Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Mass Media and Intensive Mothering Predict Motivators of Mother Engagement in Children’s Education

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Child and Family Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of this exploratory and descriptive study was to investigate the links between motherhood-related variables and the determinants of the motivators behind mothers’ engagement decisions related to their children’s education. Specifically, the purpose of the study was to examine the associations between mothers’ media exposures and belief systems and the motivators of their engagement decisions. In a quantitative study of 1027 mothers (Mage = 32.91 years) with young children, the participants reported their media exposures and maternal belief systems, along with the factors motivating their engagement decisions within the first level of Hoover–Dempsey and Sandler’s parent involvement model. Path analysis (LISREL) revealed that mass media and maternal belief systems predicted the motivators influencing mothers’ engagement in their children’s education. However, the majority of the variables were not associated with their perceptions of invitations from school experts, i.e., teachers and schools. The results of the current study indicated a paradox in the family engagement process. On the one hand, mothers’ media exposures and intensive motherhood ideologies were associated with their commitment to be a part of their children’s education. On the other hand, their media exposures and intensive motherhood ideologies highlight their concerns regarding invitations of school professionals in a less caring way.

Highlights

  • Children’s education involves a wide range of social systems, including their parents’ own beliefs and the mass media.

  • Exposure to childrearing information from the media, not from celebrity mother exposure, seems to be associated with family engagement.

  • Intensive ideologies are correlated with mothers’ commitment to participate in their children’s education.

  • Mothers’ competitiveness and social comparison orientations are related to low self-efficacy for engagement capabilities.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abidin, C. (2016). “Aren’t these just young, rich women doing vain things online?”: Influencer selfies as subversive frivolity. Social Media+Society, 2(2), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116641342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, K. J., & Minke, K. M. (2007). Parent involvement in education: toward an understanding of parents’ decision making. Journal of Educational Research, 100, 311–323. https://doi.org/10.3200/JOER.100.5.311-323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barash, S. S. (2006). Tripping the prom queen: the truth about women and rivalry. St. Martin’s Press.

  • Bigner, J. J. (2010). Parent-child relations: An introduction to parenting (8th ed.). Pearson.

  • Brabazon, H. (2014). Mothers of global welfare state: How neoliberal globalization affects working mothers in Sweden and Canada. In A. O’reilly (Ed.), Twenty-first century motherhood: Experience, identity, policy, agency (pp. 199–215). Colombia University Press.

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1994). Ecological models of human development. In M. Gauvain, M. & M. Cole (Eds), Readings on the development of children (2nd ed., pp. 37–43). Freeman.

  • Brown, W. J., Basil, M. D., & Bocarnea, M. C. (2003). The influence of famous athletes on health beliefs and practices: Mark McGwire, child abuse prevention, and Androstenedione. Journal of Health Communication, 8(1), 41–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730305733.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Caputo, V. (2007). She’s from a ‘good family’: Performing childhood and motherhood in a Canadian private school setting. Childhood, 14(2), 173–192. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568207078326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chae, J. (2015). “Am I a better mother than you?: Media and twenty-first century motherhood in the context of the social comparison theory. Communication Research, 42(4), 503–525. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650214534969.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chae, J. (2017). Explaining females’ envy toward social media influencers. Media Psychology, 21(2), 246–262. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2017.1328312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

  • Corcoran, K., Crusius, J., & Musweiler, T. (2011). Social comparison: Motives, standards, and mechanisms. In D. Chadee (Ed.), Theories in social psychology (pp. 119–139). Wiley-Blackwell.

  • Dornbusch, S. M., Glasgow, K. L., & Lin, I. C. (1996). The social structure of schooling. Annual Review of Psychology, 47, 401–429. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.47.1.401.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, S. J., & Michaels, M. W. (2004). The mommy myth: The idealization of motherhood and how it has undermined all women. Free Press.

  • Driessens, O. (2013). The celebritization of society and culture: Understanding the structural dynamics of celebrity culture. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 16(6), 641–657. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877912459140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duffy, B. E., & Hund, E. (2015). ‘Having it sll’ on social media: Entrepeneurial femininity and self-branding among fashion bloggers. Social Media+Society, 1(2), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305115604337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dufur, M. J., Parcel, T. L., & Troutman, K. P. (2013). Does capital at home matter more than capital at school? Social capital effects on academic achievement. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 31, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2012.08.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ertan, N. C. (2017). Comparing fathers and mothers: Determinants of why they involve in their children’s education [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Middle East Technical University.

