The effect of maternal employment on schoolchildren's educational aspirations in Korea.

Abstract. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships between maternal employment and schoolchildren's educational aspirations in Korea. The sample consisted of 1,294 fifth- and tenth-graders and their mothers. These students in 1996 were attending public schools and living in two-parent families in Taegu, Korea. The results showed that children whose mothers were working full-time had lower educational aspirations, compared with those whose mothers were not in the labor force. Girls whose mothers were working full-time had lower educational aspirations than girls whose mothers were not working. Maternal involvement and parents' educational expectations in part mitigated the negative effects of maternal employment on children's educational aspirations.

Political, economic, and social changes in Korea in the last three decades have transformed society in a variety of aspects. Rapid economic development and industrialization have resulted in changes in employment structure, improvements in women's education, a tendency toward nuclear families (National Statistical Office, 1997), and changes in the family lifestyle. One of the dramatic demographic and social changes in Korea since the 1960s caused, in part, by rapid economic growth and development, is the increased number of women in the labor market (Nam, 1991). National census data show that the rates of women's labor force participation have edged slowly upward. In 1963, 37% of women 15 years and older were in the labor market. That figure increased to 42% in 1973,43% in 1983,47% in 1993 (National Statistical Office, 1994), and 48% in 1994 (Ministry of Labor, 1995). Today, about half of Korean women 15 years and older are in the labor force.

The rate of labor force participation by married women has increased substantially since 1960. Research on trends in Korean women's labor force participation from 1960 to 1980 (Park, 1990) showed that by 1960, 26% of married women aged 15-64 were in the labor force, with comparable rates of 37% in 1970 and 37% in 1980, although the figure was lower than that for single women aged 15-64. Labor force participation was the highest among married women aged 4554: 49% in 1980. Married women with three or more children had the highest participation rate (22%), which was slightly higher than that of childless women (2 1%) in urban areas.

Women's labor force participation has become the main topic of demographic study in Korea. Indeed, researchers have investigated the levels, patterns, and determinants of women's labor force participation behavior (Kim, 1993; Nam, 1991; Park, 1990). These researchers consistently have demonstrated a significant increase in such participation over the past three decades. It is not clear, however, what impact the labor force participation of married women has on schoolchildren's education and other outcomes. The present research aims to fill this gap.

This study examines the impact of maternal employment on schoolchildren's educational aspirations in the city of Taegu. The city, with a population of about 2.5 million, is located in the southeast of Korea and is noted for its textile industry. The research also explores how family income, maternal involvement in children's education, and parents' educational expectations for their child mediate the relationship between maternal employment and children's educational aspirations. In addition, the research examines whether the relationship between maternal employment and children's educational aspirations differs by children's gender.

Prior research in the United States and Canada has examined the influence of maternal employment on a variety of children's outcomes, including academic, psychological, and behavioral indicators. In general, the research findings have yielded inconsistent results, depending on various factors such as the child's sex and age, the mother's work-related characteristics, the family socioeconomic status, and parent-child relationships (Etaugh, 1993; Zaslow, Rabinovich, & Suwalsky, 1991). Research also suggests that it is necessary to clarify the mediating processes by which a mother's employment influences children's outcomes, such as academic achievement, self-concept, attitude, or social adjustment (Beyer, 1995; Hoffman, 1989; Milne, Myers, Rosenthal, & Ginsburg, 1986).

Most research on the impact of maternal employment uses academic achievement to measure children's outcome. Such achievement often is represented by standardized test scores and grade point average (Bogenschneider & Steinberg, 1994; Gold & Andres, 1978; Heyns & Catsambis, 1986; Milne et al., 1986; Muller, 1995; Query & Kuruvilla, 1975). These studies have reported different findings depending on the gender, age, race, and social class of children (Etaugh, 1993). For example, Query and Kuruvilla (1975) found that maternal employment had a positive effect on the achievement test scores for 9th-grade girls from two-parent families, while Gold and Andres (1978) reported no effects of maternal employment on the school achievement of 7th- to 9th-grade boys and girls from two-parent families, nor were there any effects of maternal employment on the achievement scores of boys and girls aged 14-16 from two-parent families.

