The contributions of perceived parenting styles to 8th class primary school students' self regulated learning strategies and motivational beliefs

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the contributions of perceived parenting styles to 8 class primary school students' self-regulated learning strategies and motivational beliefs. The perceived parenting styles were determined by utilizing the "Parenting Styles Scale" developed by Lamborn, Mounts, Steinberg and Dornbusch (1991) and adapted into Turkish by Yılmaz (2000). Students' self-regulated learning strategies and motivational beliefs were measured by "The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire" developed by Pintrich and De Groot (1990). The scale was adapted into Turkish by the researcher with the aim of measuring self-regulated learning strategies and motivational beliefs related to academic performance in the classroom. After providing transliteral equivalence, validity and reliability studies of the adaptation process indicated that the Turkish form of the scale was found to be transliterally equal to the original form. Further, it was found that all the items in the Turkish form of the scale were similar to the items in the original form in terms of factorial structure and reliable (cognitive strategy use a=.82, self-regulation a=.84, self-efficacy a=.92, intrinsic value a=.88, test anxiety a=.81). In the second phase of the study, three hundred and fifty 8th grade students from a primary school which is representative of middle socio-economic status, in Kadıköy-îstanbul responded to the "Parenting Styles Scale" and "The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire". The results revealed that perceived parenting style dimensions (acceptance/involvement, psychological autonomy, and strictness/supervision,) contribute to self-regulated learning strategies and motivational beliefs except for test anxiety. The most impressive prediction comes out from the acceptance/involvement dimension of the perceived parenting styles. Also, it was seen that only the psychological autonomy dimension of perceived parenting style contributes to test anxiety. In addition, the results indicated that the predictive power of perceived parenting styles for self-regulated learning strategies and motivational beliefs except self-efficacy in girls is stronger than boys. Furthermore, for both boys and girls, it was found that perceived parenting styles don't contribute to the test anxiety. The analysis regarding the categories of perceived parenting styles indicated that the students who perceive their parents as authoritative, have higher level of intrinsic values, self-efficacy beliefs and the use of self-regulated learning strategies than those who perceive their parents as authoritarian, neglectful, indulgent. On the other hand, students who perceive their parents as authoritarian, have higher test anxiety than those who perceive their parents as authoritative. Finally, the results showed that the first born children who perceive their parents as authoritative, have higher level of self-efficacy beliefs and intrinsic values than the first, third and later born children who perceive their parents as authoritarian and neglectful and second born children who perceive their parents as authoritarian, neglectful and indulgent. Also, the results indicated that the first born children who perceive their parents as authoritarian have higher level of test anxiety than children having other parenting styles. Key Words: Perceived parenting styles, self-regulated learning strategies,motivational beliefs. IV