Parental beliefs about education and development: a longitudinal study

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine parental beliefs throughout the main developmental stages of children. A longitudinal 16-year follow up study has been done of 102 parents (55 mothers and 47 fathers). They responded to the Parents’ Ideas questionnaire at the main stages of child development: at birth (Time 1), at 22 months old (Time 2), at 7 years old (Time 3), and at 16 years old (Time 4). While, in general terms, configurational patterns tend to be stable over time, there are specific configurational patterns associated with the developmental stages of children, and more similarities can be found between Time 1 and Time 4, on one hand, and between Time 2 and Time 3 on the other. These results are discussed, arguing that big moments of change or parental insecurity contribute to reinforcing traditional ideology, and the utility of taking into account parental beliefs on development, upbringing and education when developing parent psychoeducational programs is considered.