  • Ex, C. T. G. M., Janssens, J. M. A. M., & Korzilius, H. P. L. M. (2006). Young females’ images of motherhood in relation to television viewing. Journal of Communication, 52(4), 955–971. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2002.tb02583.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan, W., & Williams, C. (2010). The effects of parental involvement on students’ academic self-efficacy, engagement and intrinsic motivation. Educational Psychology, 30(1), 53–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410903353302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan, W., Williams, C. M., & Wolters, C. A. (2012). Parental involvement in predicting school motivation: similar and differential effects across ethnic groups. The Journal of Educational Research, 105(1), 21–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2010.515625.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675400700202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, M. L., & Moule, K. R. (2013). A new direction for intrasexual competition research: Cooperative versus competitive motherhood. Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology, 7(4), 318–325. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0099187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to design and evaluate research in education. McGraw-Hill.

  • Garcia, S. M., Tor, A., & Schiff, T. M. (2013). The psychology of competition a social comparison perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(6), 634–650. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691613504114.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbons, F. X., & Buunk, B. P. (1999). Individual differences in social comparison: Development of a scale of social comparison orientation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 129–142. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.76.1.129.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Glenn, E. N. (1994). Social construction of mothering: A thematic overview. In E. N. Glenn, G. Chang, & L. N. Forcey (Eds), Mothering: Ideology, experience, and agency (pp. 1–29). Routledge.

  • Green, C. L., Walker, J. M. T., Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., & Sandier, H. M. (2007). Parents’ motivations for involvement in children’s education: An empirical test of a theoretical model of parental involvement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 532–544. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.99.3.532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2009). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Prentice Hall.

  • Harris, R. J. & Sanborn, F. W. (2014). A cognitive psychology of mass communication. Rootledge Communication.

  • Hays, S. (1996). The cultural contradictions of motherhood. Yale University Press.

  • Helmreich, R. L., & Spence, J. T. (1978). The work and family orientation questionnaire: an objective instrument to assess components of achievement motivation and attitudes toward family and career. Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 8, 2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, A., Harmon, S., & Newman, H. (2016). The price mothers pay, even when they are not buying it: Mental health consequences of idealized motherhood. Sex Roles, 74(11–12), 512–526. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0534-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henry, L. M., Bryan, J., & Zalaquett C. P. (2017). The effects of a counselor-led, faith-based, school–family–community partnership on student achievement in a high-poverty urban elementary school. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 45(3), 162–182. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmcd.12072.

  • Hoffman, D. M. (2010). Risky investments: parenting and the production of the ‘resilient child’. Health, Risk and Society, 12(1), 385–394. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698571003789716.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoover-Dempsey, K., & Sandler, H. (1995). Parental involvement in children’s education: Why does it make a difference. Teachers College Record, 97, 310–331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoover-Dempsey, K., & Sandler, H. (1997). Why do parents become involved in their children’s education? Review of Educational Research, 67, 3–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., Wilkins, A. S., Sandler, H. M., & O’Connor, K. P. J. (2004). Parental role construction for involvement: Interactions among theoretical, measurement, and pragmatic issues in instrument development [Conference session]. San Diego, CA: The annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. https://studylib.net/doc/5817725/parental-role-construction-for-involvement-in-the-child-s.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., & Sandler, H. M. (2005, March 22). The social context of parental involvement: A path to enhanced achievement. Final performance report for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (Grant No. R305T010673). U.S. Department of Education. https://ir.vanderbilt.edu/bitstream/handle/1803/7595/OERIIESfinalreport032205.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.

  • Hooper, D., Coughlan, J., & Mullen, M. (2008). Structural Equation Modeling: Guidelines for determining model fit. The Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6(1), 53–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horn, J. L. (1965). A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis. Psychometrika, 30(2), 179–185. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02289447.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Inzani, E. L., Marshall, H. H., Sanderson, J. L., Nichols, H. J., Thompson, F. J., Kalema-Zikusoka, G., Hodge, S. J., Cant, M. A., & Vitikainen, E. I. K. (2016). Female reproductive competition explains variation in prenatal investment in wild banded mongooses. Scientific Reports, 6, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep20013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenson, J. (2001). Re-Thinking equality and equity: Canadian children and the social union. In E. Broadbent (Ed.), Democratic equality: What went wrong? (pp. 111–129). University of Toronto Press.

