Academic Socialization & Family Engagement: The Key to Successful Learning in Secondary School

By Maren Madalyn

I was recently chatting with a colleague here at ParentPowered about past experiences in the classroom, both professionally and as students ourselves. One story he shared struck a chord for me, reminding me of the essential role that families play throughout all years of schooling—yes, even in middle and high school—to set the stage for our successes as adults today.

Early into his first full-time job, Ray found himself the happy recipient of a perfect attendance award. He was surprised—it hadn’t been an explicit goal for him. But it also hadn’t occurred to him NOT to go to work consistently. 

Through his youth, his parents had made it clear: Rain or shine, well or sick, it was his job to go to school everyday and do the work assigned by the teachers. As newcomers to the U.S., they weren’t personally familiar with the school system, but they were confident that if he attended school every day and focused on his learning, Ray would be on track to a successful career in the future. 

Which is how he found himself receiving many Perfect Attendance awards—through elementary, high school, and now even in the workforce.

Like all caregivers, Ray’s parents were doing the hard but often unspoken work of academic socialization. By setting expectations, connecting those expectations to future outcomes, and establishing the conditions for his success, they set the stage for his future well-being. And it worked!

Let’s take a closer look at what academic socialization means, why it matters for adolescents, and how schools can partner with their families to encourage this practice with their preteens and teens.

Breaking down academic socialization

Though it sounds like a mouthful, academic socialization simply describes a less direct and hands-on approach to supporting student learning, but one that still leaves a positive impact. 

Research defines academic socialization as “how parents use their own educational beliefs and expectations to provide messages to their children to help navigate or influence their academic success and development” (Hill & Tyson, 2009). 

Here are a few ways parents might use academic socialization practices with their students (even without being consciously aware of it):

• Communicate their educational expectations (such as for academic outcomes) with their pre-teen
• Demonstrate the value of education in their family or community
• Talk with their teen about what learning strategies work best for them
• Guide pre-teens with creating plans for their future, including having critical conversations about their interests and career aspirations 
• Help teens understand the connection between what they learn in school and their goals for life after the classroom

Academic socialization isn’t just about adolescent students, either. Elementary and preschool children also benefit when their parents and family members engage in these kinds of behaviors (Taylor et al., 2004). 

Why this approach works best in adolescence

Academic socialization experiences in middle and high school learning gives students much more space to take ownership of their studies and to exercise increased independence—which is age and developmentally appropriate! 

Consider the analogy of learning how to swim. Teachers, caregivers, and other key adults form the sides of a swimming pool. While younger students may hold tight to their adults as they build confidence and strength, teens are diving into the deep end. But they don’t stay there; they come back to their adults as a safe place to rest before jumping right back into the depths. 

Previous studies on adolescent development reveals why pre-teens and teens push for this space while also not wanting to be completely on their own. In their 2009 meta-analysis, Hill and Tyson point to five key areas of growth that adolescents are particularly driven toward:

• Pre-teens and teens seek to integrate with peers.
• They take risks and seek new experiences.
• Adolescents learn following emotions, so-called “heartfelt goals.”
• They work out their own self-identity (at the same time as navigating new social pressure to “fit in”).
• Pre-teens and teens gain greater autonomy and independence.

So while it may at first feel counterintuitive for parents to step a few paces back from their adolescents’ academic development, it’s actually the best way to help students grow.

H3: Why families need to practice academic socialization

Research repeatedly points to the importance of continued parental involvement and family engagement in secondary school, even as teens seek independence. In 2007, the Harvard Family Research Project published a comprehensive report on the impact of effective adolescent family engagement. Among the many positive outcomes found were:

• Higher rates of self-reliance among adolescents
• Better school performance in middle and high school
• Positive career-planning behaviors among teens
• Lower rates of depression in students

However, for many families, the shift from elementary into middle and high school can be a bit jarring. 

After years of engaging directly with things like homework or building academic skills, parents are suddenly shifted into the co-pilot seat while their students take the helm. Families often feel it is harder to find entry points to support student learning in the complex worlds of middle and high school, too, where students have multiple teachers and learn more complicated subject matter. 

Further—and relevant for caregivers to children of all ages—a family member’s personal experiences and perceptions of school may impact how they engage in academic socialization practices and other forms of engagement. This is especially relevant for families from historically underserved communities, who continue to face systemic barriers and biases in the education system today. 

To equitably cultivate quality high school and middle school family engagement, it is critical that educators prepare caregivers for the crucial role they STILL play in these later grade levels. In fact, academic socialization presents a unique opportunity for schools and districts to create more equitable learning conditions and academic success for historically underserved students through collaboration with families (Bæk, 2017). 

These practices can also be adapted to align with cultural contexts important to families from particular backgrounds to support academic development. One study examining Latino and Latina student achievement discovered that linking academic socialization, parental involvement, and the cultural value of “Familismo” held positive implications for academic achievement and school climate (Chun & Devall, 2019). 

H2: Three examples of effective academic socialization in action

Let’s dive a bit deeper into three examples of academic socialization in action, and what educators can do to prepare families for these learning moments with their adolescents.

