Parent Educational Level and Motivation Among Native American Adolescents: The Mediating Role of School Belonging

School belonging and parent educational level are independently associated with student academic performance. However, few studies explore the simultaneous association between the three variables. This study examines this association among 215 Native American 9th through 12th graders. Overall, students reported an average school belonging score of 3.37 (SD = .67) out of a maximum score of 5.0. Additionally, there was a small but significant positive association between parent educational level and student school belonging, r(165) = .18, p < .05. Last, school belonging appeared to mediate the association between parent educational level and student academic motivation. Results suggest that parent educational level is related to student academic motivation via school belonging. Students whose parents have a higher educational level may feel a stronger sense of belonging to the school context, and this stronger sense of relatedness may contribute to higher levels of academic motivation. Findings from this study further explicate consequences of past and present colonization of Native American students, which complicate their educational attainment.