If only elementary school children are considered, research findings have shown that maternal employment is unrelated to academic achievement for girls, and either unrelated or negatively related for boys (Etaugh, 1993). Research also has shown that maternal employment is either unrelated or positively related to academic achievement for adolescent girls, and is unrelated for adolescent boys (Alwin & Thornton, 1984; Baldwin, 1984; Rosenthal & Hansen, 1981).

More recent research findings by Bogenschneider and Steinberg (1994), however, showed that upper middle-class and middle-class white boys from two-parent families had lower grades when their mothers were working full-time. Muller (1995), using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (National Center for Education Statistics, 1990), a nationally representative data set, found that children with mothers who were employed full-time performed less well on mathematics achievement tests than did those with mothers employed part-time or not at all. Muller also found that children performed best when their mothers worked part-time, even after taking into account aspects of student background (e.g., gender and race/ ethnicity) and family background (e.g., family income, parents' education, and family structure, school sector of student, and urbanicity).

Many studies have revealed that the effect of maternal employment on middleclass children's outcomes varies by the gender of the child. While researchers often report that maternal employment is unrelated to male or female academic performance, when a relationship is found, it is usually in a negative direction for boys and a positive direction for girls (Montemayer & Clayton, 1983; Zaslow et al., 1991).

In general, with very few exceptions (Gottfried, 1991; Gottfried, Gottfried, & Bathurst, 1988), sons of middle-class mothers seem to be more negatively affected by maternal employment than are daughters (Beyer, 1995). Even boys as young as 4 years old show substantially lower Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test scores if their mothers' full-time employment commences during the child's first year of life (Desai, Chase-Lansdale, & Michael, 1989). Gold and Andres (1978) found similarly negative effects of maternal employment on 4-yearold boys' IQ scores. Preschool and adolescent middle-class sons of employed mothers have been found to have lower achievement test scores (Gold & Andres, 1978), IQ scores (Chase-Lansdale, Michael, & Desai, 1991), and grades (Bogenschneider & Steinberg, 1994). Interestingly, compared to daughters of non-employed mothers, daughters of employed mothers have higher achievement test scores (Gold & Andres, 1978), grades (Hoffman, 1989), ambitions (Selkow, 1984), self-esteem (Amato, 1987), and educational and career aspirations (Amstey & Whitebourne, 1988; Baldwin, 1984; Foon, 1988).

Maternal Involvement

As Mediating Variables

Maternal employment may change both maternal and paternal involvement in children's education. A mother's work outside the home may reduce the amount of time that she spends with her child. Consequently, this reduced involvement may negatively affect children's outcomes. Researchers have suggested that parental involvement, especially maternal involvement, is critical to the relationship between maternal employment and children's education or other outcomes (Beyer, 1995; Fehrmann, Keith, & Reimers, 1987; Muller, 1995; Richards & Duckett, 1991).

Some research suggests that the relationship between maternal employment and children's school outcomes is mediated by maternal involvement in children's schooling(Beyer, 1995; Richards & Duckett, 1991). Nock and Kingston (1988) found that differences in the amount of time spent by parents with their children depended on maternal employment status, suggesting that maternal employment reduces the amount of time spent by mothers with their children, and changes the degree of their involvement in children's education.

In a recent review of the relationship between maternal employment and children's academic achievement, Beyer (1995) argued that what affects the child was not maternal employment, but rather specific parenting styles. In addition, Beyer suggested that these styles were affected by maternal employment status, mothers' work-related variables, family-related variables, and demographic variables. While investigating the effects of parental involvement in the relationship between maternal employment and adolescents' mathematics achievement, Muller (1995) found that mothers who were employed part-time had the highest levels of involvement. Muller's findings clearly show that the degree and type of maternal involvement in children's education vary in terms of maternal employment status.

While research shows a consistent negative effect of full-time maternal employment on children's academic achievement, the relationship between maternal employment and children's psychological outcomes remains unexplored. Available evidence shows that the impact is not always consistent (Richards & Duckett, 1991). Rosenthal and Hansen (1981) found no differences in self-concept or vocational maturity among 7th- to 9th-graders with employed and non-employed mothers. But, Richards and Duckett (1994) found that working and middle-class 5th- to 8th-grade boys and girls from two-parent families with part-time employed mothers were likely to have higher self-esteem than did counterparts with non-employed or full-time employed mothers.

