Families support their children's success in science learning by influencing interest and self‐efficacy

Abstract How is a child's successful participation in science learning shaped by their family's support? We focus on the critical time period of early adolescents, testing (i) whether the child's perception of family support is important for both choice preferences to participate in optional learning experiences and engagement during science learning, and (ii) whether the effects on choice preferences and engagement are mediated through effects on child interest and self‐efficacy in science. Structural equation modeling is applied to data from two different contexts, one examining engagement during a science and technology center visit and the other examining engagement and learning during classroom instruction. Models from both datasets suggest that early adolescents' perceived family support for learning is associated with their choices for and engagement in science learning, and that these effects are mediated by effects on child interest and self‐efficacy in science. Further, children's family physical resources (e.g., available learning spaces and materials) predicts their perceived family support, but is not separately connected to either interest or self‐efficacy. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 53: 450–472, 2016