The Mediating Role of Goal Orientation, Parental Participation, and Self-Regulation in the Relationship between Child Rearing Practices and Students’ Motivation to Learn

To help students improve their performance at school, the relationship between a complex set of factors need to be studied among which goal orientation, parental participation, and self-regulation loom large especially when considering the relationship between parents’ child rearing methods and students’ motivation to learn. To do this study, a cluster sample of 275 female high school students in Bojnord was selected and given a set of questionnaires on above-mentioned constructs. Data analyses show a negative correlation between parental control and responsiveness on the one hand and externally sourced motivation, while internally sourced motivation is positively correlated to self-regulation, parental participation in school activities, and achievement goals. The results of path analysis indicate that parental control and responsiveness impact students’ motivation to learn through parental participation and self-regulation strategies. Results also indicate that parental participation impacts motivation through self-regulation and goal orientation. The controlling and responsive parents who participate in school activities help their children’s goal orientation through modeling and validating self-regulated learning strategies, which in turn affects their motivation to learn.