PARENTAL SUPPORT AND ENGLISH ACHIEVEMENT: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF ACADEMIC SELF-CONCEPT

Yajun Wu, Qiang Yi

Abstract


The contribution of parental support to academic achievement has been adequately explored. However, the mediating mechanisms between parental support and academic achievement should be more studied, especially in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). Consequently, this study was designed to examine whether academic self-concept a mediating between parental support and academic achievement among Chinese EFL learners. Participants were 499 Chinese secondary EFL learners selected through convenience sampling. The relationship between parental support, academic self-concept, and English achievement was explored by structural equation modelling analysis (SEM) and mediation analysis while controlling for gender and age. Results showed that parental support could affect English achievement directly and indirectly through academic self-concept. Additionally, academic self-concept fully mediated the relationship between parental support and English achievement. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter


Keywords


parental support, academic self-concept, English achievement, mediating mechanisms

Full Text:

PDF

References


Ahmed, W., Minnaert, A., van der Werf, G., & Kuyper, H. (2010). Perceived social support and early adolescents’ achievement: The mediational roles of motivational beliefs and emotions. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(1), 36–46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-008-9367-7

Amalia, R., & Latifah, M. (2019). Parental support, academic emotion, learning strategy, and academic achievement on first year student. Journal of Family Sciences, 4(1), 41–53.

Arens, A. K., Yeung, A. S., Craven, R. G., & Hasselhorn, M. (2011). The twofold multidimensionality of academic self-concept: Domain specificity and separation between competence and affect components. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(4), 970–981. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025047

Artieda, G., Roquet, H., & Nicolás-conesa, F. (2020). The impact of age and exposure on EFL achievement in two learning contexts : Formal instruction and formal instruction + content and language integrated learning ( CLIL ). International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 23(4), 449–472. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2017.1373059

Bean, R. A., Barber, B. K., & Crane, D. R. (2006). Parental support, behavioral control, and psychological control among African American youth: The relationships to academic grades, delinquency, and depression. Journal of Family Issues, 27(10), 1335–1355. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X06289649

Bolt, N. (2011). Academic achievement. In S. Goldstein & J. A. Naglieri (Eds.), Encyclopedia of child behavior and development (pp. 8–9). New York: Springer.

Bradley, G. L., Ferguson, S., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2021). Parental support, peer support and school connectedness as foundations for student engagement and academic achievement in Australian youth. In R. Dimitrova & N. Wiium (Eds.), Handbook of positive youth development (pp. 219–236). Cham: Springer.

Byrne, B. M. (2010). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. New York: Routledge.

Chen, C.-T., Chen, C.-F., Hu, J.-L., & Wang, C. (2015). A study on the influence of self-concept, social support and academic achievement on occupational choice intention. Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 24(321), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-013-0153-2

Chen, F. F. (2007). Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 14(3), 464–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510701301834

Cheung, C. S. S., & Pomerantz, E. M. (2011). Parents’ involvement in children’s learning in the United States and China: Implications for children’s academic and emotional adjustment. Child Development, 82(3), 932–950. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01582.x

Choe, D. (2020). Parents’ and adolescents’ perceptions of parental support as predictors of adolescents’ academic achievement and self-regulated learning. Children and Youth Services Review, 116, 105172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105172

Chohan, I., & Khan, R. M. (2010). Impact of parental support on the academic performance and self concept of the student. Journal of Research and Reflections in Education, 4(1), 14–26. http://www.ue.edu.pk/jrre

Cutrona, C. E., Cole, V., Colangelo, N., Assouline, S. G., & Russell, D. W. (1994). Perceived parental social support and academic achievement: An attachment theory perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(2), 369–378. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.66.2.369

Demaray, M. K., Malecki, C. K., Rueger, S. Y., Brown, S. E., & Summers, K. H. (2009). The role of youth’s ratings of the importance of socially supportive behaviors in the relationship between social support and self-concept. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(1), 13–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9258-3

