Linking parental motivations for involvement and student proximal achievement outcomes in home-schooling and public-schooling settings
Green, Christa L.
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2008-03-18
Abstract
A notable increase in the number of U.S. families choosing to home-school their children in recent years has underscored the need to develop more systematic knowledge about this approach to education. Drawing on a theoretical model of parental involvement as well as research on families’ social networks, this study examined home- and public-school parents’ motivations for home-based involvement in their 4th through 8th grade children’s education at two time points. The study also examined whether involvement activities predicted student proximal achievement outcomes (academic self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation for learning and self-regulatory strategy use) across the two groups. Results suggested that parental self-efficacy for involvement, specific invitations from the child, and parent social networks were positively related to home-based parental involvement across the groups, although home- and public-school parents recorded significantly different perceptions of personal self-efficacy, role activity beliefs, social networks, and child proximal achievement outcomes. Findings are discussed with reference to implications for future research and practice.