# Relationship between Parents’ Educational Expectations and Children’s Growth Based on NVivo 12.0 Qualitative Software

Authors: Xiaohua Guo
Journal: Scientific Programming
 (2022)

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## Abstract

The relationship between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth is a hot topic in family education. In this study, in-depth interviews are conducted with 30 elementary school students and their parents, and the interview data are analyzed by NVivo 12.0 qualitative software. Based on the data from NVivo 12.0, this study initially constructs a model of the relationship between parents' educational expectations and children’s growth. This study consists of six parts, including introduction, literature review, research method and materials, results and discussion, and conclusions. The study finds that the educational expectations of elementary school students’ parents include three main contents: their children’s quality expectations, learning expectations, and life expectations; the differences in perceptions of educational expectations lead to differences in parents’ behaviors, which in turn affects the children’s growth; parents should maintain high expectations for their children when there is a deviation between children’s growth and parents’ expectations, and parents should not make a simple attribution to children and lower expectations; parental educational ways and teaching by words and deeds are the guarantees of parents’ educational expectations and the conditions for promoting children’s growth; national education policy is the fundamental guarantee to promote parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth. The research conclusions have different opinions on the content and cognition of parents’ educational expectations and can provide a scientific basis for parents’ family education guidance.


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## Body

## 1. Introduction

The parental educational expectation is essentially the goal of family education and training [1]. Under the influence of the traditional cultural psychology of success and excellence, Chinese parents have always maintained high educational expectations for their children’s academic performance. The relationship between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth has always been a topic of concern in the academic world. At present, China attaches great importance to family education and has promulgated the “Family Education Promotion Law,” which means that family education has risen from family affairs to state affairs. Family educators will have a critical role to play in the future in promoting children’s healthy development from the perspective of family education. China has also implemented a “double reduction policy” to reduce the amount of homework and extracurricular training required of students. The policy has a big impact on family education and encourages educators and parents to think about what they are doing. Coupled with the fact that the number of parents with a higher education has increased significantly in the new era compared with the past, they often have their own ideas about how to raise their children. As a result of these influences, parents’ educational expectations are bound to differ. A thorough examination of parents’ educational expectations and their children’s development is extremely useful.


## 2. Literature Review

Past scholars have studied the reasons, content, and effects of parents’ educational expectations. Some researchers believe that high parental expectations for children’s education come from examination-oriented education, employment pressure, interpersonal comparison psychology (Xining Wu), and parents’ educational expectations. Chinese parents’ high expectations come from traditional cultural psychology (Xiaowei Yang). Under the impact of the cultural psychology and reality of this kind of educational expectation, parents often give their children too high educational expectations and therefore put forward high learning requirements. When it comes to the content of parents’ educational expectations, existing studies have focused on parents’ expectations for their children’s education and career (Dongmin Zhou). In recent years, scholars have paid attention to the educational expectations of the working class and disadvantaged groups. The educational expectations of the working class parents have highlighted the thinking path of studying hard, entering into a good university, finding a good job, and living a good life, reflecting the orientation of instrumental rationality and pragmatism (Heni Xiong). When talking about the role of parents’ educational expectations, most researchers mentioned the Pygmalion effect; that is, the higher the expectations for the child, the better the child’s performance (Gong Jing). Parents who convey positive “expectations” to their children will make them advance faster and develop better to stand out in the group (Yali Jiang). In addition, some researchers believe that parents’ high educational expectations will cause them to spend a lot of time and energy on their children’s academic work, resulting in a preference for intelligence over morality, which will also give children too much interference and deprive them of the space for self-exploration (Huilian Lin). Some scholars have pointed out that this kind of learning pressure imposed on children due to high educational expectations will harm the children. For example, Chen and Xiao believe that parents having too high expectations for their children in terms of learning will affect their children’s physical and mental health [2].Judging from the existing research, the research on the content of parents’ educational expectations has more to stop in the “learning expectations.” There is insufficient research on children’s moral educational expectations, mental health expectations, and interpersonal communication expectations, especially expectation of moral education, because morality is the root of human beings, and the cultivation of children’s moral education should be laid by family education [3]. The second is the intermediary variable of the relationship between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth, that is, how parents’ educational expectations can transform and promote children’s growth. It is often limited to the variable research between parents’ educational expectations and academic achievement. In addition, the research on the relationship between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth is mostly speculative research rather than empirical research in terms of research methods. Although the impact of parents’ educational expectations on children’s growth has received attention, a review of the existing literature suggests that many questions remain poorly answered. The most representative questions are what the content of parents’ educational expectations is, what impact these expectations have on children’s growth, what the process of impact is, whether the results of the impact are different from the original educational expectations, what the new changes in parents’ “educational expectations” are, and what the effects of these changes on their children are with the increasing importance parents attach to education and the promulgation and implementation of the national double reduction policy. Therefore, this study uses grounded theory methods to study the core content of parents’ educational expectations and deeply analyzes the relationship between parents’ educational expectations and children’s development. It expands the field of research on parents’ educational expectations, provides strategic guidance to enable parents to develop reasonable expectations for their children in family education, promotes a good parent-child relationship, and helps children grow up healthily.


## 3. Research Method and Materials

### 3.1. Research Method

This research adopts grounded theory to explore the theoretical model of the relationship between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth to provide valuable theoretical guidance for parenting. In this study, all the data obtained from the interview are imported into the software for data processing. Grounded theory is not only a methodology, a way of thinking and studying social phenomena but also a research method, which is a procedure and technique for collecting and analyzing data. It requires researchers to maintain the mentality of generative theory at all times, adopt theoretical sampling standards, select research objects according to the needs of generative theory, systematically collect and analyze data, and discover, develop, and test theories from the data [4]. In other words, the grounded theory emphasizes generating theory from research data. This article uses open coding, axial coding, and selective coding on the research data obtained from the interview.


