Parental modernity and child academic competence: Toward a theory of individual and societal development

A longitudinal study of low income mothers and infants investigated relationships among parent behaviors and characteristics and child adaptive behaviors in kindergarten. Substantial inter‐correlated childrearing and educational beliefs, values, and behaviors that were labelled parental modernity were correlated with parent education and individual modernity. Childrearing beliefs, values for children, and parent behaviors during infancy and the pre‐school years were significantly correlated with child academic competence and motivation. An environmental interpretation of correlations of parental modernity with child academic competence was supported by evidence of historical increases in mean intelligence levels that correspond to progress in education and technology. Parallel increases in societal modernity, individual/ parental modernity, and child academic competence are integrated by a theory of individual and societal development.