Parental Status and Influence and the Achievement Orientations of High School Seniors

Abstract

In a population of 3,461 high-school seniors, achievement values were higher among females than males, were related to parental socioeconomic status and size of residence and to educational performance and aspiration. Elaboration of the association between parental characteristics and student achievement values resulted in two important interpretations. First, achievement values of males, but not females, depended upon the combination of internal family influence and external status. Secondly, the elaboration suggested that male achievement value-orientations may be due to internal family socialization processes, but those of females to external influences. The consistency of findings on the interaction of influences within the family and external status In this and other studies, even when various measures of achievement patterns are used, suggests the importance of family interaction processes in achievement orientations and questions the validity of treating motive, value, and aspiration as discrete aspects of an achievement syndrome.