The results of the study suggest several different policy directions and possible clinical/educational interventions relevant to efforts aimed at enhancing the school performance of school-age children. First, the large impact of the socio-economic status variable on achievement in this study reinforces the generally accepted notion that it is very important to ensure that every family has sufficient economic resources. The data clearly indicated that children in higher income families do substantially better in school regardless of what happens within their families. Not only is the children's achievement directly affected by a higher standard of living, but such children also acquire more productive school work habits and academic skills. Moreover, the general quality of family life is strongly affected directly and indirectly by economic well being. Assuring adequate family income and educational learning opportunities for parents are almost essential social objectives if the educational success of the children in those families is to be enhanced. Social policy initiatives such as this must necessarily come from government either through direct delivery of economic resources to families or through the creation of employment and training conditions so that all families are adequately supported through employment income.
Second, the data suggest that while therapeutic interventions in the family are potentially useful, the most immediate effects are likely to come from educationally oriented efforts to promote the development in children of more effective academic skills and work habits. It is possible that when the narrow outcome of achievement is targeted, working directly with children on skill development will enable them to overcome most of the negative effects of poor parenting and disadvantaging economic conditions. While it is likely that interventions of this nature can most easily be mounted within schools, efforts by parents to hire tutors or otherwise provide assistance to their children could also strengthen these qualities.
Third, the data also suggest that interventions can be targeted on family processes, either specifically at the parent-child relationship or more generally at overall family relations. Parent education programs or parenting classes could be used to change hostile and unproductive parent-child interactions which appear to make it harder for the children to develop the skills needed for school success. While there are roles here for outreach programs in schools, families could also benefit by enrolling in parent education programs offered by local family service agencies. Attempts to intervene at the level of general family processes is considerably more difficult and raises the question of clinical and professional family therapy services. Such strategies take the issue away from schools or educationally based interventions into the domain of mental health professionals where interventions necessarily become more expensive and specialized.
Fourth, the effects on family processes of the depression variable in this study suggests that some interventions might need to be targeted at parents themselves either through the provision of medication or through psychological counselling or psychiatric services. By providing direct individual services to parents, stressful conditions for children within the family could very well be alleviated. As with services for whole families, such interventions would involve the medical and psychological services community.
Fifth, the significant and multiple effects of social supports points to the importance of attending to the immediate social context for family members. Interventions aimed at activating the involvement of extended family members and neighbours may be very important in certain situations and would likely be initiated by social work professionals and community support agencies.
Final Comment on Policy Implications
While each of the above five suggestions for action have merit individually, the importance of the analysis presented in this report is that it is likely most beneficial to intervene at more than one level at a time. Indeed, it is highly probable that the most powerful interventions would involve co-ordinated efforts to work simultaneously at more than one level of the model with some interventions directed primarily at the child's personal characteristics while others are focused on family relationships and/or on circumstances external to the family (Cowan, Powell, & Cowan, 1998). The mobilization of resources at several levels of this complex system of interactions through economic, community, educational, and individual interventions may be necessary to effect change in the educational performance of some children.
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