EVALUACIÓN EN LOS CICLOS FORMATIVOS

academic performance, Teresa explained that most issues were deferred to her.

I do all the punishing. [My husband] will come to me and say, “[My son] didn’t do this,” or “[my daughter] needs to change the cat litter.” Or things like that. And then I’d have to go. I mean, sometimes he will address but mostly he would come to me first and then I would go to them.

Teresa denied having a co-parenting relationship with her ex-husband, largely because he lives in a different state and his involvement is limited primarily to providing child support. When asked about his involvement, Teresa stated:

There used to be years ago, but he’s not really involved as far as…He probably couldn’t tell you what teachers she has, or what classes she’s taking, or probably…I don’t think he knows the name of her school to be honest with you. So there’s not really…

Sasha went so far as to consider the absence of a co-parenting relationship with her son’s biological father a fortunate situation. “I’m blessed that we don’t have a co-parenting. He lets me do all the parenting.” She explained that the door has always been open to him to be a consistent presence in their son’s life but he has never wanted that relationship. As a result, Sasha has been able to mold, guide, and direct her son’s educational career without the influence and disruption of a parent who might not agree or understand her goals. Likewise, she has been able to enjoy the support of her husband, who she describes as the “superintendent” of their homeschool, while she is the “principal.”

Allison summed up the head coach leadership dynamic present in the stepfamily

construct among the co-researchers. When compared to her daughter’s biological father, Allison stated:

So…I think at this point in her teen years and over the years, she was probably more frustrated with me than anybody because I have more rules and I have more expectations from her. Growing up, I am the primary one to kind of set the ground rules. [My

husband] supports me. So we’re a united front. So he just follows my lead.

Throughout the interview, Allison indicated that her daughter’s biological father also followed her lead to a great extent because she has always had primary custody. Having primary custody appeared to leverage a degree of authority over the students’ access to certain privileges and freedoms. Heather recounted a situation in which she had to exercise limits on her daughter’s phone while communicating with her biological father.

When [my daughter] is at my house, I don’t mind [her father] texting her and stuff, but excessive texting pictures…and not paying for anything and the data being doubled, I brought that up and there didn’t seem to be…improvement the next month. So I said, “You know, I’m gonna block your number and your current wife’s number, until you choose to help me pay for it. And you can contact her through my phone as you did before she got a phone.” He chose to go that route, but tried to contact her through her iPad but it did not have WiFi all the time. So, he saw that it was a struggle…So from May to November, I paid the bill and in December, he said, “I’m ready to start paying half.”

Research subquestion 2: In what ways are biological parents in blended and stepfamilies deliberate in promoting academic achievement?

The most significant theme generated was the future-oriented attitude of the biological parents. Co-researchers consistently described themselves as “strict” and as having high expectations of their adolescents. They indicated that they had set standards and there were predictable consequences for failing to meet those standards. Furthermore, co-researchers’ high expectations did not shift or falter during family restructuring. Co-researchers also voiced that their high expectations and strictness extended beyond the classroom setting into their

adolescents’ extracurricular activities. Strictness and high expectations were described as a means to an end. Parents believed their approach toward their children’s educational

development was geared toward self-determination and achievement beyond the high school level and they were vigilant about keeping their children’s attention focused in that direction.

Theme 2: Future orientation. Future orientation refers to how people perceive their future within the context of their “interests, hopes, expectations, and concerns” (Farmer, 2002, p. 2). It became apparent that co-researchers embodied a future-oriented attitude with regard to their children’s academic performance, as each of them believed their scholastic success would open doors to college scholarship opportunities, fulfilling careers, and broader options overall. Darcie, who wholly supports her son’s dream to become a scientist, put it plainly, “I’m always looking towards the future…He wants to do all these things. I’m like, ‘Listen, did you do this? Are you doing this?’ And he laughs, he’s like, ‘You’re always planning for the future.’ I have to.” Darcie maintains the idea that she always has to look towards the future because she believes there is a connection between professional outcomes and academic discipline. Likewise, Barbara indicated that her son’s performance on the ACT demonstrated his aptitude for mathematics, something that she had not observed in his regular coursework. Convinced that his test scores

would speak more highly of his abilities than his classwork, she began to consider ways in which to promote his skills.

He took the ACT yesterday and he said that the calculus was easy and he’s never taken a calculus class. So he didn’t understand why people would complain about calculus. I was like, “Okay, brainchild of mine, we need to get you in honors courses already and let’s stop messing around.” So I’m looking into maybe online classes for him with math and stuff.

Attending college was a goal nearly all co-researchers had for their children and earning scholarships was considered the primary means to that end. Therefore, the focus rested squarely on students’ academic achievement.

Subtheme 1: High expectations. Patricia’s high expectations for her daughter were