Also, it is unclear wheter the impact of maternal employment on children's psychological outcomes varies by the child's gender (Montemayer & Clayton, 1983). The studies generally show that maternal employment benefits girls' perception of self, educational aspirations, and social adjustment; for boys, however, the impact of maternal employment is inconclusive (Montemayer & Clayton, 1983; Richards & Duckett, 1991).

This study attempts to fill the gap in the literature on the relationship between maternal employment and children's psychological outcomes. The authors focused on educational aspirations as the outcome measure.

Method

Sample

To explore the impact of maternal employment on children's educational aspirations, the authors carried out a survey of schoolchildren in Korea in 1996. The sample for the study was drawn from 5th- and 10th-grade boys and girls enrolled in public schools in Taegu, Korea, using a multistage probability sampling method (Fowler, 1993). A total of 1,380 students (585 fifth-graders and 795 tenth-graders) initially were selected. After excluding students from single-parent families and students whose mothers did not return the questionnaire, the final sample for the study had 1,294 students and their mothers (537 fifth-graders and their mothers, 757 tenth-graders and their mothers). The mean age of the children in the sample was 11 years for fifth-graders and 17 years for tenth-graders.

Instruments

The survey instruments included two questionnaires, one of which was designed for the students and the other for their mothers. The student questionnaire consisted of questions intended to collect information on gender, age, family composition, number of siblings, the student's educational aspirations, and the degree of the mother's involvement as perceived by the student. The mother questionnaire asked questions about the respondent's age, number of children, education, employment status, occupation, the number of hours she works per week, her monthly earnings, and her educational expectations for the child. The questionnaire also collected similar information about the husband.

Variables in the Study

All variables were used in descriptive analysis; some variables were used in multivariate analysis.

Educational aspirations. "Educational aspirations" represents how far in school the student thinks he/she will get: finish middle school (1), finish high school (2), finish two-year college or junior college (3), graduate from four-year university (4), finish graduate school (5).

Maternal employment. The major independent variable is "maternal employment," which indicates whether the mother works outside the home at the time of the survey. It was measured in two ways: 1) employed: if the mother is employed (employed (1), otherwise (0)) and 2) employment status: if the mother works less than 44 hours per week (part-time (1), otherwise (0)), if the mother works 44 or more hours per week (full-time (1), otherwise (0)), if the mother does not work (not in the labor force (1), otherwise (0)). The reference group was women out of the labor force. Other maternal employment characteristics included: 1) the mother's monthly earnings, 2) mother's occupation, 3) years employed, and 4) whether the mother has worked continuously since being married. "Mother's monthly earnings" indicates the employed mother's monthly earnings in Korean won. "Mother's occupation" indicates the type of occupation the mother works: 1) unskilled, services, or semi-skilled; 2) crafts; 3) sales; or 4) official, semi-prof essional, or professional. "Years employed" represents the number of years the mother has worked. The question of whether the mother has worked continuously since being married was coded as a dummy variable: yes (1), no (0).

Children's individual and family characteristics. Two variables indicating children's grade level and gender are used as control variables. A score of 1 indicates whether the student is from the 10th grade, and 0 indicates whether the student is from the 5th grade. Boys are represented by the number 1, girls by a zero. Characteristics such as the child's age and number of siblings represent data at the time of the survey. Family income was based on the mother's response, and expressed as a logarithm.

Parental socioeconomic characteristics. Data on age and income are self-explanatory; education indicates either parents' highest educational level at the time of the survey: no high school (1), high school (2), college (3). Father's characteristics were reported by the mother.

Maternal involvement. Mother's involvement was reported by the student and was measured by 10 variables: 1) the frequency with which mother and child discussed things: not at all (0), once or twice (1), 3 or 4 times (2), 5 or 6 times (3), 7 or 8 times (4), 9 or more times (5); 2) whether mother has attended a school meeting since the first semester or term of the school year: yes (1), no (0); 3) whether the mother has attended any school activities or events since the first semester or term of the school year: yes (1), no (0); 4) whether the mother has visited classes since the first semester or term of the school year: yes (1), no (0); 5) the frequency with which the mother checks on homework: never (1), rarely (2), sometimes (3), often (4); 6) the frequency with which the mother requires the child to do work or chores around the home: never (1), rarely (2), sometimes (3), often (4); 7) the frequency with which the mother limits the amount of time the child spends watching TV: never (1), rarely (2), sometime s (3), often (4); 8) the frequency with which the mother limits the amount of time for going out with friends on school nights: never (1), rarely (2), sometimes (3), often (4); 9) the frequency with which the mother provides a specific place for studying: never (1), rarely (2), sometimes (3), often (4); and 10) the amount of time a child spends after school each day at home with no adult present.

