Educational Goals, Parenting Practices and Adolescents’ Academic Achievement


  •  Rozumah Baharudin    
  •  Hong Chi Yee    
  •  Lim Sin Jing    
  •  Nor Sheereen Zulkefly    

Abstract

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:SimSun; panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1; mso-font-alt:??; mso-font-charset:134; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 680460288 22 0 262145 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:"\@SimSun"; panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1; mso-font-charset:134; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 680460288 22 0 262145 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:justify; text-justify:inter-ideograph; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family:SimSun;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> The present study examined linkages between educational goals, parenting practices (school involvement and monitoring) of single-mothers and single-fathers, and the academic achievement of their school-going adolescents. Additionally, it sought to examine the differences in educational goals and parenting practices between the single fathers and mothers, as well the parents’ differential treatments toward their male and female adolescents. Through Single Mother Associations, we recruited 60 single mothers and snowball 30 single fathers for the study. We found that the parents differ only in terms of educational goals in which single fathers had significantly lower goals compared to single mothers. In zero order analyses, we discovered positive correlations between (1) parenting practices and academic achievement of adolescents from both families; (2) fathers’ educational goals and their monitoring behaviors; and (3) mothers’ educational goals and their school involvement, and monitoring behaviors. Findings from this study suggest an active educational socialization process in diverse family settings to promote adolescents’ educational success.


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