Parents' (dis)satisfaction with schools: evidence from longitudinal administrative data from Spain

This study uses longitudinal census data to explore the correlates of school satisfaction among parents of 3rd and 6th grade students from the Canary Islands, a large administrative region in Spain. We use logistic regression to model parental dissatisfaction with their children's school and te...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEducational review (Birmingham) Vol. 76; no. 6; pp. 1399 - 1438
Main Authors Jerrim, John, Prieto-Latorre, Claudia, Lopez-Agudo, Luis Alejandro, Marcenaro-Gutierrez, Oscar D.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Birmingham Routledge 18.09.2024
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Academic achievement
Censuses
Child development
Children
Cognition
Cognition & reasoning
Cognitive ability
Cognitive development
Cognitive skills
Confidence
educational progress
Elementary school students
Emotional development
Feedback
Happiness
Islands
Mathematics
Middle school students
non-cognitive outcomes
Parent-child relations
Parental satisfaction
Parents
Parents & parenting
Satisfaction
Satisfaction and happiness
Schools
Self concept
Stress management
Teachers
Thinking Skills
Workshops
Spain
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Summary:This study uses longitudinal census data to explore the correlates of school satisfaction among parents of 3rd and 6th grade students from the Canary Islands, a large administrative region in Spain. We use logistic regression to model parental dissatisfaction with their children's school and teachers. Our results illustrate how parents value academic performance in reading and mathematics equally, while also placing equal emphasis on the development of cognitive and non-cognitive skills. Yet, we find that what matters the most to parents is their children's happiness at school, rather than their educational progress. We also find that teachers may be able to improve parental satisfaction by providing regular feedback to parents about their children's progress. Lastly, we discuss some implications for schools to meet parental needs; for example, schools should promote activities such as specialised workshops for parents on various topics ranging from child development to emotional development, stress management and self-confidence.
ISSN:0013-1911
1465-3397
DOI:10.1080/00131911.2022.2153804