Mother‐Father Differences in Parental Influence on School Grades and Educational Goals*

Using data from a sample of sixth, eighth, and tenth grade students and their mothers and fathers, this research tests the effects of parental formal education and parental recognition of achievement upon school grades, realistic eduational expectations, and ideal educational aspirations. Substantial differences between mothers and fathers are reported. Maternal education had effects, net of the other variables, on all three of the dependent variables, whereas paternal education had an effect only on student educational expectations; the effects of paternal recognition, net of the other variables, upon grades and educational expectations and aspirations were clear, while those of maternal recognition were not. The findings are interpreted in terms of the differential impacts of three mechanisms of parental influence which were suggested by theories of (a) economically‐based status ascription, (b) modeling the role behavior of significant others, and (c) conditioned learning.