Saba Mir

Program: PhD in Developmental Psychology and Education

Year: 1st Year

Awards:

• Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award for outstanding extracurricular contributions to the University of Toronto
• Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada Volunteer Service Award
• Queen Elizabeth II Aiming for the Top Scholarship
• University of Toronto Graduate Fellowship
   

Research Fields: Parenting and Parental Involvement; Early Childhood Development and Education (programs, practices, policies); School, Family, and Community Partnerships

Current Research: Parents are "children's first and most enduring educators" (Robson, 2006), and as such, the parent-child relationship has profound effects on various aspects of children's development. Parenting styles and parental involvement are both heavily, yet separately studied facets of this complex relationship. Research has consistently shown the powerful effects of these factors on children's academic functioning, social capability, and psychological development (Darling, 1999), as well as their capacity to enhance both students' and parents' sense of self-efficacy, while facilitating the integration of the school into the overall community (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2005). The aim of my current study is to explore the potential connection between parenting styles and parental involvement, taking into consideration children's grade level, as well as parents' gender and language proficiency.