The structure of the effects of family background on children’s academic ability―An investigation using hierarchical multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling― (English translation of DP-2011-010)
In this paper, we used data from the Japan Child Panel Survey (JCPS) 2010-2011 to
investigate the process by which family background, such as parents’ educational
attainment and household income, affects children's academic ability. In particular, we
focused on "investment in education" and "the amount of time children spend learning"
as the mediate variables, and for the analysis, we used both a hierarchical multiple
regression analysis and structural equation modeling. Since the relationship between
family background and academic ability may change as the child grows, the differences
between elementary and junior high students in terms of this relationship were also
investigated. As a result, it was ascertained that parents' educational attainment and
household income not only mediate the establishment of a cultural environment within
the home, investment in after-school (extracurricular) activities, and the time the
children spend learning but also, through these variables, affect children's academic
abilities. Moreover, the analyses suggested that there may be differences between
elementary and junior high students for the following relationships: (1) between the
father's educational attainment and children’s time spent studying; (2) between
household income and children’s academic ability; (3) between investment outside the
home and children’s time spent studying; and (4) between household income and
investment inside the home.
