Analysis of parental goals according to family variables. Implications for quality education in secondary education

This paper presents an exploratory study to identify the parental achievement goals of families in Spain and to detect peculiarities, in terms of their socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics. A total of 1590 families, represented by one of the two parents, participated by means of convenience sampling. The data were collected through a questionnaire developed ad hoc, validated by using a Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Data processing included descriptive analyses and comparisons between groups, looking for possible significant differences. The results indicate that the task mastery-oriented goal prevails in this research sample, but also that more than half of the participants guide their children towards task success. Therefore, a broad group of subjects simultaneously conveys two different types of goals with divergent orientations, a fact that could lead to a conflict of values for adolescents. Regarding the relationship with the socio-demographic and socio-economic variables of the families, their greatest influence is in the case of the goal oriented towards failure, being lower in the goal aimed at success and decreasing significantly in the goal oriented towards mastery of the task. The results of this study suggest the necessity to offer, within the framework of universal parenting programmes, specific projects which help parents to clarify the values inherent in their parental achievement goals from the perspective of positive parenting. In addition, teachers should be trained in this aspect so that, in exercising their tutorial role, they can encourage all families to attain the goals of parental achievement associated with the quality of education.