### 3.2. Research Data Collection

This study discusses the relationship between parents’ educational expectations of elementary school students and children’s growth, so the interviewees are elementary school students and their parents. The selection of interviewees is mainly based on the following considerations: (1) the grade and gender of the child. Face-to-face interviews are required for basic research, and upper elementary school students can express their ideas more clearly. To ensure maximum access to information, children in the fifth and sixth grades of elementary school are selected. Gender differences in the interviewees may result in the research questions presenting different content, so both boys and girls were selected as the interview sample. (2) The types of children’s schools: the characteristics of children and parents varied from school to school. Therefore, the interview subjects are selected from three types of schools. One is suburban schools (some are essentially rural schools), the second is general schools in the city, and the third is high-quality schools in the city. (3) The gender of the parents: fathers and mothers also differ greatly in the education of their children. When interviewees were contacted, it was found that most of those interviewed were mothers, so the author purposely selected fathers for interviews. The details of the interviewees are as shown in Tables1 and 2.Table 1
Information of interviewees (students).
Basic situationNumberPercentageGenderBoy1033Girl2067GradeFive1447Six1653Type of schoolUrban high-quality school1033Suburban school827Urban general school1240Table 2
Information of interviewees (parents).
Basic situationNumberPercentageGenderMale1033Female2067Age<381860>381240Education levelHigh school13College620Undergraduate1860Master517ProfessionFull-time mother517Teacher413Enterprise517Company827Doctor413Freelancers413This interview focuses on research questions and conducts in-depth interviews with interviewees through a semi-structured interview. The interview outline is divided into two versions for parents and children. The parent interview covers the following topics: “What kind of person do you want your child to be?” “What are the aspects you pay attention to in the process of raising your child?” “Do you think you have high educational expectations for your child?” “What are the advantages and disadvantages of high expectations?” The interview with the child involves the following topics: “When do your parents usually praise you and what do they expect and demand from you?” “What your parents expect of you will put pressure on you?”After finishing the interview recording, a manuscript of about 200,000 words was formed.To ensure the reliability and validity of the research, this study adopted the principle of typicality and representativeness, interviewing children of different genders, school types, and grades, as well as parents of different genders, educational backgrounds, and occupations. An outline of the interview was laid out around the research questions, and two parents were selected for pre-interview. After the interview, the outline of the interview was adjusted appropriately. During the interview, the interviewer followed up with the interviewee in a timely manner if some of the issues were unclear. In addition, after the emergence of the core categories in this study, an independent new sample was used to test the theoretical saturation.


### 3.3. Materials: Data Analysis and Model Construction

#### 3.3.1. Open Coding

The first step of grounded theory is to carry out open coding (open coding), also known as first-level coding, which involves the researcher with an open mind, trying to suspend personal “bias,” and carrying out all the information according to its state. The purpose of coding is to discover conceptual categories from data, name the categories, determine the dimensions and attributes of the categories, and then name and generalize the researched phenomena. NVivo 12.0 is used to analyze the interview data word by word; the parents’ interview data formed 34 initial concepts and 19 categories. The children’s interview data formed 21 initial concepts and nine categories, as shown in Tables3 and 4.Table 3
Analysis of interview data of parents (open coding).
Excerpts of original data sentencesInitial conceptCategoryChildren have a correct outlook on life and values, to know how to respect othersA1 correct valuesB1 guidance of valuesChildren cannot just pursue money, but do things useful to the country when they grow upA2 being useful to the countryNo matter how brilliant the star is, it is packaged through some commercial means. It is through personal effort and talent that one can become a truly successful personA5 work hardB3 positive stateSelf-discipline is more important in independent learningA12 independence and consciousnessB7 self-disciplineThe high expectations I have for my children sometimes put a lot of pressure on them, making myself and my family very anxious very oftenA14 high expectations are prone to anxietyB9 anxiety stressPerhaps all parents have too high expectations for their children, which can cause some psychological pressure on the childrenA15 high expectations bring pressureDouble reduction is a good policy, which is beneficial to the physical and mental development of childrenA24 political advantageB13 national policyNote. Due to the large number of coding contents, only the representative or special statements are selected as examples in this study.Table 4
Analysis of children’s interview data (partial).
Excerpts of original data sentencesInitial conceptCategoryMy mother seldom hits me but encourages me moreA1 positive encourageB1 encourage educationOnce I did not get good grades on the exam, my father encouraged me instead of blaming me. I felt a little sad because I did not try my best to learn; it was my problemA2 self-reflectionThe high expectations my parents have for me are a great motivation. I don’t want to live up to their expectationsA7 generate momentumB4 transcend yourselfIn some cases, my parents would let me try my best even though they knew I might not be able to do it. By trying, I did well every time, and things weren’t that hard as I thoughtA8 do your bestMy father doesn’t ask me to study well; he wants me to stay happy and healthy by doing what I want to do in the futureA15 happiness and healthB7 life expectancySometimes my teacher would give the parents some assignments, and my mother always did them very carefullyA20 work hardB10 serious and self-disciplinedMy mother insists on finishing her daily assignments, which greatly influences meA21 stick to self-disciplineNote. Due to the large number of coding contents, only the representative or special statements are selected as examples in this study.


#### 3.3.2. Axial Coding

The main task of axial coding is to further discover and establish various connections between conceptual categories based on open coding. The parent interview data analysis yielded four main categories and seven subcategories and that of the child interview data yielded three main categories and four subcategories, as shown in Tables5 and 6.Table 5
Analysis of parents’ interview data.
Open code extraction categorySubcategoryMain categoryB1 guidance of valuesC1 quality expectationD1 what to expectB2 inner abundanceB3 positive stateB4 positive qualityB5 emphasize learningC2 learning expectationB6 learning motivationB7 learning self-disciplineB8 learning methodB9 anxiety and stressC3 anticipation effectD2 expectation awarenessB10 progress leadsB11 deny the childC4 education methodD3 condition guaranteeB12 encourage to tryB14 adjust mentalityC5 parentsB15 parent occupationB16 parents’ reflectionB17 parent statusB18 parental awarenessB19 words and deedsC6 words and deedsB13 national policyC7 national policyD4 policy guaranteeTable 6
Analysis of children’s interview data.
Open code extraction categorySubcategoryMain categoryB1 encourage educationC1 education methodD1 condition guaranteeB2 punishment educationB5 emotional stressB9 work patienceC2 teach by words and deedsB10 serious self-disciplineB3 do your bestC3 breakthroughD2 expectation effectB4 transcend yourselfB6 quality expectationC4 what to expectD3 what to expectB7 life expectationB8 study well


