Abstract

The attitudes that parents hold regarding their children’s education are impactful. Thus, it is surprising that parents’ academic entitlement concerning their children’s educational pursuits has been largely ignored. In the present research, an adaptation of the Academic Entitlement Questionnaire (AEQ) assessing parents’ academic entitlement concerning their children (AEQ-PC) was used. K-12 parents of an international private school in Saudi Arabia served as a preliminary test of the adapted questionnaire. They were a selected group of middle-class parents particularly engaged in their children’s education (as reported by teachers and administrators). As such, they were thought to be the ideal sample for assessing parents’ academic entitlement concerning their children (AE-PC). A one-dimension model illustrating parents’ expectation of adjustments of activities and outcomes to their children was identified as the best fit for the available data. Contrary to expectations, the AE-PC of both female and male parents was not one of endorsement. Gender differences emerged with male parents being more dismissive of AE-PC than female parents. These findings are discussed as reflecting a society in transition from a strictly patriarchal model to one fostering consideration for gender equity.