Parents' educational expectations for the child. The father's or mother's educational expectations for the child indicate how far in school the parent expects the child to go: less than high school graduation (1); graduate from high school, but not to go any further (2); graduate from a two-year college or junior college (3); graduate from a four-year university (4); graduate from graduate school (5).

Results

Descriptive Analysis

Table 1 presents the percentages, medians, means, and standard deviations for selected variables for the full sample of children. Most children think they will attain a college education; they rated their educational aspirations, averaging 3.7 on a five-point scale. The mean age of mothers and fathers was 39.9 and 43.1, respectively. The mothers and fathers had high educational expectations for their children, averaging 4.4 on a five-point scale, meaning that the majority of mothers and fathers expect their children to graduate from a four-year university.

Only 30% of the children in the sample had mothers who work outside the home. About 23% had mothers who work full-time and 7% had mothers who work part-time.

Table 2 presents characteristics of working mothers by their employment status. We can see that the majority of working mothers were full-time workers (77%). Only 23% worked part-time. Sixty-five percent of working mothers and about 67% of mothers working full-time were in occupations related to crafts and sales, and 45% of mothers working part-time were in occupations related to sales. This finding indicates that regardless of their employment status, working mothers are mainly employed in occupations related to sales. Regardless of their employment status, most working mothers (63%) have worked continuously since they married, and have worked, on average, for 7.5 years.

Multivariate Analysis

The effect of maternal employment. This section presents the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression analysis of the total effect of maternal employment on children's educational aspirations, and how that effect varies by gender. The major independent variable was maternal employment, which was measured in two ways: 1) whether or not the mother was employed and 2) employment status (part-time or full-time). Gender and grade level were included in the statistical model as control variables.

As shown in Table 3, maternal full-time employment was a significant predictor of children's educational aspirations. Children with mothers working full-time were likely to have lower educational aspirations than those who had mothers not in the labor force. In addition, the child's gender and grade level were significant predictors of educational aspirations. Regardless of their mothers' employment, girls and 10th-graders had higher educational aspirations than did boys and 5th-graders.

Table 3 also shows the effect of maternal employment on gender groups. Maternal employment was not statistically significant on boys' educational aspirations. Among girls, however, maternal full-time employment predicts educational aspirations. Girls with mothers working full-time had lower educational aspirations than those whose mothers were not in the labor force. Tenth-graders had higher educational aspirations than did 5th-graders.

Analysis of children's educational aspirations. The impact of maternal employment is affected by such factors as family income, maternal involvement, and parents' educational expectations for the child. The major independent variable was maternal employment. Because previous analyses suggested that a single measure of employment versus nonemployment concealed the time factor in mother's employment, in the following analysis the researchers dropped the dichotomous measure of maternal employment.

Table 4 indicates the results of the multiple regression analysis for educational aspirations for the full sample of children, and by the child's gender. The variable of interest is maternal employment, measured by two dummy variables--part-time and full-time employment. In Model 1, for the full sample of 5th- and 10th-graders, family income was included. The negative effect of having a mother working frill-time remained significant. In comparison to Model 2 in Table 3, the effect became somewhat larger. After controlling for family income, children whose mothers worked full-time still had lower educational aspirations than their counterparts whose mothers were not in the labor force, or who worked part-time. The increased family income that accrues from a mother's employment favorably affects children's educational aspirations. Factoring out the increased family income from mother's full-time work reveals a greater negative impact of mother's full-time work.

Three other independent variables in Model 1 were significant. Tenth-graders and children from higher income families appeared to have higher educational aspirations than did 5th-graders and those from lower income families. Boys were likely to have lower educational aspirations than girls.

