The main aims of this research are (a) to develop and empirically validate the conceptual model for describing the linkages between antecedents of the quality of home-based parental involvement and its impact on pupils’ learning motivation, academic well-being, and academic self-regulation competencies; and (b) to test the invariance of the conceptual model empirically across two distinct cultural settings—Germany and Thailand. The total sample consisted of 782 parent–child dyads—288 from Germany and 494 from Thailand. The German sample was recruited from eight schools in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW); the Thai sample, from eight schools in Bangkok Metropolitan Area and Chonburi Province. The research instruments are parent and pupil questionnaires containing a wide range of subscales. The questionnaires were first compiled in German and then translated into Thai by a Thai scholar who is fluent in German. Afterwards, the Thai questionnaires were back-translated into German by another Thai–German bilingual colleague. In both samples, the internal consistency of each (parent and pupil) subscale was greater than .50. The internal consistency of a whole parent questionnaire (for all subscales combined; 59 items) was .86 for the German sample and .87 for the Thai sample. The internal consistency of the whole pupil questionnaire (for all subscales combined; 108 items) was .95 for the German sample and .94 for the Thai sample. This indicated that the internal consistencies of parent and pupil questionnaires in German and Thai were quite similar. A multi-sample confirmatory factor analysis revealed that all subscales achieved configural invariance (equal factor structure) and metric invariance (equal factor loadings)/or at least partial metric invariance (most of factor loadings are equal) across German and Thai samples. This confirmed that it was acceptable to perform a German–Thai comparison of the conceptual model describing the relationships among parent and pupil variables. The conceptual model was validated empirically with structural equation modelling (SEM). Finally, a multiple group analysis (MGA) was performed with LISREL to test the invariance of the conceptual model across the German and Thai samples.

Overall, the results of the SEM analysis revealed that the data from both samples supported the conceptual model. In German family settings, the empirically validated conceptual model seemed to place greater emphasis on protective factors that enable an authoritative parental involvement. The results underlined that parental teaching efficacy in the specific domain of mathematics and the availability of time and energy were the key protective factors prompting German parents to adopt authoritative kinds of instruction, and this, in turn, facilitated high scores on all kinds of academic functioning in their children. In addition, parents’ own past experiences at school also prompted them to be authoritative in their involvement and this, in turn, particularly enabled their children to utilize motivational regulation strategies. Vice versa, parents’ use of performance goals when framing their child’s learning situations was the key risk factor prompting parents to be more controlling and strict in their involvement, and this, in turn, impeded the child’s academic well-being as well as the child’s ability to develop a motivational regulation competency.

In the Thai family settings, the empirically validated conceptual model appeared to emphasize risk factors that promote parental authoritarianism in home-based involvement. Results suggested that parents’ achievement orientation, general teaching efficacy, and family SES were the key risk factors prompting parents to be controlling and strict when becoming involved in their child’ education, and this, in turn, fostered controlled learning motivation in the child, although—surprisingly—still enhancing competencies for regulating academic emotion. Moreover, pupils of authoritarian parents may experience the use of motivational regulation strategies− particularly in low-SES parents. In contrast, the key protective factor prompting authoritative instruction in parents was invitations from their children. That is, parents were prompted to be authoritative in their involvement to the extent that their children showed them that their support was needed and requested this support from them. This, in turn, encouraged the children to be much more competent in their motivational regulation.

In addition, the results of a multiple group analysis revealed that the empirically validated conceptual model was invariant across the German and Thai samples in terms of model structure, whereas all parameter estimates for the model (e.g. factor loadings, causal paths) varied across the two samples. Therefore, it could be concluded that culture (country-of-origin) has a moderating effect on the complete structural model and that the relationships between research variables are moderated by cultural background.

In sum, it can be concluded that parents from different cultures adopt different kinds of instructional strategies due to variations in their motivational beliefs, role conceptions, interpersonal conditions, and family SES. However, authoritative parents from both cultures help their children to achieve positive learning outcomes more than authoritarian parents do. These findings contribute to a better understanding of pupils’ unequal opportunities to succeed in learning and suggest that intervention programmes designed to increase parental involvement should also show parents how to be less authoritarian and more authoritative.