EDN611: Critical Reflection on a Research Paper Analysis

This report provides a critical reflection on a research paper published in the International Journal of Primary, Elementary, and Early years education in 2016, focusing on parental involvement in children's educational endeavors. The analysis examines the conceptualization, research design (including data collection methods), and findings of the study. The report evaluates the appropriateness of the research design, methodology, ethical considerations, and the quality of analysis, including the statistical methods used. It also critically assesses the study's conceptual framework, including the research questions and the literature review. The paper highlights the significance of the study, especially regarding the link between parental expectations and children's achievement, and the potential impact of excessive parental involvement. The report concludes with a critical understanding of the findings, discussing the strengths and limitations of the research and its implications for parental involvement and student outcomes.

Running head: CRITICAL REFLECTION
Critical reflection
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1Critical Reflection
Introduction
This research paper has been published in the International Journal of Primary, Elementary, and
Early years education in 2016 specifies the issue of parental involvement in children’s
educational endeavours. This paper will be analysing the nuances of this research paper in terms
of the data analysis , the quality of work, critical understanding of the research design, their
findings and the methods of conceptualisation. Under the conceptualisation part, this paper will
be throwing light on findings of the problem statement of the research. It is expected to ponder
on the diverse body of literature referred for the purpose for conducting the research, in case of
the issue of formulation of research question, this paper will be analysing the research questions
undertaken by the research in order to better address their problem statement of the research. It is
also expected that the study will be understanding the significant of the study in terms of the
presentation of original idea and authenticity. Under the discussion of the research design part,
this paper will be broadly outlining the data collection method and the effective procedures
undertaken for the same. The third part of the analysis will be focusing on the issue of critical
analysis of the issue by refereeing to the analytic procedure undertaken by author. Finally, it will
be highlighting the understanding of analysis of the findings. The aim of this paper is to
critically understand the concept presented by the author. It is important to understand the
background of the study since this paper will be making a critical analysis of the same.
The paper is based on the analysis of factors important for the purpose of understanding the link
between the parents and their expectations with that of the children and their career growth. This
paper also analyses the role of the parents in having higher expectations towards their children
which leads to the excessive involvement of them in their children’s growth (Carmichael et al.,

2Critical Reflection
2016). The author has mentioned that excessive involvement of the parents might impede the
growth process of the children since it creates extra pressure in them to achieve higher. However
the paper has been dedicated to the finding level of involvement of the parents in the academic
achievement of the children in the specific subject of mathematics. What is novel about this
piece of study is the fact parental involvement do not always lead to the process of control of the
children, it also reaps positive benefits to the overall performance of the child.
Discussion
Conceptualisation:
It is significant to note that the author has rightly pointed put the problem areas in the previous
study in the subject of students’ achievement and their parental involvement. It has pointed out
the gap in the existing body of literature which clearly specifies the fact that there is lack of
understanding on the issue of parental involvement in the context of Australia and their
children’s achievement especially in mathematics. In terms of the grasp of the author in the
related field of literature it is to be argued that the author has studies the background of the
factors that influence the development of good grade for the children and the issue of
homework in context of France which seems to provides a positive result in this context. It has
also been argued by the author that the importance of understanding the background of the study
is crucial in understanding the impact of parental involvement in their children’s achievement.
The author has successfully contributed on the issue of the background of the study with the
present reference to Australian parents and their commitment towards their children. However it
is to be mentioned at this junctures that the research questions derived do not relate to the gaps
identified in the body of the research(Hirano, 2016). Moreover the research questions are

3Critical Reflection
divided into number of subparts which do not take into consideration the subject specific
achievement of the Australian children. The research questions require a clear understanding of
the gap in order to form specific questions. In terms of the ambiguity of the research questions
since there is lack of coherence since it does not specify the parental involvement in children of
primary, elementary education(Hirano, 2016). In terms of mentioning the significance of the
study, it is to be noted that this study will be particularly benefitting the parents in understanding
of involvement in their homework for the primary, elementary school children. This study has
highlighted the issue of children in their subject specific achievement of mathematics; hence it
can be comprehended that this study will be crucial for these parents.
It can be evaluated from the above discussion that there is a need to develop in-depth
understanding of the issue: issue of homework and student’s achievement since it has also been
mentioned in the body of the research that excessive support to the children do not necessarily
support the development of grade for the child, instead it creates higher pressures and
expectations from the child. It is also important to note that it is necessary to establish the link
between parental involvement and building pressure on the children that can further develop the
understanding of students’ achievement level.
Appropriateness of the design
In dealing with the research question, this paper has undertaken the descriptive analysis with the
bivariate and multivariate analysis of the issues. In case of the multivariate analysis of the issue,
it is to be noted that the author has conducted the exploration of the causal relationships between
the variables of the parental involvement and the children’s performance in academics
(Carmichael et al., 2016). In order to complete the study, the author has undertaken the
regression model analysis for the purpose of managing the sample size chosen for the survey

4Critical Reflection
method of data collection. However it is to be mentioned that the case of sample size, it is
completely based on the survey method which has higher chances of random sampling and
biased understanding of the issues. In case of the participation of the sample size, the survey has
been conducted in on 4050 children of the Kindergarten(cohort of LSAC). The sample size
remaining huge, it was necessary for the study to develop this descriptive analysis method for
deriving conclusions (Carmichael et al., 2016). In order to understand the importance of the
sample size chosen, it is important to note that that sample size is appropriate chosen for the
purpose of the study other than some minor limitations of it. However it is to be mentioned that
understanding the correlation between the two variables of parental involvement and the level of
achievement of the children is not clearly defined(Hirano, 2016). This research required the
detailed analysis on their individual cases of students in order to drive the solid ground for data.
Moreover in case of the primary data collection, the sources of fact and information are more
authentic and genuine in nature and significant to derive the exact percentage(Walliman, 2017).
In case of the description of data collection, the author mentions that the survey method has been
adopted for the study. The procedures of the study has been completed by undertaking the
children who could be surveyed for the purpose. There is a clear mention of the data collection
and the involvement of the participant. The author also mentions the sample size of 1426 that
have been included for the study. One of the weaknesses of this research is that it fails to identify
the ethical considerations of the research. Moreover the study does not specify the ethical
consideration of conducting the survey for the study which constitutes one of the key aspects of
every body of research. However it is not to deny that the research had the inherent scope of
being designed in different way by including the quantitative research methods in order to make
it more detailed and comprehensive.

