Parent involvement and student academic motivation towards science in 9th grade

The study addresses growing concerns about student disengagement from STEM and examines how parents' STEM-related beliefs and behaviors influence 9th graders' motivation in science. Guided by expectancy-value theory, which posits that students' choices reflect their expectancies for success and the value they assign to tasks shaped by significant others, the paper highlights parents as key socializers of motivation. National data show increases in AP STEM participation but persistent gender disparities in STEM engagement and identity. Prior research suggests parental beliefs and behaviors influence students' motivational beliefs, yet effects may differ by gender and content area. The purpose here is to analyze how specific parental behaviors and beliefs relate to students' motivational profiles in science (identity, utility, and competency/self-efficacy) using HSLS:09. Research questions: (1) How do parents' participation in their 9th grade child's academic science activities at home and at school affect their child's academic motivation towards science? (2) How do parents' beliefs about their own confidence in helping their 9th grade child with science homework affect their child's academic motivation towards science?

Parental involvement is multifaceted, variably defined through behaviors (e.g., homework help, communication with schools, participation in activities) and beliefs (e.g., expectancies and value for science). Frameworks categorize involvement across home, school/community, and planning; culturally relevant, student-centered curricula and appropriate homework can enhance involvement. Parent roles in science may depend on educational background and science literacy. Student science motivation indicators are also diverse, spanning behaviors (attendance, test scores, course-taking, GPA, homework completion) and beliefs (self-efficacy, value, identity, interest, career aspirations). Evidence generally links parental involvement with higher achievement and motivation, though effects vary by domain and measure. Interventions that increase parent-student communication about the utility of STEM courses can boost STEM coursetaking, with gendered moderation observed. Studies show parents' attitudes, expectancies, and both at-home and at-school engagement relate positively to students' science outcomes, although increased homework help can sometimes correlate with lower GPA, potentially reflecting reactive involvement after problems arise. Gender and SES can moderate associations: parental value socialization often predicts boys' science motivation more strongly than girls', but parental expectations positively impact achievement across SES levels. Overall, literature is limited for science-specific parental involvement and lacks consensus on definitions and outcome metrics, motivating the present study.

Design and data: Secondary analysis of the NCES High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) base-year public-use dataset. HSLS:09 surveyed a nationally representative sample of approximately 24,600 9th-graders in fall 2009 using a two-stage stratified design, with questionnaires for students, parents, teachers, and administrators. This study uses base-year parent and student questionnaires (analytic N ≈ 14,028 students after exclusions). Measures: - Parent education (X1PAREDU): highest level of education attained by either resident parent/guardian, ranging from less than high school to doctoral/professional degree. - Parent beliefs: (1) Confidence helping with 9th grade science homework (P1E04B: Very confident, Somewhat confident, Not at all confident). (2) Beliefs about males' vs females' abilities in science (P1E05B: ranging from females much better to males much better). - Parent behaviors: composite count (0–6) of participation in six science-related activities with the child in the past year: visiting a science/engineering museum (P1E07A); working/playing on a computer (P1E07B); building/fixing something (P1E07C); attending a school science fair (P1E07D); helping with a science fair project (P1E07E); discussing a STEM program or article (P1E07F). Each item coded 1=yes, 0=no, summed for total participation. Outcomes: Student academic motivation constructs from HSLS:09 base-year student survey, created via principal components factor analysis and standardized (mean 0, SD 1): science identity (X1SCIID), science utility value (X1SCIUTI), science self-efficacy (X1SCIEFF), and science interest (X1SCIINT). For overall prediction, a combined motivation index (MOTIV_Index) was modeled. Analysis: Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations examined distributions of parent education, beliefs, and behaviors, including by education level and by student sex for specific behaviors. Multiple linear regression predicted overall student academic motivation in science (MOTIV_Index) from parent background (education), beliefs, and behaviors. Model building assessed incremental variance explained by adding beliefs and behaviors to education. Assumptions checked: multicollinearity (VIF 1.07–1.13), independence of errors (Durbin–Watson 1.69–1.82), homoscedasticity and linearity (scatterplots), and outliers (7 removed based on standardized residuals). Weights from HSLS base-year were used in factor construction; regression modeling reported unweighted diagnostics and significance as presented.

• Parent background, beliefs, and behaviors significantly but weakly predicted students' overall academic motivation in science: adjusted R² = 0.04; F(6, 14,933) = 26.32; P < 0.001. - Incremental contributions: parent education was the strongest predictor (ΔR² = 0.023), followed by parent behaviors (ΔR² = 0.010), then parent beliefs (ΔR² = 0.005). - Specific activities with positive standardized effects in the full model included visiting a science/engineering museum (B = 0.063, P < 0.001), building/fixing something (B = 0.044, P = 0.001), attending a school science fair (B = 0.079, P < 0.001), and discussing a STEM program/article (B = 0.110, P < 0.001). Working/playing on a computer showed a small negative coefficient (B = -0.044, P = 0.027); helping with a science fair project was not significant (B = 0.016, P = 0.268). - Parent education (X1PAREDU) was positively associated with motivation (B = 0.069, beta = 0.116, P < 0.001). - Parent beliefs: confidence helping with homework showed a small negative association in the overall index model (B = -0.071, P < 0.001); beliefs about male/female ability were weakly negative and marginal (B ≈ -0.027, P ≈ 0.045). - Multiple comparisons indicated that parent participation in three or more activities had significant positive effects on students' science identity (P < 0.001) and science self-efficacy (P < 0.001). - Higher parent education (bachelor's or higher) had a significant positive effect on students' science identity (P < 0.001), and each additional level of parent education was associated with higher science self-efficacy. - No significant main effects of parent education or behaviors were found for students' science utility or interest; parent beliefs did not show significant main effects on the four individual motivation outcomes (identity, utility, self-efficacy, interest), despite contributing small incremental variance to the overall motivation index.

Findings address the research questions by demonstrating that parents' education and participation in science-related activities are associated with higher 9th-grade science motivation, particularly in science identity and self-efficacy, consistent with expectancy-value theory's emphasis on significant others shaping students' expectancies and values. The effects are modest, indicating that while parents matter, multiple social and contextual factors also influence motivation. Activities that expose students to science (museums, fairs, STEM discussions) appear beneficial, suggesting that practical, low-cost strategies to facilitate parent-child engagement in science could bolster motivational beliefs. The weak or inconsistent effects of parent beliefs on specific motivation components may reflect measurement limitations or that beliefs operate indirectly through behaviors and expectations. These results support targeting parental outreach and inclusive science programming to help sustain science engagement across high school, potentially impacting STEM coursetaking and readiness.

This study contributes evidence from a large, nationally representative dataset that parental education and science-related involvement are significant, albeit weak, predictors of 9th graders' science motivation, especially identity and self-efficacy. It underscores the value of facilitating family engagement in authentic and accessible science experiences and of supporting parents—regardless of their educational background—with resources to discuss and participate in science with their children. Future research should examine inclusive framings of STEM activities (e.g., recognizing everyday practices like cooking as STEM), explore parent-defined support behaviors using inductive methods, and assess how expanded digital science resources (e.g., post-COVID-19 museum content) shape parental science literacy and engagement under varied constraints (finances, location, time, health).

• Parental involvement measures relied on self-report, subject to social desirability and recall biases. - Survey items were general and frequency-focused, lacking detail on the content and depth of parent-child STEM interactions. - The parent/guardian sample overrepresented highly educated individuals, potentially biasing estimates toward behaviors and perspectives associated with higher education. - Cross-sectional base-year analyses limit causal inference; unobserved confounding may remain.