#### 3.3.3. Selective Coding

Selective coding allows for further systematic treatment of inter-category associations, describes parents’ educational expectations in a “storyline” format, and constructs models to represent the relationship between parents’ educational expectations and child development during elementary school.According to the categories derived from the coding, it is concluded in this study that the educational expectations of the elementary students’ parents cover three main areas: quality expectations, learning expectations, and life expectations. Parents’ educational expectations are closely related to children’s growth. The cognition of “expectation” itself is particularly important. Children will regard their parents’ educational expectations as an encouragement and a breakthrough in their abilities. However, whether parents adopt appropriate educational practices and teach by words determines whether children can grow up as their parents expect. At the same time, parents’ educational expectations depend on the protection of national policies to truly promote children’s growth, as shown in Figure1.Figure 1
Parental expectation and children growth theory model diagram.


#### 3.3.4. Theoretical Saturation Test

About the theoretical saturation test, the original data from six in-depth interviews (three each for parents and children) are kept for the theoretical saturation test in this study. According to the three-level coding results, no new categories and relationships are found in the content of parents’ educational expectations, cognition of expectations, and conditional guarantees. Therefore, it can be concluded that the relationship model between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth is theoretically saturated.


## 3.1. Research Method

This research adopts grounded theory to explore the theoretical model of the relationship between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth to provide valuable theoretical guidance for parenting. In this study, all the data obtained from the interview are imported into the software for data processing. Grounded theory is not only a methodology, a way of thinking and studying social phenomena but also a research method, which is a procedure and technique for collecting and analyzing data. It requires researchers to maintain the mentality of generative theory at all times, adopt theoretical sampling standards, select research objects according to the needs of generative theory, systematically collect and analyze data, and discover, develop, and test theories from the data [4]. In other words, the grounded theory emphasizes generating theory from research data. This article uses open coding, axial coding, and selective coding on the research data obtained from the interview.


## 3.2. Research Data Collection

This study discusses the relationship between parents’ educational expectations of elementary school students and children’s growth, so the interviewees are elementary school students and their parents. The selection of interviewees is mainly based on the following considerations: (1) the grade and gender of the child. Face-to-face interviews are required for basic research, and upper elementary school students can express their ideas more clearly. To ensure maximum access to information, children in the fifth and sixth grades of elementary school are selected. Gender differences in the interviewees may result in the research questions presenting different content, so both boys and girls were selected as the interview sample. (2) The types of children’s schools: the characteristics of children and parents varied from school to school. Therefore, the interview subjects are selected from three types of schools. One is suburban schools (some are essentially rural schools), the second is general schools in the city, and the third is high-quality schools in the city. (3) The gender of the parents: fathers and mothers also differ greatly in the education of their children. When interviewees were contacted, it was found that most of those interviewed were mothers, so the author purposely selected fathers for interviews. The details of the interviewees are as shown in Tables1 and 2.Table 1
Information of interviewees (students).
Basic situationNumberPercentageGenderBoy1033Girl2067GradeFive1447Six1653Type of schoolUrban high-quality school1033Suburban school827Urban general school1240Table 2
Information of interviewees (parents).
Basic situationNumberPercentageGenderMale1033Female2067Age<381860>381240Education levelHigh school13College620Undergraduate1860Master517ProfessionFull-time mother517Teacher413Enterprise517Company827Doctor413Freelancers413This interview focuses on research questions and conducts in-depth interviews with interviewees through a semi-structured interview. The interview outline is divided into two versions for parents and children. The parent interview covers the following topics: “What kind of person do you want your child to be?” “What are the aspects you pay attention to in the process of raising your child?” “Do you think you have high educational expectations for your child?” “What are the advantages and disadvantages of high expectations?” The interview with the child involves the following topics: “When do your parents usually praise you and what do they expect and demand from you?” “What your parents expect of you will put pressure on you?”After finishing the interview recording, a manuscript of about 200,000 words was formed.To ensure the reliability and validity of the research, this study adopted the principle of typicality and representativeness, interviewing children of different genders, school types, and grades, as well as parents of different genders, educational backgrounds, and occupations. An outline of the interview was laid out around the research questions, and two parents were selected for pre-interview. After the interview, the outline of the interview was adjusted appropriately. During the interview, the interviewer followed up with the interviewee in a timely manner if some of the issues were unclear. In addition, after the emergence of the core categories in this study, an independent new sample was used to test the theoretical saturation.


## 3.3. Materials: Data Analysis and Model Construction

### 3.3.1. Open Coding

The first step of grounded theory is to carry out open coding (open coding), also known as first-level coding, which involves the researcher with an open mind, trying to suspend personal “bias,” and carrying out all the information according to its state. The purpose of coding is to discover conceptual categories from data, name the categories, determine the dimensions and attributes of the categories, and then name and generalize the researched phenomena. NVivo 12.0 is used to analyze the interview data word by word; the parents’ interview data formed 34 initial concepts and 19 categories. The children’s interview data formed 21 initial concepts and nine categories, as shown in Tables3 and 4.Table 3
Analysis of interview data of parents (open coding).
Excerpts of original data sentencesInitial conceptCategoryChildren have a correct outlook on life and values, to know how to respect othersA1 correct valuesB1 guidance of valuesChildren cannot just pursue money, but do things useful to the country when they grow upA2 being useful to the countryNo matter how brilliant the star is, it is packaged through some commercial means. It is through personal effort and talent that one can become a truly successful personA5 work hardB3 positive stateSelf-discipline is more important in independent learningA12 independence and consciousnessB7 self-disciplineThe high expectations I have for my children sometimes put a lot of pressure on them, making myself and my family very anxious very oftenA14 high expectations are prone to anxietyB9 anxiety stressPerhaps all parents have too high expectations for their children, which can cause some psychological pressure on the childrenA15 high expectations bring pressureDouble reduction is a good policy, which is beneficial to the physical and mental development of childrenA24 political advantageB13 national policyNote. Due to the large number of coding contents, only the representative or special statements are selected as examples in this study.Table 4
Analysis of children’s interview data (partial).
Excerpts of original data sentencesInitial conceptCategoryMy mother seldom hits me but encourages me moreA1 positive encourageB1 encourage educationOnce I did not get good grades on the exam, my father encouraged me instead of blaming me. I felt a little sad because I did not try my best to learn; it was my problemA2 self-reflectionThe high expectations my parents have for me are a great motivation. I don’t want to live up to their expectationsA7 generate momentumB4 transcend yourselfIn some cases, my parents would let me try my best even though they knew I might not be able to do it. By trying, I did well every time, and things weren’t that hard as I thoughtA8 do your bestMy father doesn’t ask me to study well; he wants me to stay happy and healthy by doing what I want to do in the futureA15 happiness and healthB7 life expectancySometimes my teacher would give the parents some assignments, and my mother always did them very carefullyA20 work hardB10 serious and self-disciplinedMy mother insists on finishing her daily assignments, which greatly influences meA21 stick to self-disciplineNote. Due to the large number of coding contents, only the representative or special statements are selected as examples in this study.