5Critical Reflection
Quality of analysis
For the purpose of data analysis, this paper has undertaken the descriptive analysis method which
is to derive the measurement of the parental involvement within the context of Australia.
Moreover this study has undertaken the multivariate analysis of the derived data that will help to
understand the causal relationship of the parental involvement and their relation to the children’s
achievement. It is interesting to note there is a clear description of the data analysis method
which is reflective of the fact that the author has detailed understanding of the research
approaches and models for conducting the study. For example, the author mentions that the
regression model is one of the prevalent and most significant models of deriving data from the
survey method (Carmichael et al., 2016). The author has demonstrated the nature of the study in
higher clarity in order to understand which of the models would be best suited to conduct the
study. Moreover the case of the results derived it is explained and mentioned in separate points
which is easier to derive the understanding of the issue. The issues of effective communication,
monitoring and parental belief has been discussed in one section while for the purpose of
bivariate analysis, results have been discussed and elaborated in form of a chart and this
statistical tool has been used for explain the data. In case of the multivariate analysis, results
have been displayed in a summarised representation of the bivariate relationships. Moreover the
discussion of the data has been carried in the next part of the study which constitutes the
discussion part. However it has been mentioned that there were certain limitations unlike
unavailability of the data which is reflective of the fact that there is lack of trustworthiness or
reliability on the data derived, this part of the analysis has been mentioned under the limitations
of the research paper. However it does not specify the issue of authenticity of the data. It is
crucial to remember that the study is based on the secondary data analysis which is already

6Critical Reflection
limited in nature(Wodak et al2015). However it is not to deny the fact that the result derived has
been supported by enough statistical data which is reflective of the belief that the results are
genuine and it is convincing in nature to the results provided. Even though it has been observed
that the results are based on the survey conducted, it is to be mentioned that the results are less
dependable since it is not supported by any primary data collection method which leaves options
for the interpreted to have enhanced belief in the expected results(Ginevra e al., 2015). This
analysis helps us to derive that parental involvement of the Australian families have considerable
impact on their children’s development and academic performance. This research provides a
quality analysis of the factors which are responsible for making a positive impact in their
children’s lives.
Critical understanding of the findings
In terms of the results derived, it has been observed that there is clear demarcation of the data. It
has been analysed that the results derived from the analysis is presented in percentage which is
targeted at understanding the research questions raised at the beginning of the study. It is further
important to note that this study has taken up the systematic approach for the purpose of
reaching to the conclusion in three ties system based on the communication, monitoring and
help of the parents in achieving the desired outcome. In case of the bivariate and multivariate
analysis results, it is to be noted that the results of the analysis has been represented in terms so
the parental involvement and mathematics scores of the students. This has been able to establish
the correlation of the two variables in the study. This understanding helps us derive the fact that
the research questions have been duly catered and the answers derived constitutive to be
sufficient for the understanding. Lastly, it has to be mentioned that the findings of the research
has been able to derive at the conclusion that parental involvement in the study of the children

7Critical Reflection
has been increasing the score in mathematics at least for the primary years and parents who
helped their children in their “ homework” tend to have higher progress in subjects like
mathematics (Carmichael et al., 2016).
It has been observed further that the research findings have been able to establish the correlation
between the two variables of research in order to derive the desired results. What is important for
this part of the study is that it has raised number of questions related to the effectiveness of
participation of the parents in their children’s development(Wodak et al 2015).
Conclusion
It is crucial to note that the issue of parental involvement and children achievement has been
seen to have established a positive correlation. This study has focused on the issue of parental
involvement in the context of Australia. This has been further observed that the study is
specifically concentrated in finding the mathematical outcomes and achievement of the children
who have higher support of their parents in Australia. The study has been conducted on a wide
spectrum of events in order to develop the understanding. However it has also mentioned that
excessive support and intervention of the parents in the homework of children might impact the
child in negative way in terms of higher expectation form them. However what has been lacking
in this study is that it is qualitative in nature which has the threat of producing biased results.
Nonetheless, this paper made an analysis in the same in order to establish the fact that there is an
important impact on the overall academic achievements of the child in case of support from the
family.

8Critical Reflection
Reference
Carmichael, C., & MacDonald, A. (2016). Parental influences on primary school children's
mathematics achievement: insights from the Longitudinal Study of Australian
Children. Education 3-13, 44(2), 197-211.
Ginevra, M. C., Nota, L., & Ferrari, L. (2015). Parental support in adolescents' career
development: Parents' and children's perceptions. The Career Development
Quarterly, 63(1), 2-15.
Hirano, K. A., & Rowe, D. A. (2016). A conceptual model for parent involvement in secondary
special education. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 27(1), 43-53.
Walliman, N. (2017). Research methods: The basics. Routledge.
Wodak, R., & Meyer, M. (Eds.). (2015). Methods of critical discourse studies. Sage.