Influence of Family Structure on Achievement-Motivation: Discovering the Scenario of Bangladeshi Public University Students

This paper is a study of the impact of family structure on the achievement motivation. The sample for the present study consisted of 492 university students who were enrolled in public universities of Bangladesh. AMS-R revised scale was used to assess achievement motivation. To respond to the research question, mean and standard deviation were calculated, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to assess the hypotheses. The study’s findings showed that students from single parent families had the greatest mean levels of enthusiasm, followed by students from nuclear families, while students from extended families had the lowest scores of achievement motivation. According to the findings, it is suggested that parents should be concerned in their children’s upbringing, among other things.

Introduction

Achievement motivation refers to the motivation of individuals to perform efficiently in complex situations, focusing on the person’s choice of achievement tasks and engagement with those (Nicholls, 1984). Family size, ordinal position, and social position have impacted the growth of achievement motivation. However, their impacts are multifaceted, highly interconnected, and difficult to evaluate on a case-by-case basis (Rosen, 1961). The discussion of nuclear and extended was identified as impacting a student’s academic performance, and achievement motivation has been observed to be connected to family type (Florence & Yinusa, 2018). Family stability and structure play an integral part in early adolescence. At age five, having married parents is linked to significantly better cognitive, behaviuoral, and health outcomes (Craigieet al., 2012). Even though parent separations are a normal occurrence in today’s society, they can cause significant life stress for those involved. They may have a detrimental effect on the emotional and physical well-being of the individual (Kelly & Emery, 2003). Research has focused on the impact of separation on a student’s academic performance for several decades, and it has long been assumed that this factor has been responsible for several major and persistent behavioural and emotional issues in pupils. The single most significant aspect determining the development of achievement motivation is parental support (Acharya & Joshi, 2011). It has been demonstrated that a home environment that emphasises the importance of education, learning, and the availability of learning materials is more beneficial for students’ achievement than a family setting that emphasises providing them with immediate help with their school work (Halleet al., 1997). However, parenting techniques for raising children did not impact students’ motivation for educational achievement. It also suggested no discernible difference between students from extended and single-parent family structures regarding their urge for academic accomplishment and their capacity for effective learning (Florence & Yinusa, 2018). Meanwhile, Carlson and Corcoran (2001) found a significant impact of family structure on a child’s academic performance.

Literature Review

The human motivation theory, which was set forth by social scientist David McClelland, included the concept of achievement motivation. In his hypothesis, he attempted to explain how many motivational factors impact people’s performances. The word “achievement motivation” describes the “urge” a person has to accomplish something they view as significant and one-of-a-kind. It facilitates achieving the emotions connected to self-fulfilment and accomplishment. Such individuals choose to take risks in order to attain goals (McClellandet al., 1953). Florence and Yinusa (2018) stated that there are plenty of pupils in an educational institution who lack genuine motivation to achieve. Many of them aren’t sufficiently driven to achieve in their life’s endeavours. The family, being an essential component in human development and a key socialising factor, may undoubtedly positively or negatively influence a person’s capability, depending on the social climate in their house (Egunsola, 2014). Parental and family aspects are very important when it comes to student enthusiasm and dedication. Mansour and Martin (2009) specifically demonstrate that approach to parenting and family resources are the most critical factors connected to important components of achievement motivation and engagement. In addition, Parental education levels and adults’ observations of their economic standing were positively correlated with adolescents’ motivations for accomplishment (Lee & Doh, 2005).

However, family structure might not always have a bearing on a student’s motivation for accomplishment. An extended household may be better organised so that children may get adequate supervision, affection, and acceptance than even a nuclear family, where there are frequent disagreements, conflict, and insufficient care for children. Meanwhile, Rosen (1961) has repeatedly observed that samples from smaller families tend to score more in terms of achievement motivation than their counterparts from larger families. There is also a correlation between family functioning, motivation for success, and a logical thinking approach. Findings showed that children’s self-esteem, motivation for success, and ability to make reasonable decisions are all heavily impacted by family functioning (Dahraei & Adlparvar, 2016).

On high school graduation rates, family intactness is one of the most favourable factors (GillespieShields, 2023). Adenike (2013) supported the idea that a student’s academic performance is significantly influenced by the marital situation of the parents, as well as their family type and size. There is a strong association between a student’s academic performance, parental marital status, and family size. In contrast, Family structure was shown to have no effect on students’ academic success (Ugwuet al., 2016). Since most of the literature has focused on understanding academic achievements, the area of motivation towards achievement lacks supporting literature. While the emphasis on the influence of family on children’s motivation has been tried to be understood all along, the impact on tertiary level students remained unexplored.

Research Question: What is the influence of family structure on tertiary-level students’ achievement motivation?

Method

This experimental study used a survey research method. A questionnaire was utilised to reach a sizable section of the population to collect and analyse the participants’ views and explain respondents’ achievement motivation in the context of their family structures.

All public university pupils in Bangladesh were considered the study’s population. According to the UGC annual report, 46 public institutions accommodated 43,62,187 students in 2020. The sample size was calculated at 385 or more to have a confidence level of 95% that the real value is within ±5% of the surveyed value (ε is the margin of error). 496 pupils were chosen following simple random sampling from different public universities.