### 3.3.2. Axial Coding

The main task of axial coding is to further discover and establish various connections between conceptual categories based on open coding. The parent interview data analysis yielded four main categories and seven subcategories and that of the child interview data yielded three main categories and four subcategories, as shown in Tables5 and 6.Table 5
Analysis of parents’ interview data.
Open code extraction categorySubcategoryMain categoryB1 guidance of valuesC1 quality expectationD1 what to expectB2 inner abundanceB3 positive stateB4 positive qualityB5 emphasize learningC2 learning expectationB6 learning motivationB7 learning self-disciplineB8 learning methodB9 anxiety and stressC3 anticipation effectD2 expectation awarenessB10 progress leadsB11 deny the childC4 education methodD3 condition guaranteeB12 encourage to tryB14 adjust mentalityC5 parentsB15 parent occupationB16 parents’ reflectionB17 parent statusB18 parental awarenessB19 words and deedsC6 words and deedsB13 national policyC7 national policyD4 policy guaranteeTable 6
Analysis of children’s interview data.
Open code extraction categorySubcategoryMain categoryB1 encourage educationC1 education methodD1 condition guaranteeB2 punishment educationB5 emotional stressB9 work patienceC2 teach by words and deedsB10 serious self-disciplineB3 do your bestC3 breakthroughD2 expectation effectB4 transcend yourselfB6 quality expectationC4 what to expectD3 what to expectB7 life expectationB8 study well


### 3.3.3. Selective Coding

Selective coding allows for further systematic treatment of inter-category associations, describes parents’ educational expectations in a “storyline” format, and constructs models to represent the relationship between parents’ educational expectations and child development during elementary school.According to the categories derived from the coding, it is concluded in this study that the educational expectations of the elementary students’ parents cover three main areas: quality expectations, learning expectations, and life expectations. Parents’ educational expectations are closely related to children’s growth. The cognition of “expectation” itself is particularly important. Children will regard their parents’ educational expectations as an encouragement and a breakthrough in their abilities. However, whether parents adopt appropriate educational practices and teach by words determines whether children can grow up as their parents expect. At the same time, parents’ educational expectations depend on the protection of national policies to truly promote children’s growth, as shown in Figure1.Figure 1
Parental expectation and children growth theory model diagram.


### 3.3.4. Theoretical Saturation Test

About the theoretical saturation test, the original data from six in-depth interviews (three each for parents and children) are kept for the theoretical saturation test in this study. According to the three-level coding results, no new categories and relationships are found in the content of parents’ educational expectations, cognition of expectations, and conditional guarantees. Therefore, it can be concluded that the relationship model between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth is theoretically saturated.


## 3.3.1. Open Coding

The first step of grounded theory is to carry out open coding (open coding), also known as first-level coding, which involves the researcher with an open mind, trying to suspend personal “bias,” and carrying out all the information according to its state. The purpose of coding is to discover conceptual categories from data, name the categories, determine the dimensions and attributes of the categories, and then name and generalize the researched phenomena. NVivo 12.0 is used to analyze the interview data word by word; the parents’ interview data formed 34 initial concepts and 19 categories. The children’s interview data formed 21 initial concepts and nine categories, as shown in Tables3 and 4.Table 3
Analysis of interview data of parents (open coding).
Excerpts of original data sentencesInitial conceptCategoryChildren have a correct outlook on life and values, to know how to respect othersA1 correct valuesB1 guidance of valuesChildren cannot just pursue money, but do things useful to the country when they grow upA2 being useful to the countryNo matter how brilliant the star is, it is packaged through some commercial means. It is through personal effort and talent that one can become a truly successful personA5 work hardB3 positive stateSelf-discipline is more important in independent learningA12 independence and consciousnessB7 self-disciplineThe high expectations I have for my children sometimes put a lot of pressure on them, making myself and my family very anxious very oftenA14 high expectations are prone to anxietyB9 anxiety stressPerhaps all parents have too high expectations for their children, which can cause some psychological pressure on the childrenA15 high expectations bring pressureDouble reduction is a good policy, which is beneficial to the physical and mental development of childrenA24 political advantageB13 national policyNote. Due to the large number of coding contents, only the representative or special statements are selected as examples in this study.Table 4
Analysis of children’s interview data (partial).
Excerpts of original data sentencesInitial conceptCategoryMy mother seldom hits me but encourages me moreA1 positive encourageB1 encourage educationOnce I did not get good grades on the exam, my father encouraged me instead of blaming me. I felt a little sad because I did not try my best to learn; it was my problemA2 self-reflectionThe high expectations my parents have for me are a great motivation. I don’t want to live up to their expectationsA7 generate momentumB4 transcend yourselfIn some cases, my parents would let me try my best even though they knew I might not be able to do it. By trying, I did well every time, and things weren’t that hard as I thoughtA8 do your bestMy father doesn’t ask me to study well; he wants me to stay happy and healthy by doing what I want to do in the futureA15 happiness and healthB7 life expectancySometimes my teacher would give the parents some assignments, and my mother always did them very carefullyA20 work hardB10 serious and self-disciplinedMy mother insists on finishing her daily assignments, which greatly influences meA21 stick to self-disciplineNote. Due to the large number of coding contents, only the representative or special statements are selected as examples in this study.