When maternal involvement was added in Model 2 in Table 4, the negative effect of maternal full-time employment was reduced, but the effect remained significant. This suggests that higher levels of maternal involvement reduce the negative impact of mother's full-time work on the child's educational aspirations. With regard to maternal involvement, children whose mothers typically discuss classwork with their children, visit their children's classes, and more frequently provide their children with a specific place for studying tended to have higher educational aspirations. However, children of mothers who check more frequently on their children's homework appeared to have lower educational aspirations. Frequent checks may reveal a maternal pattern of excessive control or interference, or spotlight a child's academic difficulties. This frequent checking of homework may be negatively associated with educational aspirations.

Controlling for maternal involvement reduced the gender difference to insignificance, suggesting that the lower level of boys' educational aspirations was accounted for by the lower levels of maternal involvement among boys. When parents' educational expectations for the child were added in Model 3 in Table 4, the negative effect of mothers' full-time work was about the same as that in Model 2. Educational expectations did not mediate the relationship between maternal employment and children's educational aspirations, although both mothers' and fathers' educational expectations showed positive effects.

Models 4-9 in Table 4 repeated models for the sample of boys and girls. The analysis revealed that maternal employment was a significant predictor of girls' educational aspirations. For boys, maternal employment did not influence educational aspirations. The negative effect of mothers' full-time work remained significant for girls, even after taking into account family income, maternal involvement, and parents' educational expectations.

The impact of other independent variables did not vary by the child's gender, even after taking into account family income, maternal involvement, and parents' educational expectations. Also, children from higher income families tended to have higher educational aspirations, but the effect disappeared after controlling for parents' educational expectations. And, boys and girls of mothers who more frequently discuss with their children things studied in class, and more frequently provide them with a specific place for studying, were likely to have higher educational aspirations. While boys of mothers who visit their children's classes tended to have higher educational aspirations, those whose mothers check more frequently on their homework appeared to have lower educational aspirations. Boys and girls with fathers who have higher educational expectations, and girls whose mothers have higher educational expectations, had higher educational aspirations themselves.

Discussion

This study focused on three issues: the impact of maternal employment on children's educational aspirations, the effect of maternal employment as related to gender of the child, and whether family income and maternal involvement mediate the relationship between maternal employment and children's educational aspirations.

First, the most consistent finding from this study focuses on the nature of the impact of full-time maternal employment on children's educational aspirations. The findings indicate that children with mothers who work full-time were more likely to have lower educational aspirations than those of mothers not in the labor force, while there was no difference in the educational aspirations for the children of mothers working part-time and those not in the labor force. This does not support previous research in the United States, which found that part-time maternal employment positively influenced children's various educational outcomes, while full-time maternal employment did not have any impact on children's educational outcomes, after controlling for the child's race/ethnicity and gender, and for the family's socioeconomic status (Beyer, 1995; Hoffman, 1980, 1989; Muller, 1995; Paulson, 1996; Zaslow et al., 1991).

Researchers in the United States have cited additional resources available to children when explaining the beneficial impact of part-time maternal employment (Desai et al., 1989; Muller, 1995; Richards & Duckett, 1991). According to these researchers, mothers working part-time appear to have more resources at their disposal for their children's education, in comparison with mothers working full-time. In general, mothers working part-time tend to have higher educational levels, more educated husbands, and higher family income, and tend to work in more prestigious occupations. Also, part-time employment's more flexible work schedules provide part-time employed mothers with more opportunities to be involved in their children's education. Thus, children in families with mothers who work part-time benefit from maternal employment.

Korean mothers working full-time are likely to have fewer resources for their children than those working part-time. They tend to have a low educational level, have lower family income, work in less prestigious occupations, and be married to husbands who are less educated as well (see Tables 1 and 2). Therefore, these conditions are associated with lower levels of children's educational aspirations.

The present research clearly suggests gender differences in the impact of maternal employment and children's educational aspirations. The findings suggest that fulltime employment by mothers has a negative effect on girls' (but not boys') educational aspirations. Girls of mothers working fulltime appear to have lower educational aspirations than those of mothers not in the labor force.

According to a review of previous research on gender differences in the effects of maternal employment (Beyer, 1995; Etaugh, 1993; Hoffman, 1989; Montemayer & Clayton, 1983; Zaslow et al., 1991), maternal employment benefits girls in general. A possible explanation for gender differences in the effect of maternal employment on children's outcomes is the role model theory. In general, maternal employment is associated with less traditional sex-role concepts and a higher evaluation of female competence (Montemayer & Clayton, 1983). Maternal employment affects the daughter because of the differing role models provided by working and nonworking mothers. Daughters of working mothers compare positively with those of nonworking mothers, particularly with respect to independence and achievement-related variables. The effects of maternal employment are much less clear for sons, perhaps because the modeling theory is less direct for them and depends on how maternal employment affects the father's role.

