This study examined the effect of maternal employment on academic achievement in English
and Mathematics among middle school students, taking a careful consideration of occupational
prestige of employed mothers, and the mediation and interaction by parental involvement and
family expenditure on shadow education. Using the sampled 3,639 middle school students from
the 1st wave of Gyeonggi Education Panel Study 2012 (GEPS 2012), there were significant
differences in family socioeconomic status, parental involvement and expenditure on shadow
education, and academic achievement, by maternal employment and occupational prestige.
Working mothers with high occupational prestige offset the negative effect of the lack of
parental involvement in school activities through higher family socioeconomic status, compared
to full-time housewife mothers. On the contrary, working mothers with low occupational
prestige and their children suffered both from lower family socioeconomic status and less
amount of the time and effort in parental involvement. Furthermore, the effect of their
educational involvement and support on academic achievement was partially undermined by
employment in less-prestigious jobs. Perhaps, they had difficulty in joining parents’ social
network as a social capital for better education. The interaction effects were highly likely to
exacerbate educational reproduction and prevent intergenerational social mobility among the less
privileged.