The impact of information provision to parents: Experimental evidence on student outcomes

Targeted parental involvement is increasingly employed to activate parents to use their supporting role to enhance learning effects of students. Given the low cost, one popular measure is information provision to parents. However, the evidence on such measures remains limited. This study provides causal evidence on the effects of information provision to parents in a financial education course where parental involvement was stimulated. Based on a randomised controlled trial with 1253 students from grade 8 and 9 in Flanders, we identify the effects of the classroom intervention separately from parental involvement prompted in homework and the provision of subject-specific information to parents on students’ learning outcomes. The estimates reveal that, overall, the treatment effectively increases financial knowledge and skills. However, despite its popularity in schools, the value added of prompting parental involvement and providing parents information is not significant overall, but only for financial skills.