However, the present findings do not support the notion of working mothers as positive role models for daughters. By contrast, the findings in Korea may be explained by the "negative role model" effect of full-time employed mothers on daughters. Compared to mothers who work part time, mothers who work full-time have a lower educational level and are in less prestigious occupations (see Tables 1 and 2). Because less prestigious occupations require less education, daughters often are not convinced of the benefits of higher education. This perception might affect the daughters' educational aspirations. In order to clarify this relationship, more effort should be made to examine the associations among mothers' work, as well as the child's perception of the mother's work.

These results indicate that maternal involvement and parents' educational expectations reduce the negative impact of full-time maternal employment on educational aspirations, suggesting that children with mothers who work full-time are at a disadvantage because these mothers are less involved in the children's education. The lower involvement leads, in turn, to less concern for, and less supervision and guidance of the child's school progress, resulting in his or her lower educational aspirations.

Authors' Note: This paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of Comparative and International Educational Society held in Buffalo, New York, in March 1998. We thank Suet-ling Pong, David Post, and Yoshimitsu Takei for their useful comments on various drafts of this paper. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dong-Beam Ju, who is now at the Korea Institute for Youth Development, 142 Woomyun-Dong, Seocho-Gu, Seoul, 137-715, Korea.

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Table 1

Descriptive Statistics for Variables in the study

Variable                              P   Mdn      M      SD

Maternal Employment
 Employed                            30
 Employment status
  Full-time                          23
  Part-time                           7
  Not in the labor force             70
Monthly Family Income (in 10,000         200.00
Won)
The Child's Characteristics
  Grade
   Fifth                             42
   Tenth                             58
  Gender
   Male                              51
   Female                            49
  Age                                            13.74  2.51
  Number of siblings                              1.32   .75
  Educational aspirations                         3.73   .81
Mother's Characteristics
 Education
  No high school                     42
  High school                        47
  College                            11
 Age                                             39.93  4.24
 Educational expectations for the
 child                                            4.35   .55
Father's Characteristics
 Education
  No high school                     22
  High school                        51
  College                            27
 Age                                             43.12  4.69
 Educational expectations for the
 child                                            4.35   .56
Maternal Involvement
 Discussion of things studied in
  class                                           2.97  1.74
 Whether attended a school meeting                 .31   .46
 Whether attended school activities
  or events                                        .38   .49
 Whether visited classes                           .17   .37
 Checking on homework                             2.87  1.01
 Requiring to do work or chores
  around the home                                 3.42   .67
 Limiting the amount of time spent
  watching TV                                     2.63  1.03
 Limiting the amount of time for
  going out with friends on school
  night                                           2.93   .99
 Providing a specific place for
  studyting                                       3.43   .80
 Time spent after school without an
  adult                                           1.37  1.85
N                                        1,294
Table 2

Characteristics of Working Mothers by Employment Status

                                    All   Full-time  Part-time

Variable                                      P
Employment Status
 Full-time                          76.9     --         --
 Part-time                          23.1     --         --
Education
 No High school                     45.2    48.8       33.0
 High school                        43.1    41.3       49.5
 College                            11.7     9.9       17.6
Occupation
 Unskilled, services, or semi-      20.6    19.5       24.2
 skilled
 Crafts                             28.9    33.3       14.3
 Sales                              36.0    33.3       45.1
 Officials, semi-professionals, or  14.5    13.9       16.5
 professionals
Whether the mother has worked
 continously
 Yes                                62.9    63.7       60.4
 No                                 37.1    36.3       49.6
                                        All                  Full-time
Variable                     M        Mdn        SD           M

Employment hours per week  53.76               17.22        60.46
Number of years worked      7.49                5.46         7.57
Monthly family income                230.00
 (in 10,000 Won)
n                                    394

                                Full-time               Part-time
Variable                    Mdn       SD            M        Mdn

Employment hours per week            13.04        31.46
Number of years worked                5.45         7.23
Monthly family income      220.00                           240.00
 (in 10,000 Won)
n                          303                               91