Fairchild, A. J., & MacKinnon, D. P. (2009). A general model for testing mediation and moderation effects. Prevention Science, 10(2), 87–99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-008-0109-6

Gentry, M., Gable, R. K., & Rizza, M. G. (2002). Students’ perceptions of classroom activities: Are there grade-level and gender differences? Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(3), 539–544. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.94.3.539

Guez, A., Peyre, H., & Ramus, F. (2020). Sex differences in academic achievement are modulated by evaluation type. Learning and Individual Differences, 83–84, 101935. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2020.101935

Guterman, O. (2021). Academic success from an individual perspective: A proposal for redefinition. International Review of Education, 67(3), 403–413. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-020-09874-7

Hau, K.-T., & Ho, I. T. (2010). Chinese students’ motivation and achievement. In M. H. Bond (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of Chinese psychology (pp. 187–2004). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hemmings, B., & Kay, R. (2010). Prior achievement, effort, and mathematics attitude as predictors of current achievement. The Australian Educational Researcher, 37(2), 41–58.

Hill, N. E., & Tyson, D. F. (2009). Parental involvement in middle school: A meta-analytic assessment of the strategies that promote achievement. Developmental Psychology, 45(3), 740–763. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015362

Hongboontri, C., & Keawkhong, N. (2014). School culture: Teachers’ beliefs, behaviors, and instructional practices. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(5), 66–88. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2014v39n5.7

Hu, L.-T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling:A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55.

Kang, X., & Wu, Y. (2022). Academic enjoyment, behavioral engagement, self-concept, organizational strategy and achievement in EFL setting: A multiple mediation analysis. PLoS ONE, 17(4), e0267405. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267405

Kim, S., Brody, G. H., & Murry, V. M. B. (2003). Longitudinal links between contextual risks, parenting, and youth outcomes in Rural African American families. Journal of Black Psychology, 29(4), 359–377. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798403256887

Lee, V. E., & Smith, J. B. (1999). Social support and achievement for young adolescents in Chicago: The role of school academic press. American Educational Research Journal, 36(4), 907–945. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312036004907

Legault, L., Green-demers, I., & Pelletier, L. (2006). Why do high school students lack motivation in the classroom? Toward an understanding of academic amotivation and the role of social support. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(3), 567–582. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.98.3.567

Liew, J., Kwok, O., Chang, Y., Chang, B. W., & Yeh, Y. C. (2014). Parental autonomy support predicts academic achievement through emotion-related self-regulation and adaptive skills in Chinese American adolescents. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 5(3), 214–222. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034787

López, E. J., Ehly, S., & García-Vázquez, E. (2002). Acculturation, social support and academic achievement of mexican and mexican american high school students: An exploratory study. Psychology in the Schools, 39(3), 245–257. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.10009

Lu, M., Chen, J., He, W., Pang, F., & Zou, Y. (2021). Association between perceived social support of parents and emotional/behavioral problems in children with ASD: A chain mediation model. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 113, 103933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2021.103933

Malecki, C. K., & Demaray, M. K. (2002). Measuring perceived social support: Development of the child and adolescent social support scale (CASSS). Psychology in the Schools, 39(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.10004

Marsh, H. W., & Martin, A. J. (2011). Academic self-concept and academic achievement: Relations and causal ordering. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 81(1), 59–77. https://doi.org/10.1348/000709910X503501

McInerney, D. M., Cheng, R. W. yi, Mok, M. M. C., & Lam, A. K. H. (2012). Academic self-concept and learning strategies: Direction of effect on student academic achievement. Journal of Advanced Academics, 23(3), 249–269. https://doi.org/10.1177/1932202X12451020

Mestry, R., & Grobler, B. (2007). Collaboration and communication as effective strategies for parent involvement in public schools. Educational Research and Review, 2(7), 176–185.

Mislevy, R. J. (2018). Sociocognitive foundations of educational measurement. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315871691

Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. (2013). Mplus version 8.3: User’s guide. Los Angeles: Muthén & Muthén.