## 3.3.2. Axial Coding

The main task of axial coding is to further discover and establish various connections between conceptual categories based on open coding. The parent interview data analysis yielded four main categories and seven subcategories and that of the child interview data yielded three main categories and four subcategories, as shown in Tables5 and 6.Table 5
Analysis of parents’ interview data.
Open code extraction categorySubcategoryMain categoryB1 guidance of valuesC1 quality expectationD1 what to expectB2 inner abundanceB3 positive stateB4 positive qualityB5 emphasize learningC2 learning expectationB6 learning motivationB7 learning self-disciplineB8 learning methodB9 anxiety and stressC3 anticipation effectD2 expectation awarenessB10 progress leadsB11 deny the childC4 education methodD3 condition guaranteeB12 encourage to tryB14 adjust mentalityC5 parentsB15 parent occupationB16 parents’ reflectionB17 parent statusB18 parental awarenessB19 words and deedsC6 words and deedsB13 national policyC7 national policyD4 policy guaranteeTable 6
Analysis of children’s interview data.
Open code extraction categorySubcategoryMain categoryB1 encourage educationC1 education methodD1 condition guaranteeB2 punishment educationB5 emotional stressB9 work patienceC2 teach by words and deedsB10 serious self-disciplineB3 do your bestC3 breakthroughD2 expectation effectB4 transcend yourselfB6 quality expectationC4 what to expectD3 what to expectB7 life expectationB8 study well


## 3.3.3. Selective Coding

Selective coding allows for further systematic treatment of inter-category associations, describes parents’ educational expectations in a “storyline” format, and constructs models to represent the relationship between parents’ educational expectations and child development during elementary school.According to the categories derived from the coding, it is concluded in this study that the educational expectations of the elementary students’ parents cover three main areas: quality expectations, learning expectations, and life expectations. Parents’ educational expectations are closely related to children’s growth. The cognition of “expectation” itself is particularly important. Children will regard their parents’ educational expectations as an encouragement and a breakthrough in their abilities. However, whether parents adopt appropriate educational practices and teach by words determines whether children can grow up as their parents expect. At the same time, parents’ educational expectations depend on the protection of national policies to truly promote children’s growth, as shown in Figure1.Figure 1
Parental expectation and children growth theory model diagram.


## 3.3.4. Theoretical Saturation Test

About the theoretical saturation test, the original data from six in-depth interviews (three each for parents and children) are kept for the theoretical saturation test in this study. According to the three-level coding results, no new categories and relationships are found in the content of parents’ educational expectations, cognition of expectations, and conditional guarantees. Therefore, it can be concluded that the relationship model between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth is theoretically saturated.


## 4. Results and Discussion

### 4.1. The Educational Expectations of the Parents of Elementary School Students Are Not Limited to Learning, But Are More Concerned with the Intrinsic Value of the Children’s Development

The existing research on parents’ educational expectations focuses more on the parents’ expectations for their children’s studies and future careers. Therefore, some scholars believe that parents’ educational expectations present too many external instrumental purposes, but lack attention to internal values [5]. Perhaps because the study population was elementary school, the educational expectations of parents in this study showed unique characteristics of this age group. The results of the interviews with parents and children indicated that parents’ educational expectations consisted of three main areas, which are also apparent from the figure.


#### 4.1.1. Quality Expectations

Family education involves many aspects, but the most important thing is character education, which is how to behave [6]. In other words, it is the primary task of family education and the most fundamental and effective function of family education [7]. After a grounded analysis, the interviewees’ expectations of children’s quality mainly include four major aspects: guidance of values (correct outlook on life and values, not self-centered), inner enrichment (with love in the heart, pursuing the inner), positive state (working hard), and positive qualities (honest and trustworthy, willing to help others, filial piety to the elders, take responsibility). From this, we can see that in terms of the quality requirements for children, in addition to the recognized traditional virtues, parents have good expectations of their children’s internal and external conditions. Moreover, parents attach great importance to the cultivation of their children’s values. As one interviewee said, children should become useful to the country when they grow up, rather than just pursuing money or their enjoyment, or simply pursuing their dreams and goals.


#### 4.1.2. Learning Expectations

Chinese parents generally have high expectations for their children’s education and hope they will have better academic achievements [8]. The parents of contemporary elementary school students present two characteristics in terms of learning expectations. First, there are two different perspectives on “learning” itself. The first view believes that learning is very important, and therefore, the expectations for children’s academic performance are very high. If the children achieve the goals expected by their parents, they will be rewarded; otherwise, they will be punished.However, the second view is that parents do not consider learning a core task in elementary school. As the interviewees put it: elementary school students should not bear the pressure of learning. The second notable feature is that parents pay more attention to children’s learning quality, including internal learning motivation, self-discipline in learning, and good learning methods.


#### 4.1.3. Life Expectations

The children interviewed stated that the most impressive sentence their parents have ever said is as follows: what is most important is not to study well, but to engage in what they want to do in the future, to do what they want to do well, and to live a happy and healthy life. It can be seen that happiness and health are parents’ expectations for their children’s entire life. Compared with the past research literature, this is a characteristic of the new era of parental expectations for children. In the past literature, parents’ expectations of children mainly focused on learning. This may be related to parents’ educational level and family education literacy. In particular, the recently promulgated “Family Education Promotion Law of the People’s Republic of China” clarifies the importance of family education from a legal perspective, which stipulates that the state and society provide guidance, support, and services for family education. It can be predicted that the implementation of these policies will further play a positive role in changing parents’ concept of family education.


