through non-material assets like educational aspirations and social networks, also perpetuates inequalities by aligning certain groups with institutional norms. By synthesizing multidisciplinary perspectives from psychology, sociology, and education, this study provides actionable insights for policymakers, educators, and families, emphasizing the importance of addressing both material and psychosocial dimensions of child development. Practical recommendations include expanding early childhood education programs, fostering school-community partnerships, and implementing trauma-informed teaching practices to support vulnerable students. These strategies aim to dismantle systemic inequities and create inclusive pathways for academic success across diverse socioeconomic contexts.

Keywords

Family environment, Parental involvement, Socioeconomic status, Academic achievement, Child development

[1]. Bradley, R. H., & Corwyn, R. F. (2002). Socioeconomic status and child development. Annual Review of Psychology, 53(1), 371-399.

[2]. Evans, G. W. (2004). The environment of childhood poverty. American Psychologist, 59(2), 77-92.

[3]. Duncan, G. J., et al. (2011). Early childhood poverty and adult attainment, behavior, and health. Child Development, 81(1), 306-325.

[4]. Blair, C., & Raver, C. C. (2016). Poverty, stress, and brain development: New directions for prevention and intervention. Academic Pediatrics, 16(3), S30-S36.

[5]. Hill, N. E., & Tyson, D. F. (2009). Parental involvement in middle school: A meta-analytic assessment of the strategies that promote achievement. Developmental Psychology, 45(3), 740-763.

[6]. Pomerantz, E. M., Moorman, E. A., & Litwack, S. D. (2007). The how, whom, and why of parents’ involvement in children’s academic lives: More is not always better. Review of Educational Research, 77(3), 373-410.

[7]. Cheung, C. S., & Pomerantz, E. M. (2011). Parents’ involvement in children’s learning in the United States and China: Implications for children’s academic and emotional adjustment. Child Development, 82(3), 932-950.

[8]. Davis-Kean, P. E. (2005). The influence of parent education and family income on child achievement: The indirect role of parental expectations and the home environment. Journal of Family Psychology, 19(2), 294-304.

[9]. Luby, J., et al. (2013). The effects of poverty on childhood brain development: The mediating effect of caregiving and stressful life events. JAMA Pediatrics, 167(12), 1135-1142.

[10]. Morris, A. S., et al. (2017). Marital conflict and child outcomes: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. Developmental Review, 45, 1-20.

[11]. OECD. (2019). Bridging the digital gender divide. OECD Publishing.

[12]. Kim, J., & Lee, H. (2020). Bridging the digital divide: Lessons from South Korea’s Digital New Deal. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 23(4), 112-125.

[13]. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241-258). Greenwood.

[14]. Lareau, A. (2011). Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life. University of California Press.

[15]. Smith, T. E., et al. (2019). Parent Academy: A community-based approach to educational equity. Urban Education, 54(8), 1123-1148.

[16]. Heckman, J. J. (2006). Skill formation and the economics of investing in disadvantaged children. Science, 312(5782), 1900-1902.

[17]. Dobbie, W., & Fryer, R. G. (2011). Are high-quality schools enough to increase achievement among the poor? Evidence from the Harlem Children’s Zone. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 3(3), 158-187.

[18]. Crosby, S. D., et al. (2018). Trauma-informed practices in schools: A framework for action. School Mental Health, 10(3), 269-283.

[19]. Pulkkinen, L., et al. (2020). Enhancing parental autonomy support: Evidence from Finland’s Families First program. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29(7), 1985-1998.

Cite this article

Deng,X. (2025). The Impact of Family Environment on Children's Education: An Analytical Study. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,86,12-15.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

Disclaimer/Publisher's Note

The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Educational Innovation and Philosophical Inquiries

Conference website: https://2025.iceipi.org/
ISBN:978-1-83558-971-7(Print) / 978-1-83558-972-4(Online)
Conference date: 20 August 2025
Editor:Kurt Buhring
Series: Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
Volume number: Vol.86
ISSN:2753-7048(Print) / 2753-7056(Online)

© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See Open access policy for details).