OECD. (2016). PISA 2015 results (Volume I):Excellence and equity in education. Paris: OECD Publishing.

Perinelli, E., Pisanu, F., Checchi, D., Francesca Scalas, L., & Fraccaroli, F. (2022). Academic self-concept change in junior high school students and relationships with academic achievement. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 69, 102071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2022.102071

Pierce, G. R., Sarason, B. R., & Sarason, I. G. (1996). Handbook of social support and the family. New York: Springer.

Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879

Rayle, A. D., & Chung, K.-Y. (2008). Revisiting first-year college students’ mattering: Social support, academic stress, and the mattering experience. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 9(1), 21–37.

Roever, C., & Phakiti, A. (2017). Quantitative methods for second language research: A problem-solving approach. New York: Routledge.

Ruholt, R., Gore, J. S., & Dukes, K. (2015). Is parental support or parental involvement more important for adolescents? Undergraduate Journal of Psychology, 28(1), 1–8.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037110003-066X.55.1.68

Ryan, R. M., Deci, E. L., Grolnick, W. S., & La Guardia, J. G. (2015). The significance of autonomy and autonomy support in psychological development and psychopathology. In D. Cicchetti & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Theory and practice (pp. 795–849). New Jersey: Wiley.

Simons, L., Schrager, S. M., Clark, L. F., Belzer, M., & Olson, J. (2013). Parental support and mental health among transgender adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 53(6), 791–793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.07.019

Soylu, Y., Sağkal, A. S., & Özdemir, Y. (2022). The effects of parent-classmate-teacher support on early adolescents’ school mental health: The mediating role of mental toughness. Contemporary School Psychology, 26(2), 225–234. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-020-00299-5

Wang, M. Te, & Eccles, J. S. (2012). Social Support Matters: Longitudinal Effects of Social Support on Three Dimensions of School Engagement From Middle to High School. Child Development, 83(3), 877–895. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01745.x

Widding, U. (2018). Parental determinism in the Swedish strategy for parenting support. Social Policy & Society, 17(3), 481–490. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746417000513

Wigfield, A., & Karpathian, M. (1991). Who am I and what can I do? Children’s self-concepts and motivation in achievement situations. Educational Psychologist, 26(3&4), 233–261. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.1991.9653134

Wu, H., Guo, Y., Yang, Y., Zhao, L., & Guo, C. (2021). A meta-analysis of the longitudinal relationship between academic self-concept and academic achievement. Educational Psychology Review, 33(4), 1749–1778. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09600-1

Wu, Y., & Kang, X. (2023a). Conceptualisation, measurement, and prediction of foreign language learning psychological capital among Chinese EFL students. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2023.2193601

Wu, Y., & Kang, X. (2023b). Perceived teacher support and EFL achievement: The mediating roles of academic enjoyment and self-concept. International Journal of Linguistics and Translation Studies, 4(2), 38–53. https://doi.org/10.36892/ijlts.v4i2.320

Xu, Q. Y., Li, S. F., & Yang, L. (2019). Perceived social support and mental health for college students in mainland China: The mediating effects of self-concept. Psychology, Health and Medicine, 24(5), 595–604. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2018.1549744

Yang, M. (2015). Trapped in politicization of ethnicity: The dilemma in China’s ethnic minority education. Chinese Education & Society, 48(5), 327–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/10611932.2016.1171115

Yeung, S. S. S., King, R. B., Nalipay, M. J. N., & Cai, Y. (2022). Exploring the interplay between socioeconomic status and reading achievement: An expectancy-value perspective. British Journal of Educational Psychology, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12495

York, T. T., Gibson, C., & Rankin, S. (2015). Defining and measuring academic success. Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, 20(5), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.7275/hz5x-tx03




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v8i3.4918

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright © 2015 - 2023. European Journal of English Language Teaching (ISSN 2501-7136) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms.

All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).