Relationships Between Familial Factors, Learning Motivation, Learning Approaches, and Cognitive Flexibility Among Vocational Education and Training Students

This study investigated the relationships between familial factors in terms of parental autonomy support and parental support and Vocational Education and Training (VET) students’ learning motivation, learning approaches, and cognitive flexibility. In this cross-sectional study, a convenient sample of 557 VET students (males = 56.7% and females = 43.35; mean age = 18.41 and SD = 0.85) from ten vocational schools in Bangkok areas, Thailand, responded to a questionnaire of adapted scales on familial factors (i.e., parental autonomy support and parental support), learning motivation (i.e., intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and utility value), learning approaches (i.e., deep learning approaches and surface learning approaches), and cognitive flexibility (i.e., alternatives). Structural equation analyses revealed that parental autonomy support had indirect relationship with alternatives via learning motivation and deep learning approaches, whereas parental support had both direct and indirect association with alternatives through learning motivation and deep learning approaches. Surface learning approaches were not found to significantly predict alternatives. These findings suggest that a familial context that stresses autonomy support and helpful support from parents can motivate VET students to learn and adopt deep approaches to learning, which in turn encourages the development of their cognitive flexibility.