Parenting Styles on Students Achievement Term Paper

Subsequent to the gathering of resources, the Review will be presented here within as a synthesis of the most pertinent findings relating to the research subject. The Methodology will take as its point of initiation the following primary research question:

What parenting style(s) have proven most effective and least effective in producing positive special education achievements and developmental outcomes in special needs children?

The Literature Review will set out to answer this question by exploring a wide array of dimensions relating thereto.

Literature Review:

The Literature Review conducted hereafter will be divided into an array of subsections intended to illuminate the relationship between parenting styles and special education achievements for special needs children. It is imperative before proceeding to a broader literature review synthesis, to consider some basic context for the present discussion. Namely, we initiate with a reflection on the formative implications of childhood. Regardless of whether one is special needs or one is of traditional needs, childhood is a tumultuous phase of the life cycle marked by constant change and adaptation. It is an important and defining period in the course of his or her personal evolution. It is considered the major time period in the development of the individual, as his or her basic learning competencies are developed through the early stages of the life-cycle phase. This period is characterized by many significant changes that affect all aspects of development from one's academic and cognitive orientation to one's social and emotional comprehension. (Martinez, Martinez, 2004).

Special needs issues have increasingly become a major concern for educational and developmental scholars. As a consequence, there exists both a host of literature on the subject and a wide variance of definitions for the condition of being special needs. (Martinez, Martinez, 2004). In other words, it is very difficult to find a clear definition of the concept of children with special needs. Definitions vary depending on whether one is from a psychological perspective, sociological or biological. On the psychological level, Store & Church (1973, pg 21) have defined the condition of being a special needs child as "a state of mind, a way of being which begins roughly at puberty and ends when the individual became an independent action, i.e., when it is socially and emotionally mature and he has the experience and motivation necessary to achieve the adult role." From a psychoanalytic perspective, children with special needs are seen as struggling to develop at a time when the individual leaves the infant attachment figures to turn to other socially connected figures. In a more sociological perspective, an author as Fight (1988) considers children with special needs as experiencing trends of marginalization and subordination that are imposed at a young age and that typically persist through adulthood. Though various defintions are available to us, the research encountered show very clearly that it is not easy to find a definition of children with special needs (Morrison, Rimm-Kauffman, 2003).

For the puproses of the present research though, we will define children with special needs as individuals who are faced with new and specific impediments to development during periods of critical physiological, psychological and social development. In developmental psychology, many authors adopted the concept of "developmental tasks" to reflect these new realities. Claes (2003) refers to the idea that the individual is not a passive spectator of changes taking place, but an actor actively engaged in building his own life. In what follows, we will present the various transformations taking place in the individual on the physiological, cognitive, and social identity (Morrison, Rimm-Kauffman, 2003). The first three aspects are presented as irresolute; we will focus on new social realities, including new relationships that the young person has with his/her environment during this period.

Effects on Achievement

A number of research concerns relate directly to the impact that parenting style may or may not have on the child's educational achievements. This section is driven by a number of questions that are of interest to the broader research subject. Namely, we consider whether or not awareness of the correlations discussed here within might ultimately influence parenting style. The section also inquires as to whether using a certain parenting styles can impose a more positive effect or a negative effect on the achievement levels of a child with a learning disability.Developmental psychologists have had a keen interest in knowing the effects parenting styles have on a child with a learning disability. Research has established that parenting styles can greatly influence higher levels of development in a child with a learning disability. Though this conclusion is apparent, understanding what the best parenting skills are to achieve improvement is more complex.

Parenting styles involve consequences that can help exhibit levels of enthusiasm within that household environment, and basically provide an overall positive philosophy to what is truly important in life. Within this process, family parenting styles and family interactions create patterns that will influence virtually all spheres of life in an individual's development: behavioral skills and aspects of personality and interacting with the community, even at the level of success or failure achieved in special education.

Parenting styles can establish how a child will begin to develop his or her character and personality. Positive interactions nearest to him or her from the family will provide a feeling of security and structure beneficial in achieving self-reliance. Parents are responsible for the care and protection of each member of the family and/or regulating conduct through boundaries and positive reinforcement. Parents are of extreme importance because they are part of the construct to disrupt the learning; such disturbances are reflected in school performance, for the child with special need.

The development of socialization in children with special needs.

The home environment Cloutier (1985) defines is socialization as the process of acquiring behaviors, attitudes and values?

necessary for social adaptation of the individual. The development of socialization in children with special needs is marked by the relationships within the family circle (intra familial) but especially the relationship with individuals encountered outside the family circle. In developmental psychology, family relations and relationship with peer groups represent the two worlds around which the socialization of children (Torres, Ortega, et al., 2008) and family relationships are characterized by two essential elements. Attachment and parental control .

Attachments and Parental Controls

Attachments and Parental Controls are elements characterized by theories of how children acquire values or standards of behavior have emphasized the importance of specific parenting techniques or styles and have acknowledged the importance of a responsive parent -- child relationship. (Joan E. Grusec1, Jacqueline J. Goodnow2, Leon Kuczynski, 2003).

The central importance of parents and argues for research that (1) demonstrates that parental understanding of a particular child's characteristics and situation rather than use of specific strategies or styles is the mark of effective parenting; (2) traces the differential impact of varieties of parent responsiveness; (3) assesses the conditions surrounding the fact that parents have goals other than internalization when socializing their children, and evaluates the impact of that fact; and (4) considers a wider range of parenting strategies.(Grusec, Goodnow, Kuczynski, 2003).

Various studies conclude differences found to that degree sto which parental attachment and family structure are related to indexes of social and psychological functioning for a sample of 1st-year college students (173 women and 53 men). Results hypothesized characteristics of insecure attachment and 2 dimensions of maladaptive family structure -- parental marital conflict and perceived family anxiety concerning separation -- were associated with difficulties in social competence and the presence of psychological symptoms. For male students the results of the canonical analysis were not significant. The findings suggest that for college women close parental attachments are adaptive when combined with a family structure that supports individuation. (Journal of Counseling Psychology, Oct 1991).

While relations with their peer group are based on ties of reciprocity and mutuality. In the socialization of a child, parents are primarily engaged in promoting the individual young respect for social norms that promote their full integration into society. Moreover, it should be noted that establishing a warm relationship with the child remains a parenting bond equally as important during this period.

Parental control

Parental control refers to the rules set by parents to ensure that children with or without special needs respect the rules and social norms and sanctions established to remedy the non-compliance of these rules......