                           Part-time
Variable                    SD

Employment hours per week  8.34
Number of years worked     5.51
Monthly family income
 (in 10,000 Won)
n
Table 3

Multiple Regression Analysis for Educational Aspirations

(Full Sample and by the Child's Gender)

                                         Full sample               Boys
                                            Model                  Model
Variable                          (1)            (2)          (3)

The Child's Characteristics
  Male (ref: female)             -.058 (*)      -.055 (*)      --
                                 (.043)         (.043)
  10th grade (ref: fifth grade)   .296 (***)     .297 (***)   .333 (***)
                                 (.044)         (.044)       (.064)
Maternal Employment
 Employed                        -.052                       -.033
 (ref: nonemployed)              (.047)                      (.068)
 Part-time                                       .030
 (ref: not in the labor force)                  (.085)
 Full-time                                      -.077 (**)
 (ref: not in the labor force)                  (.051)
Constant                         3.522          3.518        3.366
[R.sup.2]                         .097           .102         .115

n                                1,294                         664

                                     Boys                 Girls
                                     Model                Model
Variable                          (4)          (5)          (6)

The Child's Characteristics
  Male (ref: female)               --           --           --

  10th grade (ref: fifth grade)   .333 (***)   .257 (***)   .259 (***)
                                 (.064)       (.059)       (.059)
Maternal Employment
 Employed                                     -.069
 (ref: nonemployed)                           (.064)
 Part-time                        .002                      .064
 (ref: not in the labor force)   (.130)                    (.110)
 Full-time                       -.040                     -.120 (**)
 (ref: not in the labor force)   (.073)                    (.071)
Constant                         3.365        3.583        3.582
[R.sup.2]                         .115         .072         .088

n                                               630

Note. The regression coefficients are standardized coefficients. The
standard errors for the regression coefficients are in parentheses.

(*)p <. 05

(**)p <. 01

(***)p <. 001
Table 4

Multiple Regression Analysis for Educational Aspirations

(Full Sample and by the Child's Gender)

The Child's Characteristics

                                              Full sample
                                                 Model
Variable                        (1)            (2)          (3)

  Male (ref: female)           -.055 (*)      -.046        -.033
                               (.042)         (.042)       (.040)
  Tenth grade                   .290 (***)     .326 (***)   .343 (***)
  (ref: fifth grade)           (.043)         (.062)       (.060)

                                                Boys
                                                Model
Variable                        (4)          (5)          (6)

  Male (ref: female)             --           --           --

  Tenth grade                   .330 (***)   .367 (***)   .368 (***)
  (ref: fifth grade)           (.064)       (.089)       (.084)

                                                Girls
                                                Model
Variable                         (7)         (8)          (9)

  Male (ref: female)             --           --           --

  Tenth grade                   .246 (***)   .277 (***)   .300 (***)
  (ref: fifth grade)           (.058)       (.089)       (.087)

Maternal Employment

                                              Full sample
                                                 Model
Variable                        (1)            (2)          (3)

  Part-time                     .004           .023         .014
  (ref: not in the
   labor force)                (.086)         (.083)       (.080)
  Full-time                    -.115 (***)    -.079 (**)   -.067 (*)
  (ref: not in the
   labor force                 (.053)         (.052)       (.050)
Family Income (log)             .137 (***)     .088 (**)    .053 (*)
                               (.049)         (.049)       (.047)

                                                Boys
                                                Model
Variable                        (4)          (5)          (6)

  Part-time                    -.020         .009        -.005
  (ref: not in the
   labor force)                (1.30)       (.126)       (.120)
  Full-time                    -.078        -.034        -.029
  (ref: not in the
   labor force                 (.075)       (.075)       (.071)
Family Income (log)             .142 (***)   .089 (*)     .051
                               (.071)       (.072)       (.069)

                                                Girls
                                                Model
Variable                         (7)         (8)          (9)

  Part-time                     .033         .033         .030
  (ref: not in the
   labor force)                (.112)       (.110)       (.106)
  Full-time                    -.158 (***)  -.136 (**)   -.115 (**)
  (ref: not in the
   labor force                 (.074)       (.074)       (.072)
Family Income (log)             .135 (***)   .099 (*)     .068
                               (.067)       (.067)       (.065)