### 4.2. There Are Differences in the Perceptions of Educational Expectations between Parents and Children

The educational expectation is of great value, which itself is the goal to be pursued. In pursuing the goal, there is a strong inner motivation to achieve it. The parents’ educational expectations of their children will be transformed into the children’s internal drive, which will enhance their self-confidence. In the research of this article, it is found that parents perceived two effects of educational expectations: generating anxiety and stress or prompting progress. Parents believed that if expectations were too high, both parents and children would experience anxiety and stress, but parents also believe that educational expectations allow their children to stimulate their potential and transcend their limits. Just as the interviewee said, if you have higher requirements for your children, they can at least make progress. If there is no requirement, they may stop or even regress.In other words, parents believe that educational expectations have both positive and negative effects. However, analysis of the children’s interview data revealed that children generally perceived their parents’ high expectations as encouraging rather than stressful. The children’s stress is partly because parents have used inappropriate educational ways, rather than deriving from high expectations. This may be related to the age of the children. They are all primary students and are unclear about their potential and future. Parents’ high expectations for their children help them become a better version of themselves. This high expectation is a huge stimulus and encouragement to the children. As one child interviewed said, my parents knew that I probably could not do it, but they would let me try. I think I have to do it well because this is an encouragement and urge to me. I did my best every time and did well, and things were not that bad as I thought.


### 4.3. Parents’ Educational Expectations as a Guarantee of Conditions That Promote Children’s Growth: Educational Methods and Teaching by Words and Deeds

If a child’s growth falls short of parents’ educational expectations, some parents do not actively think about the reasons but lower their expectations [9]. This study also found that even if parents think about the reasons, they overly believe that their children have intellectual differences with others, thus creating a gap, instead of reflecting on their level of education, methods, and whether they teach by words. Education methods are generally divided into encouragement education and punishment education. Encouragement education refers to parents emphasizing the importance of efforts and not making unnecessary comparisons, which will help their children grow. Punishment education is mainly reflected in parents’ emotional out-of-control and beating and scolding education, which creates psychological pressure on children. Psychological research shows that too much psychological pressure will affect the healthy growth of children. Teaching by words and deeds is the basic principle of family education [10]. In interviews with children, it is found that the most important thing affecting children is the attitude and spirit of parents when they do something. This attitude and spirit are the fundamental factors for children to grow up gradually.


### 4.4. The National Education Policy Can Better Help Parents View Their Educational Expectations Rationally

Educational anxiety will lead to quick-witted behavior in education, and parents’ unreasonable educational expectation is an inevitable result of educational anxiety [11]. There are many reasons for educational anxiety, especially the unfairness of education. This problem needs to be solved by the national governance, and individuals are powerless to do anything about it. The newly issued Opinions on Further Reducing the Burden of Homework and Off-Campus Training for Compulsory Education Students (the “double reduction”) is a national policy to return to the essence of education. In interviews, elementary school students’ parents generally believe that double reduction is a good policy to reduce their educational anxiety. At the same time, it also promotes their new thinking in raising children and readjusts their educational expectations for their children. It can be seen that parents’ educational expectations are significantly related to the national education policy.


## 4.1. The Educational Expectations of the Parents of Elementary School Students Are Not Limited to Learning, But Are More Concerned with the Intrinsic Value of the Children’s Development

The existing research on parents’ educational expectations focuses more on the parents’ expectations for their children’s studies and future careers. Therefore, some scholars believe that parents’ educational expectations present too many external instrumental purposes, but lack attention to internal values [5]. Perhaps because the study population was elementary school, the educational expectations of parents in this study showed unique characteristics of this age group. The results of the interviews with parents and children indicated that parents’ educational expectations consisted of three main areas, which are also apparent from the figure.


### 4.1.1. Quality Expectations

Family education involves many aspects, but the most important thing is character education, which is how to behave [6]. In other words, it is the primary task of family education and the most fundamental and effective function of family education [7]. After a grounded analysis, the interviewees’ expectations of children’s quality mainly include four major aspects: guidance of values (correct outlook on life and values, not self-centered), inner enrichment (with love in the heart, pursuing the inner), positive state (working hard), and positive qualities (honest and trustworthy, willing to help others, filial piety to the elders, take responsibility). From this, we can see that in terms of the quality requirements for children, in addition to the recognized traditional virtues, parents have good expectations of their children’s internal and external conditions. Moreover, parents attach great importance to the cultivation of their children’s values. As one interviewee said, children should become useful to the country when they grow up, rather than just pursuing money or their enjoyment, or simply pursuing their dreams and goals.


### 4.1.2. Learning Expectations

Chinese parents generally have high expectations for their children’s education and hope they will have better academic achievements [8]. The parents of contemporary elementary school students present two characteristics in terms of learning expectations. First, there are two different perspectives on “learning” itself. The first view believes that learning is very important, and therefore, the expectations for children’s academic performance are very high. If the children achieve the goals expected by their parents, they will be rewarded; otherwise, they will be punished.However, the second view is that parents do not consider learning a core task in elementary school. As the interviewees put it: elementary school students should not bear the pressure of learning. The second notable feature is that parents pay more attention to children’s learning quality, including internal learning motivation, self-discipline in learning, and good learning methods.


### 4.1.3. Life Expectations

The children interviewed stated that the most impressive sentence their parents have ever said is as follows: what is most important is not to study well, but to engage in what they want to do in the future, to do what they want to do well, and to live a happy and healthy life. It can be seen that happiness and health are parents’ expectations for their children’s entire life. Compared with the past research literature, this is a characteristic of the new era of parental expectations for children. In the past literature, parents’ expectations of children mainly focused on learning. This may be related to parents’ educational level and family education literacy. In particular, the recently promulgated “Family Education Promotion Law of the People’s Republic of China” clarifies the importance of family education from a legal perspective, which stipulates that the state and society provide guidance, support, and services for family education. It can be predicted that the implementation of these policies will further play a positive role in changing parents’ concept of family education.


## 4.1.1. Quality Expectations

Family education involves many aspects, but the most important thing is character education, which is how to behave [6]. In other words, it is the primary task of family education and the most fundamental and effective function of family education [7]. After a grounded analysis, the interviewees’ expectations of children’s quality mainly include four major aspects: guidance of values (correct outlook on life and values, not self-centered), inner enrichment (with love in the heart, pursuing the inner), positive state (working hard), and positive qualities (honest and trustworthy, willing to help others, filial piety to the elders, take responsibility). From this, we can see that in terms of the quality requirements for children, in addition to the recognized traditional virtues, parents have good expectations of their children’s internal and external conditions. Moreover, parents attach great importance to the cultivation of their children’s values. As one interviewee said, children should become useful to the country when they grow up, rather than just pursuing money or their enjoyment, or simply pursuing their dreams and goals.


