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. 2024 Dec;39(4):3841-3866.
doi: 10.1007/s10212-024-00827-4. Epub 2024 Mar 22.

Parents' learning support and school attitudes in relation to adolescent academic identity and school performance in nine countries

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Parents' learning support and school attitudes in relation to adolescent academic identity and school performance in nine countries

Suha M Al-Hassan et al. Eur J Psychol Educ. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

An important question for parents and educators alike is how to promote adolescents' academic identity and school performance. This study investigated relations among parental education, parents' attitudes toward their adolescents' school, parental support for learning at home, and adolescents' academic identity and school performance over time and in different national contexts. Longitudinal data were collected from adolescents and their parents in nine countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States). When adolescents were 16 years old, their mothers (N = 1,083) and fathers (N = 859) provided data. When adolescents were 17 years old, 1,049 adolescents (50% girls), and their mothers (N = 1,001) and fathers (N = 749) provided data. Multiple-group path analyses indicated that, across cultures, higher parent education was associated with better adolescent school performance. Parents' attitudes toward their adolescents' school and parent support for learning in the home were not associated with adolescents' school performance but were associated with academic identity. The findings suggest somewhat different pathways to school performance versus academic identity. Implications for helping parents and educators in different countries promote adolescents' academic identity and achievement are discussed.

Keywords: Parents’ learning support; academic identity; adolescent; cross-cultural; parents’ school attitude; school performance.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Primary model for analysis. Age 16 refers to Wave 8 of data collection; age 17 refers to Wave 9 of data collection.
Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Primary model for analysis. Age 16 refers to Wave 8 of data collection; age 17 refers to Wave 9 of data collection.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Final model for analysis. After various iterations and comparisons of model fit, results indicated that the best fitting model was one in which the (a) correlation between the outcome variables (school performance and academic identity) was fixed across countries, (b) the paths among parent education, parent school attitudes, and parent learning support with adolescents’ school performance and academic identity were fixed across countries, (c) school performance at age 16 was free to vary across countries, and (d) the correlation between parent school attitudes and parent learning support was not estimated. Black paths represent significant paths (p < .05). Gray paths represent non-significant paths (p > .05). Age 16 refers to Wave 8 of data collection; age 17 refers to Wave 9 of data collection.

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