School and its educational value: the role of parental influences in shaping adolescents’ values, academic beliefs, and expectations

Parents play a fundamental role in the development of young people’s self-perceptions. In the context of education, psychological research has revealed that parental involvement (PI) is significantly related to students’ attitudes, beliefs, motivation, expectations, and academic outcomes. However, few studies have focused on a specific aspect of PI known as academic socialization, which refers to the importance that parents attribute to school and education, particularly in terms of how their educational values correspond with students’ psychological and academic adaptation. Thus, this study aimed to examine the associations between perceived parents’ educational values and students’ academic adjustment. A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted on a sample of 477 Italian students (9th and 10th graders), with a mean age of 15.28 years (SD = .75; 50% male). A Structural Equation Model was estimated to examine how perceived parents’ educational values are related to students’ educational values and academic self-concept, and how these, in turn, relate to students’ perceived difficulties in completing their educational path. Results revealed an indirect relationship between perceived parents’ educational values and students’ negative expectations of academic success, via students’ educational values and their academic self-concept. Interestingly, these associations were found only when the intrinsic dimensions of parents’ and students’ educational values were considered. Overall, the findings highlight parents’ important role during secondary school and suggest that valuing education for its intrinsic and formative function – rather than for its extrinsic outcomes – may be associated with students’ academic adaptation and well-being.