Teacher parenting styles on student engagement and motivation

Abstract

This study investigated how teacher-parenting styles influence student engagement and motivation in selected basic schools in Winneba, Ghana. Grounded in Baumrind’s Parenting Styles Theory and Self-Determination Theory, the study conceptualized teachers as key socializing agents whose patterns of warmth, control, responsiveness, and expectations shape learners’ behavioral, emotional, and cognitive investment in schooling. An explanatory sequential research design was adopted. The quantitative phase involved a descriptive survey of Junior High School students and teachers across four public and two private schools, generating data on the prevalence of authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful teaching styles and their relationship with students’ motivation and engagement. The qualitative phase followed with semi-structured interviews that provided deeper insights into how these relational orientations were enacted in classrooms and experienced by learners. Findings revealed that authoritative teaching characterized by warmth, clear expectations, and autonomy support was the most consistently associated with high levels of behavioural participation, emotional connection, cognitive effort, and intrinsic motivation. Authoritarian and neglectful styles, common in resource-constrained classrooms, were linked to fear-based compliance, reduced enthusiasm, and lower self-regulated learning. Permissive styles generated emotional comfort but limited academic discipline. Contextual factors such as cultural norms of respect, class size, institutional policies, and teacher motivation also shaped teaching behaviours. The study concludes that teacher-parenting styles are significant determinants of engagement and motivation in Ghanaian basic schools. It recommends integrating relational pedagogy, emotional intelligence, and autonomy-supportive practices into teacher education and continuous professional development to foster more supportive and learner-centered classrooms.