Getting into the University Track: Parents' Implicit Theories about Ability Predict Which Type of Secondary School Their Children Are Tracked Into

Autor/inn/en	Matthes, Benjamin; Stoeger, Heidrun
Titel	Getting into the University Track: Parents' Implicit Theories about Ability Predict Which Type of Secondary School Their Children Are Tracked Into
Quelle	In: Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal, 26 (2023) 3, S.857-880 (24 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Matthes, Benjamin) ORCID (Stoeger, Heidrun)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1381-2890
DOI	10.1007/s11218-023-09769-z
Schlagwörter	Parent Attitudes; Academic Ability; Parent Child Relationship; Grade Point Average; Prediction; Academic Achievement; Parent Role; Secondary School Students; Academic Education; Vocational Education; College Preparation; Grade 4; Elementary School Students; Theories; Decision Making; Foreign Countries; Germany + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Elternverhalten; Parents-child relationship; Parent-child-relation; Parent-child relationship; Eltern-Kind-Beziehung; Vorhersage; Schulleistung; Parental role; Elternrolle; Sekundarschüler; Akademische Bildung; Ausbildung; Berufsbildung; School year 04; 4. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 04; Theory; Theorie; Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung; Ausland; Deutschland
Abstract	The few studies about whether parents' implicit theories about ability (ITs) predict their children's academic success and relevant parental behavior have produced mixed results. In response, research suggested that parents' ITs might be more important in contexts that make children's intellectual potential salient. Therefore, we investigated the role of parents' ITs in such a situation: After fourth grade in Bavaria, Germany, students are tracked into one of three secondary school types (one university-track and two non-university-track) depending on their grades (in mathematics, German, and basic science). First, we examined if parents' ITs predicted whether their children achieved the required grade average for a university-track school (that requires the highest grades). Second, because not all parents whose children achieved this threshold sent them to university-track schools, we investigated among the parents whose children had achieved the university-track threshold grade average whether parents' ITs predict their track choice. Participants were 578 fourth-graders and their parents. Parents' educational level was controlled for in all analyses. As expected, children of parents with a more incremental theory were more likely to achieve the university-track threshold grade average. For those children who achieved that threshold, parents with a more incremental theory were more likely to actually send their children to university-track schools. This effect was moderated by grade average. These results suggest that parents' ITs may indeed be more important in contexts that make children's intellectual potential salient, such as tracking decisions--especially if children's achievement raises even slight doubts about whether they will succeed. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01