The Links Between Parent Behaviors and Boys' and Girls' Science Achievement Beliefs: Applied Developmental Science: Vol 13 , No 1

Abstract

This study examined whether parental involvement in children's science schoolwork (i.e., discussions about science, homework helping and encouragement of science interest) varies for boys and girls, and how these behaviors relate to children's science achievement beliefs (i.e., ability perceptions and task-value) at the end of a school year. We analyzed these links both for fathers and mothers and examined whether child gender moderates how parental behaviors relate to children's beliefs over time. Data were gathered over a span of a school year from 114 middle-school students (50% girls, 81% European American) and their parents (mothers: n = 103, fathers: n = 90). We found support for the moderating effect of gender. Specifically, the findings indicated that only parents' encouragement of science interest varied by child gender; mothers' encouragement positively predicted girls' self-assessments of science ability at the end of the year, but was a negative estimator of boys' self-assessments. Additionally, mothers' discussions about science showed similar findings with respect to girls' and boys' utility beliefs about science.

We are grateful to the school staff, children, and parents who participated in this research study. We thank Sally Steinbach King, Jessica Cook, and Candice Dreves for their significant help on the project. We also thank Eva Pomerantz and Harriett Tenenbaum for their helpful comments. This material is based upon work supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture under Project NO. ILLU-45-0352. An earlier version of this paper was presented in poster format at the Biennial Meeting of Society for Research on Adolescence, San Francisco, March 2006.

Notes

¹IGAP equivalency scores were calculated for 20 children who had missing IGAP scores using children's final science grade at the end of the year or their score on alternative science achievement tests. The equivalency scores were calculated by equating these children with other classmates who had IGAP scores available, and who had an equal alternate achievement score available (e.g., had the same final grade or same achievement score). The mean IGAP score of the students with an equal alternate achievement score was calculated and used for the 20 children who had a missing IGAP score. Given that the correlations between the IGAP scores and the alternative achievement measures were moderately to highly correlated, this was an acceptable procedure.

Note. IGAP refers to the Illinois Goals Assessment Program Standardized Test in Science.

²Changes in children's ability perceptions and task-value beliefs for science over the school year were examined using a 2 (child gender: boys vs. girls) × 2 (time: beginning of year vs. end of year) repeated-measures ANOVAs on children's achievement beliefs. The analysis yielded a main effect of time on ability perceptions (F(1, 112) = 15.46, p < .001), as well as task-value (F(1, 112) = 8.66, p < .01), with a decline in children's science-related ability perceptions (M _est = 3.18, SE = .045 for beginning of year, M _est = 3.02, SE = .05 for end of year beliefs) and their task-value beliefs in science (M _est = 3.16, SE = .06 for beginning of year, M _est = 2.99, SE = .06 for end of year beliefs). No time X child gender interaction effects were found on ability perceptions (F(1, 112) = 3.49, n.s.), or task-value (F(1, 112) = 2.64, n.s.).

Note. ∗p < .05. ∗∗p < .01. ∗∗∗p < .001; n's ranged from 38 to 57 for each gender.