Introduction:

1. Do Parental Influences or Self-efficacy Affect Student GPA or Academic Aspirations? Druery, R.C., Gibson, B. W., Randall, P., & Dula, C. S. APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY LABORATORY East Tennessee State University http://www.etsu.edu/apl/ Johnson City, Tennessee • Introduction: • While factors within the classroom no doubt play a major part in students’ academic achievement, there is growing interest in how psychosocial factors may influence student’s academic performance and perceptions. • Previous literature has linked self-efficacy with perceived career goals, indicating that students with low levels of self-efficacy often do not have very successful careers (Lent, Brown, & Larkin, 1986). • Bandura (1988) stressed the importance of self-efficacy arguing that many underestimate the effect it has on everyday life. He emphasized that the link between knowledge and behaviors, if damaged (i.e. by low self-efficacy), could be detrimental to one’s actual capabilities and perceived abilities. • Cassidy (2009) demonstrated that family support, socioeconomic status, motivation, and self-efficacy account for 44% of the variance in Grade Point Average, GPA. • D'Allegro (2010) observed a positive correlation between a parent’s academic completion and the academic aspirations of their children. • Taylor (2010), observing a strong link between self efficacy, academic achievement and academic aspirations, recommended that further research be conducted into the possible parental influences on student GPA and future plans for continued education. • This study seeks to assess the effects self-efficacy, parental support, and parent education level may have on student’s academic performance and their perceived future academic plans. • Hypotheses: • H1: Student GPA’s will be influenced by parental support, parental education, and academic self efficacy. • H2: Student Academic Aspirations will be influenced by parental support, parent education level, and academic self efficacy. • H3: GPA and Academic Aspirations will influence one another. • Method: • All methods were approved by a university Institutional Review Board prior to implementation. • Participants: • Participants included 812 7th and 8th grade students, 431 males 381 females, from rural middle schools in the Southeastern United States. • Procedure: • One week prior to data collection, students’ parents were given a packet containing information about the study and an opt-out consent form. Students who did not have opt-out forms sent back by their parents/guardians were allowed to participate, provided they assented. • Participants were excused from one class period and asked to participate in a brief survey. Grades were attained directly from the schools’ offices with consent of parents and assent of students. • Measures: • Grade point Average (GPA): given by schools. • Perceived academic aspirations, or plans for further education, were assessed by asking students to report how much school they planned to complete using answers ranged from “will not finish high school” to “attain a Ph.D or professional degree.” • Academic Self-Efficacy: Survey with multiple items used to measure academic self-efficacy, such as “I can do well in Math,” “I know I can do very well in school if I want to,” anchored by “Strongly Agree” and “Strongly Disagree.” • Parent Education Level: Survey asked students to report parent’s level of education ranging from “did not complete high school,” to “completed doctoral level degree.” • Parent Support: Survey with multiple items used to measure social support, such as “I feel safe at home ,” anchored by “Strongly Agree” and “Strongly Disagree.” • Results: • H1: Supported at a p < 0.01 on all variables. • H2: Supported at a p < 0.01 on parent education and parent support, and a p < 0.05 on academic self efficacy. • H3: Supported at a p < 0.01. Discussion: • Results revealed that students had higher academic aspirations than what level of education their parents had completed. • Students with high levels of self-efficacy reported higher levels of academic success and higher academic aspirations. As Bandura (1988) argued, students who feel they can attain higher grades generally do so. • A link was found between family support and GPA, demonstrating the same results found by Cassidy (2009). This shows that education is not just a process of schooling but also social factors. • Similar to D’Allegro (2010) results, parent education level was observed to positively correlate with student GPA and academic aspirations. In fact students were shown to have higher goals than that of what their parents had accomplished in regards to level of education. • As with Taylor (2010), a relatively strong relationship between academic aspirations and GPA was observed. It would be reasonable to assume that some students produce high grades in order to achieve higher academic aspirations. Limitations: • The study consisted of a relatively homogenous sample of middle school students from a small rural area. This may limit generalization of results to urban areas, other ages, and a variety of ethnicities. • Students were asked to report information on parent level of education resulting in possible incorrect answers and missing data. Future Research: • Future research should assess the effects of parents educational aspirations on high school dropout rates. • Further research should examine other factors that may influence academic completion and academic success. References: • Available upon request Contact: • Ryne C. Druery at druery@goldmail.etsu.edu • Chris S. Dula at dulac@etsu.edu