Parental Self-efficacy in School-related Performance: Development and Association with Academic Achievement during Secondary School

The present study examined the development of perceived parental self-efficacy in school-related performance (PPSE-School; i.e., parents’ beliefs in their capabilities to positively affect their children’s academic experience) during secondary school as well as its longitudinal associations with adolescents’ academic achievement at the end of secondary school. Participants were 482 (53.9% boys) Italian adolescents and their parents (376 mothers; 106 fathers). PPSE-School was measured across three-time points over 3 years, when adolescents attended grades six (T1), seven (T2), and eight (T3) of secondary school. Adolescents’ school grades were collected at the beginning and the end of secondary school. Second Order Latent Growth Curve Modeling indicated a linear decrease in PPSE-School over the transition to secondary school. The slope of PPSE-School positively predicted students’ academic achievement in grade eight while controlling for grade six academic achievement, students’ gender, socio-economic status, and the type of school. The study implications are discussed.