Research Tool

The revised version of the Achievement Motives Scale (AMS) is used to conduct this study (Lang & Fries, 2006). It is a well-established and frequently used scale to assess the hope of success and the fear of failure. The revised 10-item version (AMS-R) provided an acceptable response to the two-factor model that was theoretically intended. Cross-validation techniques could potentially be used to validate proper compatibility. Additionally, the updated scale offered sufficient reliability decreased inter-scale correlations, and criterion-related validity in connection to usual achievement-related behaviour requirements.

Results

Table I shows the achievement motivation score of the students regarding their family structures. It shows that pupils from single-parent families had a mean achievement motivation score of 42.00 with a standard deviation of 5.303; pupils from nuclear families had a mean motivation score of 32.42, followed by a 5.549 standard deviation value. Pupils from the extended family structure scored 31.39 as their mean score and 4.722 as their standard deviation. This implies that people from single-parent families had the highest mean motivation score, followed by single-parent families. In contrast, people from extended families showed the lowest mean achievement motivation score. This may indicate that family structure impacts students’ motivation to achieve. Thus, the influence of family structure on a student’s motivation to achieve is not significant.

Table I. Mean and Standard Deviation of Achievement-Motivation Scores of Pupils from Different Family Structures

Family structure	Number of students	Mean	Std. deviation
Extended family	72	31.39	4.722
Nuclear family	386	32.42	5.549
Single parent family	34	42.00	5.303
Total	492	32.93	5.950

The analysis of the data in Table II reveals that there is a 0.012 probability attached to the computed value of F (6.363) for the influence of family structure on students. The null hypothesis was rejected since the probability value of 0.012 is less than the level of significance (p < 0.05). Consequently, family structure has an impact on students’ desire to achieve.

Table II. Analysis of Variance of Influence of Family Structure on Achievement Motivation Scores

	Sum of the squares	df	Mean square	F	Sig
Between groups	1533.243	6	220.486	6.363	0.012
Within groups	8454.473	486	34.649
Total	8974.959	492

The post hoc multiple comparison test indicating the significant impact of family structure on students’ achievement motivation score is shown in Table III. The results of the multiple comparison test showed that single-parent families and nuclear families had much more significant effects on pupil’s drive to achieve.

Table III. Post Hoc Multiple Comparison Test

(I) I have lived in a	(J) I have lived in a	Mean difference (I-J)	Std error	Sig.	95% Confidence interval
					Lower bound	Upper bound
Extended family	Nuclear family	−1.04	0.963	0.283	−2.93	0.86
	Single parent family	−10.61*	1.560	<0.001	−13.69	−7.54
Nuclear family	Extended family	1.04	0.963	0.283	−0.86	2.93
	Single parent family	−9.58*	1.342	<0.001	−12.22	−6.93
Single parent family	Extended family	10.61*	1.560	<0.001	7.54	13.69
	Nuclear family	9.58*	1.342	<0.001	6.93	12.22

Discussion

The results indicate that family structure influences a student’s achievement motivation. Higher motivation results in keeping the students highly achievement oriented. This finding aligns with (Ugwuet al., 2016). In their research, it was evident that family structure has substantially impacted students’ willingness to achieve. Existing empirical evidence shows that strong achievement motivation is known to develop when parents set high standards for their child to meet, demonstrate a high level of confidence in his ability to perform a task well, and apply these standards to problem-solving responsibilities even when they are not explicitly stated (Rosen, 1961), which agrees with the fact that students from single-parent families are more oriented to complex situation and they need to stay focused. People with high achievement motivation tend to demonstrate higher competence regarding task choice and performance (Nicholls, 1984). People with higher achievement motivation were also more likely to show a positive commitment to their long-term academic or professional ambitions. The poorer performers also displayed dispositions associated with competence, although they tended to carry out inconsistent efforts (Florence & Yinusa, 2018). This stands on the same line as the findings regarding having lower achievement motivation scores from pupils with extended families, as they often tend to be accommodated in a disorganised situation. There are numerous individuals in the family, and there is a greater degree of dependency among them, which increases the need for consensus-building and collaboration (Rosen, 1961). In support of this, students from extended families demonstrated lower scores as dependent individuals.

Conclusion

The study raises a significant concern that has long been disregarded. While education at all levels holds an important value in an individual’s life, a student has to deal with career pressure and take on responsibilities at the tertiary level. Family issues have always been untold, and there is no safe space to share and resolve. The feeling of fear and lack of motivation can have negative impacts on education and mental health. For students to properly manage their stress and any other type of anxiety or difficulty, educational institutions should provide trained counsellors and mentoring programs for students. Maintaining anonymity is highly encouraged as the issue remains sensitive. Family members should be connected and concerned regardless of the structure.

Limitations

Limitations include the possibility that students with various socioeconomic classes, cultures, ethnicities, and educational backgrounds may perceive survey or questionnaire items concerning their achievement aspirations differently. Demographic factors such as gender play a huge role in the context of Bangladesh in achieving the motivation of any individual, which can also impact this study.