Parental Involvement, Academic Motivation, and Educational Attainment among Latinx Students

The present study examines how Latinx mothers’ and fathers’ involvement— specifically home-based involvement, school-based involvement, and parental aspirations relates to students’ academic motivation, engagement, college enrollment, and degree attainment. Additionally, it also explores how these relationships vary by students’ gender and immigration generation status. Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, which included Latinx students (n = 2,217) and their parents (1,415 mothers and 380 fathers), multiple and binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the predictive role of maternal and paternal involvement in students’ educational outcomes. Findings reveal that parental aspirations were the most consistent predictor of both short- term (e.g., academic value, educational expectations, and school engagement) and long-term (e.g., college enrollment and degree attainment) educational outcomes. Latinas demonstrated a higher baseline of college enrollment and degree attainment compared to boys, and high maternal educational aspirations were associated with an even greater likelihood of college enrollment and college degree attainment among girls. This pattern suggests that maternal aspirations may be perceived differently by students depending on gender, playing a particularly crucial role in fostering academic success and persistence among girls. Home-based involvement was also associated with students’ educational outcomes, but only when reported by mothers. Mother-reported home-based involvement was linked to students’ educational expectations and college enrollment, whereas father-reported homebased involvement was not associated with any outcomes. School-based involvement showed limited associations, with mother-reported school involvement relating to teacher-reported school engagement and degree attainment. However, father-reported school-based involvement was not associated with student outcomes. The results from the study underscore the importance of distinguishing between maternal and paternal involvement when examining parental support in Latinx families. The study also highlights gender-related variations in how parental aspirations and home-based involvement relate to educational trajectories. Future research should further investigate how cultural, structural barriers, and family dynamics shape students’ educational experiences.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Human Development and Family Sciences

Grantor

Texas State University

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Molina, Madelyn

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Seo, Eunjin

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Alfaro, Edna C.
• Shen, Yishan

• parental involvement
• academic motivation
• educational attainment
• Latinx

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10877/20768

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digital.library.txst.edu:10877/20768