Resumen de Students’ perceptions of family influences on their academic motivation: A qualitative analysis

Tim Urdan, Monica Solek, Erin Schoenfelder

• Research examining family influences on student motivation and achievement in school has generally focused on parental influences and has often been limited to one or two variables (e.g., parental expectations or aspirations, parental involvement in schoolwork). In the present study we interviewed high school seniors to examine whether and how family members affected their academic motivation and achievement. Interviews were coded holistically for the strength, affective tone, source, and types of familial influence. Emergent themes from the interview analyses revealed that students perceived a broad range of types and sources of familial influence on motivation. Interviews were divided into five prototypical patterns: Family Obligation, Family Pleasing, Family Support, Aversive Influence, and No Influence. The types of familial influence differed by cultural characteristics (generational status, native country) and by achievement level. Associations between the five patterns of family influence and existing theories of family influence are discussed.