The Effect of Perceived Parental Academic Involvement on Achievement: The Mediating Role of Academic Motivation

ABSTRACT This study examines the direct and indirect effects of perceived parental academic involvement on student achievement through academic motivation, based on Self‐Determination Theory. The study group consisted of 849 ninth‐grade students from 12 public high schools in a major urban area in Türkiye. Parental involvement was analyzed through two dimensions: academic support and academic monitoring, while academic motivation was examined in terms of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation. Structural equation modeling revealed that both parental support and monitoring had a significant and positive effect on academic achievement. When the direct effects of motivation on achievement were analyzed, extrinsic motivation had a stronger and statistically significant effect compared with intrinsic motivation, and amotivation also showed a small but significant positive effect on achievement. Mediation analysis further revealed that extrinsic motivation partially mediated the relationship between parental involvement and achievement, while intrinsic motivation was not a significant predictor. These findings suggest that not all types of motivation influence academic outcomes as expected, and external motivational factors may play a more prominent role in high‐pressure educational settings. Moreover, the type of parental involvement, combined with students' motivational profiles, appears to be crucial in shaping academic success.