A new University of Michigan study says low-income parents want teachers who stress student achievement, whereas families who have higher incomes prefer teachers who make their children happy.

The findings appear in the new issue of the Quarterly Journal of Economics.

This study consistent with the belief that in high poverty areas since there is a lack of academic and financial resources parents prefer teachers who will bypass student’s enjoyment for a more rigorous education. This is the exact opposite for higher income parents. In schools where academic and financial resources are abundant, these parents want their children to enjoy school and learning.

“The value of this study is that it helps education practitioners and policymakers better understand how factors such as family poverty can influence what parents are looking for in a school,” Brian Jacob said, the study’s co-author and director of the Center on Local, State and Urban Policy at the U-M Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. “While all parents presumably want what is best for their children, this can mean very different things depending on the school and neighborhood context.”

What do you want from your child’s teacher and school in general?