  • Johnson, M. K. (2007). Reality monitoring and the media. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 21, 981–993. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1393.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kruglanski, A., & Mayseless, O. (1990). Classic and current social comparison research: expanding the perspective. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 195–208. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.108.2.195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krzyżanowska, N. (2020). The commodification of motherhood: Normalisation of consumerism in mediated discourse on mothering. Social Semiotics, 30(4), 563–590. https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2020.1762986.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kyung, L. J. (1999). The glorification of ‘scientific motherhood’ as an ideological construct in modern Korea. Asian Journal of Women’s Studies, 5(4), 9–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lareau, A. (2011). Unequal childhoods: class, race, and family life. University of California Press.

  • Lavenda, O. (2011). Parental involvement in school: A test of Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s model among Jewish and Arab parents in Israel. Children and Youth Services Review, 33(6), 927–935. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.12.016.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matsunaga, M. (2010). How to factor-analyze your data right: Do’s and don’ts and how to’s. International Journal of Psychological Research, 3(1), 97–110. https://doi.org/10.21500/20112084.854.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McWayne, C. M., Melzi, G., Limlingan, M. C., & Schick, A. (2016). Ecocultural patterns of family engagement among low-income Latino families of preschool children. Developmental Pschology, 52(7), 1088–1102. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montesi, M., & Bornstein, B. A. (2017). Defining a theoretical framework for information seeking and parenting. Concepts and themes from a study with mothers supportive of attachment parenting. Journal of Documentation, 73(2), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-04-2016-0047.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, K. W., Finigan-Carr, N., Jones, V. C., Copeland-Linder, N., Haynie, D. L., & Cheng, T. L. (2014). Barriers and facilitators to school-based parent involvement for parents of urban public middle school students. SAGE Open, 4(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244014558030.

  • National Ministry of Education Parent Teacher Association Regulation, 28199 C.F.R. (2012). www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2012/02/20120209-6.htm.

  • No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-110, 115 Stat. 1425 (2002). https://www.congress.gov/107/plaws/publ110/PLAW-107publ110.pdf.

  • O’Connor, C., & Joffe, H. (2014). Media representations of early human development: protecting, feeding and loving the developing brain. Social Representations of Brain Research, 97, 297–306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.09.048.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pallant, J. (2011). SPSS survival guide. Open University Press.

  • Patrikakou, E. N., Weissberg, R. P., Redding, S., & Walberg, H. J. (2005). School–family partnerships: Enhancing the academic, social, and emotional learning of children. In E. N. Patrikakou, R. P. Weisberg, S. Redding, & H. J. Walberg, (Eds), School-family partnerships for children’s success (pp. 1–17). Teachers College Press.

  • Perse, E. M. (2001). Media effects and society. Erlbaum.

  • Plantin, L., & Daneback K. (2009). Parenthood, information and support on the internet. A literature review of research on parents and professionals online. BMC Family Practice, 10(34). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2296-10-34.

  • Pushor, D., & Ruitenberg, C. (2005). Place, interrupted: The visual counter-narrative of Princess Alexandra School [Conference session]. Victoria, British Columbia: Provoking Curriculum Conference. February.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pushor, D. (2013). Bringing into being a curriculum of parents. In D. Pushor & The Parent Engagement Collaborative (Eds), Portals of promise: Transforming beliefs and practices through a curriculum of parents (pp. 5–19). Sense Publshers.

  • Reininger, T., & Lopez, A.S. (2017). Parental involvement in municipal schools in Chile: Why do parents choose to get involved?. School Psychology International, 38(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034317695378.

  • Republic of Turkey Ministry of Justice. (n.d.). Veli. In T.C. Adalet Bakanlığı Hukuk Sözlüğü [Ministry of Justice Law Dictionary]. https://sozluk.adalet.gov.tr/veli.

  • Richardson, J. T. E. (2011). Eta squared and partial eta squared as measures of effect size in educational research. Educational Research Review, 6(2), 135–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2010.12.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosier, K. B., & Kinney, D. A. (2005). Introduction to Volume 11: Historical and contemporary pressures on children’s freedom. In D.A. Kinney & K. B. Rosier (Eds), Sociological Studies of Children and Youth (pp. 1–20). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1537-4661(05)11001-0.

  • Rothbaum, F., Martland, N., & Jannsen, J. B. (2008). Parents’ reliance on the Web to find information about children and families: Socio-economic differences in use, skills and satisfaction. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29, 118–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2007.12.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutherford, B. M. (2009). Children’s autonomy and responsibility: An analysis of childrearing advice. Qualitative Sociology, 32, 337–353. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-009-9136-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheldon, S. (2007.). Improving student attendance with school, family, and community partnerships. The Journal of Educational Research, 267–275. https://doi.org/10.3200/JOER.100.5.267-275.