## 4.1.2. Learning Expectations

Chinese parents generally have high expectations for their children’s education and hope they will have better academic achievements [8]. The parents of contemporary elementary school students present two characteristics in terms of learning expectations. First, there are two different perspectives on “learning” itself. The first view believes that learning is very important, and therefore, the expectations for children’s academic performance are very high. If the children achieve the goals expected by their parents, they will be rewarded; otherwise, they will be punished.However, the second view is that parents do not consider learning a core task in elementary school. As the interviewees put it: elementary school students should not bear the pressure of learning. The second notable feature is that parents pay more attention to children’s learning quality, including internal learning motivation, self-discipline in learning, and good learning methods.


## 4.1.3. Life Expectations

The children interviewed stated that the most impressive sentence their parents have ever said is as follows: what is most important is not to study well, but to engage in what they want to do in the future, to do what they want to do well, and to live a happy and healthy life. It can be seen that happiness and health are parents’ expectations for their children’s entire life. Compared with the past research literature, this is a characteristic of the new era of parental expectations for children. In the past literature, parents’ expectations of children mainly focused on learning. This may be related to parents’ educational level and family education literacy. In particular, the recently promulgated “Family Education Promotion Law of the People’s Republic of China” clarifies the importance of family education from a legal perspective, which stipulates that the state and society provide guidance, support, and services for family education. It can be predicted that the implementation of these policies will further play a positive role in changing parents’ concept of family education.


## 4.2. There Are Differences in the Perceptions of Educational Expectations between Parents and Children

The educational expectation is of great value, which itself is the goal to be pursued. In pursuing the goal, there is a strong inner motivation to achieve it. The parents’ educational expectations of their children will be transformed into the children’s internal drive, which will enhance their self-confidence. In the research of this article, it is found that parents perceived two effects of educational expectations: generating anxiety and stress or prompting progress. Parents believed that if expectations were too high, both parents and children would experience anxiety and stress, but parents also believe that educational expectations allow their children to stimulate their potential and transcend their limits. Just as the interviewee said, if you have higher requirements for your children, they can at least make progress. If there is no requirement, they may stop or even regress.In other words, parents believe that educational expectations have both positive and negative effects. However, analysis of the children’s interview data revealed that children generally perceived their parents’ high expectations as encouraging rather than stressful. The children’s stress is partly because parents have used inappropriate educational ways, rather than deriving from high expectations. This may be related to the age of the children. They are all primary students and are unclear about their potential and future. Parents’ high expectations for their children help them become a better version of themselves. This high expectation is a huge stimulus and encouragement to the children. As one child interviewed said, my parents knew that I probably could not do it, but they would let me try. I think I have to do it well because this is an encouragement and urge to me. I did my best every time and did well, and things were not that bad as I thought.


## 4.3. Parents’ Educational Expectations as a Guarantee of Conditions That Promote Children’s Growth: Educational Methods and Teaching by Words and Deeds

If a child’s growth falls short of parents’ educational expectations, some parents do not actively think about the reasons but lower their expectations [9]. This study also found that even if parents think about the reasons, they overly believe that their children have intellectual differences with others, thus creating a gap, instead of reflecting on their level of education, methods, and whether they teach by words. Education methods are generally divided into encouragement education and punishment education. Encouragement education refers to parents emphasizing the importance of efforts and not making unnecessary comparisons, which will help their children grow. Punishment education is mainly reflected in parents’ emotional out-of-control and beating and scolding education, which creates psychological pressure on children. Psychological research shows that too much psychological pressure will affect the healthy growth of children. Teaching by words and deeds is the basic principle of family education [10]. In interviews with children, it is found that the most important thing affecting children is the attitude and spirit of parents when they do something. This attitude and spirit are the fundamental factors for children to grow up gradually.


## 4.4. The National Education Policy Can Better Help Parents View Their Educational Expectations Rationally

Educational anxiety will lead to quick-witted behavior in education, and parents’ unreasonable educational expectation is an inevitable result of educational anxiety [11]. There are many reasons for educational anxiety, especially the unfairness of education. This problem needs to be solved by the national governance, and individuals are powerless to do anything about it. The newly issued Opinions on Further Reducing the Burden of Homework and Off-Campus Training for Compulsory Education Students (the “double reduction”) is a national policy to return to the essence of education. In interviews, elementary school students’ parents generally believe that double reduction is a good policy to reduce their educational anxiety. At the same time, it also promotes their new thinking in raising children and readjusts their educational expectations for their children. It can be seen that parents’ educational expectations are significantly related to the national education policy.


## 5. Conclusions

### 5.1. Research Conclusions

Based on grounded theory, this study elucidates the educational expectations of parents of elementary school students through the analysis of the data from the interviews with elementary school students and their parents. In terms of the relationship between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth, the following conclusions are finally drawn.Firstly, the educational expectations of the parents of elementary school students mainly include three main contents, namely quality expectations, learning expectations, and life expectations for their children. That is to say, in addition to expectations for children’s learning, parents of elementary school students today also have expectations in terms of quality and life expectations.Secondly, different “cognitions” of educational expectations lead to differences in parents’ behavior, which in turn affects children’s growth. If parents believe that higher educational expectations are better, they tend to place high expectations on their children’s education, which will stimulate their children’s growth. Conversely, if they think that educational expectations are prone to stress and anxiety, they will lower expectations, and the child will naturally lower his or her self-expectations.Thirdly, parents’ educational methods and teaching by words and deeds are the guarantees of parents’ educational expectations, which also promote children’s growth. The deviation of children’s growth from parents’ educational expectations is not because of excessive parents’ educational expectations. In fact, it is because parents use inappropriate educational methods to achieve their educational expectations, which leads to psychological pressure on children. This psychological pressure makes children tired of learning and rebellious.Lastly, the national education policy is a fundamental guarantee for promoting the relationship between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth. The research found that parents’ educational expectations are closely related to the national education policy. To a certain extent, the national education policy provides parents with correct guidance for family education and also provides institutional guarantees, thus greatly affecting parents’ educational expectations and making it possible for children to grow up healthily.


