Parental Involvement Across the School Transition: Trajectories, Longitudinal Patterns, and Associated Factors

Abstract

This study examined trajectories and longitudinal patterns of parental involvement (PI), considering involvement contexts (home vs. school) and parental roles (mothers vs. fathers) across the transition to primary school and identified factors associated with different PI profiles. PI is an important social resource that supports children to deal with various challenges in their learning and development and may contribute to their readiness for formal schooling. Parents of 142 Hong Kong children (47.2% girls; M age  = 70.56 ± 3.72 months) from 10 kindergartens reported on coparenting, parental efficacy, and child behaviors (mothers only) in the final year of kindergarten (K3). Both parents reported PI at K3, Primary 1, and Primary 2. Repeated‐measures ANOVAs revealed that PI followed a quadratic trajectory: most indicators increased at school entry and declined afterward. Repeated measures latent profile analysis (RMLPA) identified three profiles: low PI, high paternal and low maternal involvement, and high PI. Families were more likely to belong to the high PI profile with greater coparenting cooperation, the low PI profile with higher levels of child physical aggression, and the high paternal and low maternal involvement profile with higher levels of paternal efficacy. Findings reveal the curvilinear trajectories of PI, diverse PI patterns across families, and key parent and child factors associated with PI across the school transition. Support for PI should consider changes and family differences, with targeted interventions focusing on coparenting, parental efficacy, and child behaviors accordingly to enhance PI in families with less involved parents.