PARENTS INVOLVEMENT IN CHILDRENS SCHOOLING - A MULTIDIMENSIONAL CONCEPTUALIZATION AND MOTIVATIONAL MODEL

This study had 2 goals. The first was to examine a multidimensional co nceptualization of parent involvement in children's schooling, defined as the allocation of resources to the child's school endeavors. A sec ond goal was to evaluate a model in which children's motivational reso urces (i.e., perceived competence, control understanding, and self-reg ulation) are mediators between parent involvement and children's schoo l performance. 300 11-14-year-old children and their teachers particip ated. Factor analyses of a set of parent involvement measures supporte d the hypothesized 3 dimensions of parent involvement: behavior, intel lectual/cognitive, and personal. Path analyses revealed indirect effec ts of mother behavior and intellectual/cognitive involvement on school performance through perceived competence and control understanding, a nd indirect effects of father behavior on school performance through p erceived competence. The results argue against a unidimensional unders tanding of parent involvement and support the view of the child as an active constructor of his or her school experience.