The Relationship between Parental Support and Academic Motivation among Grade 11 Humanities and Social Sciences Students

Abstract

Parental support plays a critical role in shaping students’ academic motivation and engagement. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, this study examined the relationship between parental support and academic motivation among Grade 11 Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) students at Lantapan National High School during the School Year 2025–2026. A descriptive–correlational design was employed with 138 students selected through simple random sampling. Data were collected using an adapted and validated survey instrument measuring parental support and four dimensions of academic motivation: strive, participation, willingness to work, and maintaining academic work.
The instrument demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .87). Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation were used for data analysis.Results revealed a high level of parental support (M = 3.44, SD = 1.00). Academic motivation was high in terms of strive (M = 3.89, SD = 0.94) and maintaining academic work (M = 3.80, SD = 0.88), while participation (M = 3.21, SD = 0.95) and willingness to work (M = 3.17, SD = 0.93) were moderate. Significant positive correlations were found between parental support and all motivation dimensions (r = .269–.435, p < .01). Findings suggest that parental support contributes to students’ motivation by fulfilling psychological needs for relatedness, competence, and guidance. The study highlights the importance of strengthening home–school partnerships to enhance sustained academic engagement.