### 5.2. Theoretical Findings

Based on the grounded analysis of the content of parents’ educational expectations, this study concludes that parents’ educational expectations are not limited to academic expectations, but also include quality expectations and life expectations. This expands previous research studies that have been limited to academic expectations. In addition, previous studies have different views when exploring the relationship variables between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth. Some researchers believe that parents’ expectations need to be transformed into expectations that children identify with to promote children’s growth [2]. This study believes that if parents use appropriate educational methods and teach by words and deeds by improving their literacy, parents’ educational expectations will greatly contribute to children’s growth. Therefore, the theoretical contribution of this study is to add new content for the relationship between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth and provide a new research perspective [12].


### 5.3. Practical Enlightenment

According to the research of this study, we should pay attention to the following points in family education:Firstly, parents should maintain high expectations for children. Parents’ educational expectations are of great significance to their children. They are not only the driving force for children’s growth but also the guide to stimulate their potential [13].Secondly, parents should adopt a developmental mindset, rather than making a simple attribution and lowering expectations. When there is a gap between children’s growth and parents’ educational expectations, parents should think about whether to use encouragement education or stress education, whether to give children internal strength or increase emotional pressure, instead of making simple attributions and lowering expectations for the children [14].Thirdly, parents should strengthen self-reflection. Parents need to improve their educational concepts, emotional management, behavior habits, life, and other qualities and consider whether they can influence their children by words and deeds.


### 5.4. Research Limitations and Future Research Directions

The relationship between parents’ educational expectations [9] and children’s growth is based on a small sample in this paper’s model, and the sample is mostly from urban schools [15]. More research is needed to see whether this model applies to specific family groups. Second, children are perplexed by their parents’ expectations, according to the in-depth interviews. Their parents, for example, expect them to contribute to the country, but the children have no idea how to do so. Parents generally expect their children to be self-disciplined when it comes to learning, but they also do not know how to raise their children in specific ways [16]. This phenomenon has not been explored in depth in this study. Finally, this study came to the important conclusion that national education policy has a significant impact on parents’ educational expectations; however, what new relationship does this impact have with children’s development? Due to the study’s short length and duration, more research on this article is not possible. We will still be able to conduct in-depth research in the future.


## 5.1. Research Conclusions

Based on grounded theory, this study elucidates the educational expectations of parents of elementary school students through the analysis of the data from the interviews with elementary school students and their parents. In terms of the relationship between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth, the following conclusions are finally drawn.Firstly, the educational expectations of the parents of elementary school students mainly include three main contents, namely quality expectations, learning expectations, and life expectations for their children. That is to say, in addition to expectations for children’s learning, parents of elementary school students today also have expectations in terms of quality and life expectations.Secondly, different “cognitions” of educational expectations lead to differences in parents’ behavior, which in turn affects children’s growth. If parents believe that higher educational expectations are better, they tend to place high expectations on their children’s education, which will stimulate their children’s growth. Conversely, if they think that educational expectations are prone to stress and anxiety, they will lower expectations, and the child will naturally lower his or her self-expectations.Thirdly, parents’ educational methods and teaching by words and deeds are the guarantees of parents’ educational expectations, which also promote children’s growth. The deviation of children’s growth from parents’ educational expectations is not because of excessive parents’ educational expectations. In fact, it is because parents use inappropriate educational methods to achieve their educational expectations, which leads to psychological pressure on children. This psychological pressure makes children tired of learning and rebellious.Lastly, the national education policy is a fundamental guarantee for promoting the relationship between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth. The research found that parents’ educational expectations are closely related to the national education policy. To a certain extent, the national education policy provides parents with correct guidance for family education and also provides institutional guarantees, thus greatly affecting parents’ educational expectations and making it possible for children to grow up healthily.


## 5.2. Theoretical Findings

Based on the grounded analysis of the content of parents’ educational expectations, this study concludes that parents’ educational expectations are not limited to academic expectations, but also include quality expectations and life expectations. This expands previous research studies that have been limited to academic expectations. In addition, previous studies have different views when exploring the relationship variables between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth. Some researchers believe that parents’ expectations need to be transformed into expectations that children identify with to promote children’s growth [2]. This study believes that if parents use appropriate educational methods and teach by words and deeds by improving their literacy, parents’ educational expectations will greatly contribute to children’s growth. Therefore, the theoretical contribution of this study is to add new content for the relationship between parents’ educational expectations and children’s growth and provide a new research perspective [12].


## 5.3. Practical Enlightenment

According to the research of this study, we should pay attention to the following points in family education:Firstly, parents should maintain high expectations for children. Parents’ educational expectations are of great significance to their children. They are not only the driving force for children’s growth but also the guide to stimulate their potential [13].Secondly, parents should adopt a developmental mindset, rather than making a simple attribution and lowering expectations. When there is a gap between children’s growth and parents’ educational expectations, parents should think about whether to use encouragement education or stress education, whether to give children internal strength or increase emotional pressure, instead of making simple attributions and lowering expectations for the children [14].Thirdly, parents should strengthen self-reflection. Parents need to improve their educational concepts, emotional management, behavior habits, life, and other qualities and consider whether they can influence their children by words and deeds.


## 5.4. Research Limitations and Future Research Directions

The relationship between parents’ educational expectations [9] and children’s growth is based on a small sample in this paper’s model, and the sample is mostly from urban schools [15]. More research is needed to see whether this model applies to specific family groups. Second, children are perplexed by their parents’ expectations, according to the in-depth interviews. Their parents, for example, expect them to contribute to the country, but the children have no idea how to do so. Parents generally expect their children to be self-disciplined when it comes to learning, but they also do not know how to raise their children in specific ways [16]. This phenomenon has not been explored in depth in this study. Finally, this study came to the important conclusion that national education policy has a significant impact on parents’ educational expectations; however, what new relationship does this impact have with children’s development? Due to the study’s short length and duration, more research on this article is not possible. We will still be able to conduct in-depth research in the future.



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*Source: 9896291-2022-03-26.xml*