Maternal Involvement

                                              Full sample
                                                 Model
Variable                        (1)            (2)          (3)

  Discussion of things                         .199 (***)   .172 (***)
   studied in the class                       (.013)       (.013)
  Whether attended                             .034         .031
   a school meeting                           (.049)       (.047)
  Whether attended                             .013         .003
   school activities                          (.057)       (.054)
   or events
  Whether visited                              .079 (**)    .078 (**)
   classes                                    (.065)       (.062)
  Checked on                                  -.084 (**)   -.085 (**)
   homework                                   (.023)       (.022)
  Required to do work                         -.009        -.001
   or chores around                           (.032)       (.030)
   the home
  Limited the amount                           .031         .033
   of time spent                              (.022)       (.021)
   watching TV
  Limited the amount of time                   .002        -.004
   for going out with friends                 (.023)       (.022)
   on school nights
  Provided a specific place                    .094 (***)   .074 (***)
   for studying                               (.028)       (.027)
  Time spent after school                     -.028        -.033
   without an adult                           (.012)       (.011)

                                                Boys
                                                Model
Variable                        (4)          (5)          (6)

  Discussion of things                       .174 (***)   .143 (***)
   studied in the class                     (.019)       (.018)
  Whether attended                           .007         .011
   a school meeting                         (.068)       (.065)
  Whether attended                           .039         .028
   school activities                        (.079)       (.075)
   or events
  Whether visited                            .126 (**)    .110 (**)
   classes                                  (.097)       (.092)
  Checked on                                -.106 (**)   -.101 (**)
   homework                                 (.033)       (.032)
  Required to do work                       -.020        -.010
   or chores around                         (.046)       (.044)
   the home
  Limited the amount                         .054         .067
   of time spent                            (.031)       (.030)
   watching TV
  Limited the amount of time                 .017         .010
   for going out with friends               (.033)       (.031)
   on school nights
  Provided a specific place                  .110 (**)    .103 (**)
   for studying                             (.044)       (.042)
  Time spent after school                   -.053        -.046
   without an adult                         (.017)       (.016)

                                                Girls
                                                Model
Variable                         (7)         (8)          (9)

  Discussion of things                       .226 (***)   .205 (***)
   studied in the class                     (.018)       (.017)
  Whether attended                           .061         .051
   a school meeting                         (.074)       (.073)
  Whether attended                           -029        -.043
   school activities                        (.083)       (.080)
   or events
  Whether visited                            .032         .045
   classes                                  (.087)       (.085)
  Checked on                                -.062        -.068
   homework                                 (.032)       (.031)
  Required to do work                       -.010        -.003
   or chores around                         (.044)       (.043)
   the home
  Limited the amount                         .011        -.001
   of time spent                            (.031)       (.030)
   watching TV
  Limited the amount of time                -.019        -.025
   for going out with friends               (.034)       (.033)
   on school nights
  Provided a specific place                  .072         .044
   for studying                             (.037)       (.036)
  Time spent after school                    .007        -.013
   without an adult                         (.016)       (.016)

Parent's Educational

                                              Full sample
                                                 Model
Variable                        (1)            (2)          (3)

  Expectations for
  the Child
  Mother's expectations                                     .105 (**)
                                                           (.046)
  Father's expectations                                     .185 (***)
                                                           (.046)
Constant                       2.269          2.183         .921
[R.sup.2]                       .119           .190         .258
n                                             1,294

                                                Boys
                                                Model
Variable                        (4)          (5)          (6)

  Expectations for
  the Child
  Mother's expectations                                   .070
                                                         (.065)
  Father's expectations                                   .232 (***)
                                                         (.067)
Constant                       1.984        1.917         .600
[R.sup.2]                       .134         .216         .294
n                                             664

                                                Girls
                                                Model
Variable                         (7)         (8)          (9)

  Expectations for
  the Child
  Mother's expectations                                   .143 (**)
                                                         (.066)
  Father's expectations                                   .130 (**)
                                                         (.063)
Constant                        2.438       2.362        1.169
[R.sup.2]                        .104        .173         .227
n                                             630

Note. The regression cofficients are standardized coefficients. The
standard errors for the regression coefficients are in parentheses.

(*)p < .05

(**)p < .01

(***)p < .001