Chinese parenting styles and children's self-regulated learning.

Chinese Parenting Styles and Children's Self-Regulated Learning--Huang & Prochner

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Chinese parenting styles and their children's perceived level of self-regulation. Drawing on the literature in social cognition and variations in parenting approaches, the authors used three questionnaire report measures to gather data from a convenience sample of 177 fourth-grade children and either their mother or father. Previous studies of Chinese parenting styles revealed child-rearing practices that are deemed authoritarian, restrictive, and controlling. With significant social and economic changes rapidly occurring in China, Huang and Prochner sought to understand current parenting styles and their relationship to student self-regulated learning. Overall, the results of the correlation and regression analyses indicate that the Chinese parents perceived themselves as more inclined towards authoritative and training parenting styles rather than permissive or authoritarian. Indeed, authoritative parenting was significantly and positively related to children's ratings of self-regulated learning, although the proportion of self-regulation variance explained by parenting style was relatively modest. A negative relationship was found for authoritarian parenting and level of student self-regulated learning. Permissive and training styles of parenting were not significantly related to student self-regulated learning. The authors attribute these shifts in parenting style preference, in part, to larger societal changes that are occurring in China. Internationalism appears to be affecting traditional Chinese childrearing ideologies, attitudes, and practices. Thus, these changes may be reflected in parental self-report measures of childrearing styles. The authors conclude with several recommendations for additional re search on cross-cultural parenting styles and student self-regulated learning.