White parents 'show less interest in education'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.White parents are less likely to take an interest in their children's education than black or Asian parents. And they are also more likely to believe that their children's schooling should be left up to their teachers, according to a study for the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
Their lack of involvement is likely to hamper their children's chances of exam success later in life, it says, adding that black parents are more than twice as likely to say they are very involved in their children's education than whites. Black and Asian parents say education is "very important to combat racial discrimination and disadvantage".
It also showed that Chinese and Asian youths consistently outperformed white pupils in maths and English national curriculum tests. The research comes after the Rowntree Foundation found that white working-class pupils made the least progress throughout their schooling.
In a further finding, it revealed that 70 per cent of fathers wanted to play a bigger role in their children's education – rising to 81 per cent in cases where the father no longer lived at home.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments