The Links Between Parent Behaviors and Boys' and Girls' Science Achievement Beliefs

This study examined whether parental involvement in children's science schoolwork (i.e., discussions about science, homework helping and encouragement of science interest) varies for boys and girls, and how these behaviors relate to children's science achievement beliefs (i.e., ability perceptions and task-value) at the end of a school year. We analyzed these links both for fathers and mothers and examined whether child gender moderates how parental behaviors relate to children's beliefs over time. Data were gathered over a span of a school year from 114 middle-school students (50% girls, 81% European American) and their parents (mothers: n = 103, fathers: n = 90). We found support for the moderating effect of gender. Specifically, the findings indicated that only parents' encouragement of science interest varied by child gender; mothers' encouragement positively predicted girls' self-assessments of science ability at the end of the year, but was a negative estimator of boys' self-assessments. Additionally, mothers' discussions about science showed similar findings with respect to girls' and boys' utility beliefs about science.

[1]  Jacquelynne S. Eccles,et al.  Motivation to succeed. , 1998 .

[2]  J. Eccles,et al.  In the Mind of the Actor: The Structure of Adolescents' Achievement Task Values and Expectancy-Related Beliefs , 1995 .

[3]  A. Sølvberg.  Gender Differences in Computer-related Control Beliefs and Home Computer Use , 2002 .

[4]  H. Watt.  Development of adolescents' self-perceptions, values, and task perceptions according to gender and domain in 7th- through 11th-grade Australian students. , 2004, Child development.

[5]  J. Pleck,et al.  Paternal Involvement by U.S. Residential Fathers: Levels, Sources, and Consequences. , 2004 .

[6]  Richard T. Lapan,et al.  Family Factors Associated With Sixth‐Grade Adolescents' Math and Science Career Interests , 2004 .

[7]  K. Moore,et al.  What do children need to flourish? : conceptualizing and measuring indicators of positive development , 2005 .

[8]  Jacquelynne S. Eccles,et al.  Linking gender to educational, occupational, and recreational choices: Applying the Eccles et al. model of achievement-related choices. , 1999 .

[9]  C. Sansone,et al.  Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation : the search for optimal motivation and performance , 2000 .

[10]  D. Ruble,et al.  The role of maternal control in the development of sex differences in child self-evaluative factors. , 1998, Child development.

[11]  Janis E. Jacobs,et al.  Influence of gender stereotypes on parent and child mathematics attitudes , 1991 .

[12]  M. Lisi,et al.  Sex differences in parental teaching behaviors. , 1988 .

[13]  A Michael,et al.  Parents' roles in shaping early adolescents' occupational aspirations. , 2001, Child development.

[14]  Kathleen V. Hoover-dempsey,et al.  Why Do Parents Become Involved in Their Children’s Education? , 1997 .

[15]  Sharon K. Chambers,et al.  Competency beliefs, positive affect, and gender stereotypes of elementary students and their parents about science versus other school subjects. , 1999 .

[16]  J. Eccles,et al.  School and family effects on the ontogeny of children's interests, self-perceptions, and activity choices. , 1992, Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation.

[17]  Eric C. Newburger,et al.  Home computers and Internet use in the United States, August 2000 , 2001 .

[18]  M. Slowiaczek,et al.  Parents' involvement in children's schooling: a multidimensional conceptualization and motivational model. , 1994, Child development.

[19]  Rani George,et al.  A structural model of parent and teacher influences on science attitudes of eighth graders: Evidence from NELS: 88 , 1998 .

[20]  Janis E. Jacobs,et al.  Gender stereotypes: Implications for gifted education , 1994 .

[21]  Herbert W. Marsh,et al.  Age and sex effects in multiple dimensions of self-concept: Preadolescence to early adulthood. , 1989 .

[22]  J. Eccles,et al.  Parents, task values, and Real-Life achievement-related choices , 2000 .

[23]  M. Rosenberg,et al.  Disturbance in the self-image at adolescence. , 1973, American sociological review.

[24]  J. Parsons,et al.  Socialization of Achievement Attitudes and Beliefs: Parental Influences. , 1982 .

[25]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[26]  Jeannie Oakes,et al.  Chapter 3: Opportunities, Achievement, and Choice: Women and Minority Students in Science and Mathematics , 1990 .

[27]  Campbell Leaper,et al.  Parent-child conversations about science: the socialization of gender inequities? , 2003, Developmental psychology.

[28]  E. Pomerantz,et al.  Children's achievement moderates the effects of mothers' use of control and autonomy support. , 2004, Child development.

[29]  Elaine Seymour,et al.  The loss of women from science, mathematics, and engineering undergraduate majors: An explanatory account , 1995 .

[30]  P. Stearns,et al.  Children in time and place: Fathers and child rearing , 1993 .

[31]  R. Parke,et al.  Father Involvement , 2000 .

[32]  E. Flouri.  Parental interest in children's education, children's self-esteem and locus of control, and later educational attainment: twenty-six year follow-up of the 1970 British Birth Cohort. , 2006, The British journal of educational psychology.

[33]  R. Thornton.  Mediation , 2003, Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

[34]  Samuel D Gosling,et al.  Global self-esteem across the life span. , 2002, Psychology and aging.

[35]  James L. Wardrop,et al.  Antecedent Factors Differentiating Women and Men in Science/Nonscience Careers , 1999 .

[36]  Jacquelynne S. Eccles,et al.  The Relation of Early Adolescents’ College Plans and Both Academic Ability and Task-Value Beliefs to Subsequent College Enrollment , 2004 .

[37]  S. Assouline,et al.  Proceedings from the 1993 Henry B. and Jocelyn Wallace National Research Symposium on Talent Development , 1994 .

[38]  J. Jovanovic,et al.  STUDENTS' SCIENCE ATTITUDES IN THE PERFORMANCE-BASED CLASSROOM: DID WE CLOSE THE GENDER GAP? , 1998 .

[39]  J. Eccles,et al.  Social Forces Shape Math Attitudes and Performance , 1986, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society.

[40]  E. Charnov,et al.  A Biosocial Perspective on Paternal Behavior and Involvement , 1987 .

[41]  J. Gleason,et al.  The Relationship of Play Activity and Gender to Parent and Child Sex-typed Communication , 1996 .

[42]  Milton Chen.  Gender and Computers: The Beneficial Effects of Experience on Attitudes , 1986 .

[43]  Eirini Flouri,et al.  Adolescents' perceptions of their fathers' involvement: Significance to school attitudes , 2002 .

[44]  Linda J. Sax,et al.  Mathematical self-concept: How college reinforces the gender gap , 1994 .

[45]  Daniel J. Bauer,et al.  Computational Tools for Probing Interactions in Multiple Linear Regression, Multilevel Modeling, and Latent Curve Analysis , 2006 .

[46]  J. Meece,et al.  Sex differences in achievement: A test of alternate theories. , 1984 .

[47]  J. Willms,et al.  Effects of Parental Involvement on Eighth-Grade Achievement. , 1996 .

[48]  M. Ho,et al.  The mediating role of fathers' school involvement on student achievement. , 2005 .

[49]  C. Midgley,et al.  Development during adolescence. The impact of stage-environment fit on young adolescents' experiences in schools and in families. , 1993, The American psychologist.

[50]  R. Silbereisen,et al.  The relationship between adolescent academic capability beliefs, parenting and school grades. , 2002, Journal of adolescence.

[51]  Maureen A. Callanan,et al.  Parents Explain More Often to Boys Than to Girls During Shared Scientific Thinking , 2001, Psychological science.

[52]  Zhang Yong.  Self-Esteem Across the Life Span , 2010 .

[53]  Marjolein Drent,et al.  Gender differences in computer attitudes: Does the school matter? , 2008, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[54]  H. Tenenbaum,et al.  Talking and reading science: Longitudinal data on sex differences in mother–child conversations in low-income families , 2005 .

[55]  Edward L. Deci,et al.  Inner resources for school achievement : motivational mediators of children's perceptions of their parents , 1991 .

