Abstract
Major theoretical frameworks of achievement motivation link family socioeconomic status (SES) to students’ achievement motivation in school settings. However, systematic evidence on this association remains limited. This study presents the first meta-analysis on this topic, using representative individual participant data (IPD) from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The analysis included 485 student samples comprising a total of 3,576,278 15-year-old students, spanning four SES indicators, eight achievement motivation components, four academic domains, 92 countries, and eight assessment cycles across more than two decades (2000–2022). The average meta-analytic association between SES and achievement motivation was small (r = .10, 95% CI [.09, .11]), indicating slightly higher achievement motivation among students from higher-SES families. The magnitude of the association varied meaningfully across SES indicators and motivational components, but only marginally across academic domains. Educational home resources (e.g., books, educational materials) showed stronger associations with achievement motivation than parental education or occupational status, and self-efficacy exhibited the largest association among motivational components. The association increased over historical time but declined following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. After controlling for academic achievement, the meta-analytic average association between family SES and achievement motivation remained statistically significant, but its magnitude was attenuated. These nuanced findings highlight the complex association between family SES and students’ achievement motivation, emphasizing the multidimensionality of both constructs and providing an important empirical foundation for evaluating, refining, and advancing psychological theories that address the link between family SES and students’ achievement motivation.