H3: 1. Cultivating the value and importance of education

Caregivers influence a teen’s perception of schooling more than they may realize. From talking about their own experiences with education to modeling learning as an adult, families can help adolescents understand the value of their time in the classroom.

The good news is, studies show that secondary school families also want to be included and to support their teen’s educational success! This is a perfect recipe for academic socialization experiences to come to life. 

What it looks like

ParentPowered’s family engagement curriculum for middle and high school taps into families’ inherent desire by offering a strengths-based approach to support academic learning. Through specific, tangible activities and tips, caregivers can use existing knowledge and insights to demonstrate the importance of education to their teen. These practices are effective no matter what families may have experienced themselves in school. 

The first message on encourages caregivers to ask open-ended questions about what students are learning. This strategy is a nice example of how a parent can, indirectly, communicate that education matters by showing genuine interest in and giving attention to students’ academic experiences.

The second message gives families prompts to guide their teen with understanding academic requirements for future goals like graduation. This strategy is especially important in high school, where focus shifts from preparing for the next year of classroom learning to launching into life as an adult.

You’ll notice that neither message directs a parent to do any academic task directly or take on the responsibility of researching academic requirements for their teen. Instead, families leverage targeted, guiding questions that honor students’ independence and set educational expectations.

What educators can do

• Make space upfront to connect families with middle and high school staff members. Perhaps a local community organization (where families may already gather) can host a Meet-And-Greet between staff and parents. Or the school can set up a booth at a neighborhood event. Giving families a safe space to connect with educators is a great place to start building trusting relationships, even with the larger number of families that educators may encounter in these later grades.
• Ensure families know when and how they can contact the school to answer their questions. For instance, if a parent and their teen want to understand how to apply for financial support for college, how can they get in touch with a school counselor or find this information on the school website? Here, clear is kind; provide as much detail as possible so families understand exactly what to do!

2. Practicing key executive functioning skills for academic success

Social and emotional skills contribute greatly to academic performance, and in secondary schools, adolescents undergo immense changes in these areas. Executive functioning in particular plays an important role in a teen’s growing independence, as they learn to manage their own class schedules, homework loads, study prep, and much more. 

What it looks like

Parents and caregivers are excellent resources for students to bolster these skills through academic socialization techniques. Here again, it’s about paying attention to and asking the right guiding questions that encourage pre-teens and teens to reach their own solutions.

This ParentPowered message on the right explains to families the value of teens practicing their own decision-making skills and points out parental involvement opportunities for helping teens hone this ability through self-reflection.  

Similarly, time management becomes important in the transition from elementary into middle school. When families ask their middle schoolers about homework, especially in the context of tracking assignments and creating a plan for completing them, it offers the right nudge for students to take action. 

What educators can do

• Educate families on what typical adolescent development looks like. For many caregivers, it is reassuring to understand that it’s normal for their pre-teen or teen to seek independence so strongly! School staff can also point out ways that families can nurture students’ growing independence.
• Help families build their own social and emotional skills. Modeling is especially powerful for adolescents. When family members demonstrate strategies like parental self care to navigate stress and critical thinking to solve a tricky problem, their teen picks up on these practices, too. 

ParentPowered’s curriculum isn’t just focused on students’ development—it also cultivates parents’ life skills and knowledge of normal student development! Watch a self-paced tour to learn more.

3. Preparing for the future 

In secondary education, students begin to shift attention from in-classroom learning to their futures beyond school. College and career readiness involves academic achievement, but it also requires teens to understand their own interests and goals, then see how their efforts in school connect with these aspirations. 

Conversations with key adults in a teen’s life play an essential role here. One study found that, for every meaningful career conversation a student had in secondary school, their future wage earnings increased by 0.8% at age 26 (OECD, 2017)! 

What it looks like

What educators can do 

• Connect teens and families with free, accessible career exploration tools. Identifying an area of interests is just the beginning of the important journey of career exploration in K-12. Download and share our career tools to help your families and students begin connecting the dots between their passions and future job opportunities. 
• Create a career mentorship program. Odds are that, within your family community, there are many unique and exciting job experiences represented. Why not help high school students exploring their career options tap into that wealth of knowledge? Mentorship could look like 1:1 meetings, group workshops held at school or in the community, or even hands-on experiences in the real-world through community partnerships. 

H2: Build families’ academic socialization skills with ParentPowered

Academic socialization experiences can benefit pre-teens and teens. However, with today’s demands on teachers, principals, and district leaders, family engagement can sometimes feel like an afterthought or “one more thing” on a long to-do list. In secondary schools, the task feels even more daunting.

But it is imperative to remember that, in all grade levels, family engagement is the foundation to all facets of student growth and development—from improving learning outcomes to boosting school attendance to nurturing critical life skills and so much more. 

Let ParentPowered help your organization lay groundwork for positive family-school partnerships. Our evidence-based curriculum provides caregivers with weekly tips and activities geared towards whole child development, parental efficacy, and home-school connections—all via text messaging. Request a personal demo to learn more about how our programs can support your priorities for student success.