[56]  Jennifer A. Fredricks,et al.  Children's competence and value beliefs from childhood through adolescence: growth trajectories in two male-sex-typed domains. , 2002, Developmental psychology.

[57]  M. Evans,et al.  Links between Parenting Styles, Parent-Child Academic Interaction, Parent-School Interaction, and Early Academic Skills and Social Behaviors in Young Children of English-Speaking Caribbean Immigrants. , 2006 .

[58]  Robert W. Roeser,et al.  Cognitive Abilities and Motivational Processes in High School Students' Situational Engagement and Achievement in Science , 2002, Special Issue: A Multidimensional Approach to Achievement Validation.

[59]  Amy M. Hightower,et al.  Science and Engineering Indicators , 1993 .

[60]  Ulrich Trautwein,et al.  Academic self-concept, interest, grades, and standardized test scores: reciprocal effects models of causal ordering. , 2005, Child development.

[61]  Joseph H. Pleck,et al.  Paternal involvement: Levels, sources, and consequences. , 1997 .

[62]  Larry E. Toothaker,et al.  Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions , 1991 .

[63]  Paul R. Amato,et al.  Father-Child Relations, Mother-Child Relations, and Offspring Psychological Well-Being in Early Adulthood. , 1994 .

[64]  E. Pomerantz,et al.  Developmental differences in children's conceptions of parental control: "They love me, but they make me feel incompetent" , 2000 .

[65]  Hugh Lytton,et al.  Parents' differential socialization of boys and girls: A meta-analysis. , 1991 .

[66]  J. Jacobs,et al.  Achievement in Math and Science: Do Mothers' Beliefs Matter 12 Years Later?. , 2004 .

[67]  J. Jovanovic,et al.  Boys and Girls in the Performance-Based Science Classroom: Who’s Doing the Performing? , 1998 .

[68]  J. Eccles.  Subjective Task Value and the Eccles et al. Model of Achievement-Related Choices. , 2005 .

[69]  M. Siegal.  Are sons and daughters treated more differently by fathers than by mothers , 1987 .

[70]  Luis Álvarez,et al.  A Structural Equation Model of Parental Involvement, Motivational and Aptitudinal Characteristics, and Academic Achievement , 2002 .

[71]  A. Colley,et al.  Age and gender differences in computer use and attitudes among secondary school students: what has changed? , 2003 .

[72]  Jacquelynne S. Eccles,et al.  Why don't they want a male-dominated job? An investigation of young women who changed their occupational aspirations , 2006 .

[73]  J. Eccles,et al.  Parents' influence on children's achievement-related perceptions. , 1998, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[74]  Jacquelynne S Eccles,et al.  Math and science motivation: A longitudinal examination of the links between choices and beliefs. , 2006, Developmental psychology.

[75]  J. Jacobs,et al.  Girls' and boys' developing interests in math and science: do parents matter? , 2004, New directions for child and adolescent development.

[76]  Jacquelynne S. Eccles,et al.  Understanding Women's Educational And Occupational Choices: Applying the Eccles et al. Model of Achievement-Related Choices , 1994 .

[77]  A. Colley,et al.  The effects of age, gender and computer experience upon computer attitudes , 1997 .

[78]  Lily Shashaani.  Gender-Differences in Computer Experience and its Influence on Computer Attitudes , 1994 .

[79]  J. Eccles,et al.  Ability Self-Perceptions and Subjective Task Values in Adolescents and Children , 2005 .

[80]  S. Simpkins,et al.  Parents' Socializing Behavior and Children's Participation in Math, Science, and Computer Out-of-School Activities , 2005 .

[81]  W. K. Campbell,et al.  Age and Birth Cohort Differences in Self-Esteem: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis , 2001 .

[82]  Ruchi Bhanot,et al.  Do Parents’ Academic Gender Stereotypes Influence Whether They Intrude on their Children’s Homework? , 2005 .

[83]  J. Eccles,et al.  The Impact of Mothers' Gender-Role Stereotypic Beliefs on Mothers' and Children's Ability Perceptions , 1992 .

[84]  C. Benbow,et al.  Mathematically Talented Males and Females and Achievement in the High School Sciences , 1986 .