  • Smither, R. D., & Houston, J. M. (1992). The nature of competitiveness: the development and validation of the Competitiveness Index. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 52, 407–418. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164492052002016.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steiger, J. H. (2007). Understanding the limitations of global fit assessment in structural equation modeling. Personality and Individual Differences, 42, 893–898. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2006.09.017.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B., and Fidell, L. (2007). Using multivariate statistic. Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

  • Tanrıöver, H. U., Vitrinel, E., & Sözeri, C. (2009). Gözlemlerden eylemlere: Türkiye’de cinsiyetçi olmayan bir medyaya doğru [From observations to actions: towards a non-sexist media in Turkey]. İletişim Dergisi, 10, 33–51. https://doi.org/10.16878/gsuiletisim.v10i10.5000004819.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teke, S. G. (2014). Dönüşen anneliğe yönelik netnografik bir analiz: Blogger anneler [A netnographic analysis on the transformation of motherhood: Blogger mothers]. Milli Folklor, 26(103), 32–47. https://www.millifolklor.com/PdfViewer.aspx?Sayi=103&Sayfa=29.

    Google Scholar 

  • The Glossary of Education Reform (2014). Stakeholder. www.edglossary.org/stakeholder.

  • The Turkish Language Association. (n.d.). Ebeveyn. In Türk Dil Kurumu Sözlükleri [Turkish Language Association Dictionaries]. https://sozluk.gov.tr/.

  • Thompson, B. (2004). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. American Psychological Association.

  • Uğurlu, E. G. (2013). Media’s role in the process of learning the role of motherhood. Erciyes University Social Sciences Institute Journal, 34(1), 1–24. https://www.dergipark.gov.tr/download/article-file/219620

    Google Scholar 

  • Vancour, M.L. & Sherman, W.M. (2010). Academic life balance for mothers: Pipeline or pipe dream? In Andrea O’Reilly (Ed.), Mothering at the 21st century: Identity, policy, experience and agency. Columbia University Press.

  • Wall, G. (2010). Mothers’ experiences with intensive parenting and brain development discourse. Women’s Studies International Forum, 33(3), 253–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2010.02.019.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wall, G. (2013). ‘Putting family first’: Shifting discourses of motherhood and childhood in representations of mothers’ employment and child care. Women’s Studies International Forum, 40, 162–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2013.07.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walls, J. K. (2016). Mothering, intensive, in the United States. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Family Studies. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119085621.wbefs133.

  • Walker, J. M., Ice, C. L., Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., & Sandler, H. M. (2011). Latino parents’ motivations for involvement in their children’s schooling: an exploratory study. Elementary School Journal, 111, 409–429. https://doi.org/10.1086/657653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, J. M. T., Wilkins, A. S., Dallaire, J. P., Sandler, H. M., & Hoover-Dempsey, K. V. (2005). Parental involvement: model revision through scale development. Elementary School Journal, 106, 85–104. https://doi.org/10.1086/499193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watkins, M. W. (2000). Monte Carlo PCA for parallel analysis [Computer Software]. Ed and Psych Associates.

  • Whitaker, M., & Hoover-Dempsey, K. (2013). School influences on parents’ role beliefs. The Elementary School Journal, 114(1), 73–99. https://doi.org/10.1086/671061.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, B. M., Christopher, K., & Sinski, J. (2017). “Who doesn’t want to be this hot mom?”: Celebrity mom profiles and mothers’ accounts of their postpartum bodies. SAGE Open, 7(3), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244017720562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

    Rabia Filik-Uyanık

  2. Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

    Hasibe Ö. Demircan

Authors
  1. Rabia Filik-Uyanık
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hasibe Ö. Demircan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Rabia Filik-Uyanık. Hasibe Özlen Demircan oversaw data collection material and data analyses. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Rabia Filik-Uyanık. Hasibe Özlen Demircan reviewed the manuscript and contributed to editing the final manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rabia Filik-Uyanık.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Consent to Participate

Informed consent was obtained by all individual participants included in this study.

Ethical Approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of Middle East Technical University (Ethics approval number: 2017-EGT-144).

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Filik-Uyanık, R., Demircan, H.Ö. Mass Media and Intensive Mothering Predict Motivators of Mother Engagement in Children’s Education. J Child Fam Stud 30, 1895–1909 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02003-4

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02003-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation