Parental Time Investment in Children’s Education in Urban Areas of Iran

Education and skill development, which begins from childhood and within family, improves human capital. Thus, the role of parents in the formation of human capital cannot be overlooked. This paper uses the 2014-15 Time Use Data, representing urban areas of Iran, to describe the amount of time allocated to children’s education and explain the existing differences. The findings show considerable gender differences in parents’ time investment and its correlates. Although the association between parents’ education and the time spent on children’s education is less strong for fathers but higher education increases the time that mothers as well as fathers spend on children’s education. Thus, the association between both parents’ education and their participation in children’s education is consistent with cultural explanations. The association between fathers’ participation in children’s education and their participation in various activities is consistent with economic explanations because only occupational activities are negatively associated with the allocated time to children’s education. Mothers’ behavior, on the other hand, cannot be exclusively explained by the economic approaches because this negative association extends to other activities as well. Therefore, it is recommended to implement programs that increase the compatibility between parental and other activities in order to facilitate quality childraising, improve human capital and help to realize the goals of the General Population Policies.