Parent Involvement and Student Academic Motivation Toward Science in Ninth Grade

• In Event: Parents and Families as Socializers of Student Cognition and Motivation

Abstract

As influential socializers of students’ expectancy-value beliefs, parents communicate their beliefs and values both implicitly and explicitly through their interactions and behaviors regarding academic topics. Using the NCES High School Longitudinal Survey (HSLS:09), we examined how parent beliefs and behaviors regarding their 9th grader’s science education predicted the students’ motivation in science. Multiple regression analysis show that parent background, beliefs, and behaviors accounted for a significant amount of the students’ science motivation, adjR2 = .04, F(6, 14,933)=26.32, p<.001. These findings indicate that students have a stronger academic motivation in science with parents who have higher levels of education, more confidence in their ability to help their child in science, and who engage in more science activities with their child.

Authors

• Lundon Pinneo, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

• Amanda L. Nolen, University of Arkansas at Little Rock