Role of Parental Motivational Practices in Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation and Achievement

In a longitudinal study of children at ages 9 and 10 years, the role of parental motivational practices in children's academic intrinsic motivation and achievement was tested. Two types of motivational practices were assessed: mothers' encouragement of children's task endogeny and provision of task-extrinsic consequences. Structural equations path models for general-verbal and math academic areas supported the 2 predictions that children's academic intrinsic motivation is positively related to encouragement of task endogeny and negatively related to provision of task-extrinsic consequences. Academic intrinsic motivation at age 9 years predicted motivation and achievement at age 10 years. Moreover, through age 9 year motivation, the motivational practices indirectly affected age 10 year motivation and achievement. Findings provide ecological validity for the role of parental motivational practices in children's academic intrinsic motivation and achievement.