INVESTIGATION ON PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND ON CHILD ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
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INVESTIGATION ON PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND ON CHILD ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The level of parental participation has a significant impact on children’s academic success. According to social cognitive theory, youth absorb messages about appropriate behaviour and socially acceptable goals through observation and conversation with important people in their lives (Bandura, 1977).
According to this assumption, parents have the ability to model positive attitudes and behaviours towards school, and research in developed countries such as the United States has shown that parental involvement contributes to youth academic success (Fan & Chen, 2001; Houtenville & Conway, 2008; Jeynes, 2003, 2007).
In reality, children are more likely to apply themselves and perform better in school when their parents are interested in their schoolwork, eager to help them with homework, and willing to hold their children accountable for completing school tasks.
When parents actively demonstrate their value for school through involvement, children who are not working hard in school may begin to see it as valuable.
There is little research on the overall impact of parental participation on young people’s academic success in poor countries. It is critical to examine whether the relationship exists and which types of parental participation have an impact in Nigeria, where parents frequently lack the education to engage their children in schooling or the finances to employ tutors. Is it important for parents to attend parent-teacher association meetings, volunteer at school, and discuss the significance of education with their children? This study will help to answer these concerns and add to the literature on the association between parental participation and academic performance in Nigeria.
Parental involvement in students’ academic success has piqued the interest of many educators and scholars in education around the world. Epstein, Bakker, Davis, Henderson, Lewis, and Keith are just a few of the many scholars who have studied parental participation.
For example, Epstein (2002) stated that no school development can be achieved without parental involvement, which strengthens connections between parents, teachers, administrators, and students, resulting in benefits for children, improved schools, assistance for instructors, and stronger families.
Parental involvement has historically emerged as a compensation program in the United States (USA) and Europe since the 1960s and 1970s, among other programs aimed at encouraging minority low-income parents to prepare their two children for more successful schools and preventing education delays for at-risk children (Bakker, Denessen, & Brus-Laeven 2007).
It was just a call to parents to intervene in support of lower-school students’ achievement. As a result, it is ideal for educators to ensure that all problems assumed to impede parental participation are addressed, particularly in secondary schools where pupils’ academic performance is occasionally dropping.
Furthermore, the Salamanca Conference on Special Education, held in Spain in 1994, emphasised the importance of encouraging parents to participate in educational activities at home and at school in order to supervise and assist their children’s development.
Similarly, the government should encourage family involvement by issuing policy declarations that enable the formation of parent-school associations with the goal of improving their children’s education.
The argument draws substantial support for how parents play an important role in their children’s education by seeking legislative (blueprint) changes that will address limits that limit parents’ ability to oversee their children’s education in secondary schools. This would support efforts to provide quality education for all (EFA) (UNESCO, 2003).
All measures of parental engagement employed in studies in developing countries are based on scales created in developed nations; nevertheless, parental involvement may differ between developed and developing countries. These distinctions, including the types and levels of involvement, must be considered when assessing parental involvement in developing nations.
As a result, this article examines the construct validity of parental participation in a sample of Nigerian kids and their parents. Research on parental participation and academic success in the United States reveals that parental involvement can take many different forms. At the very least, parental participation appears to vary depending on the setting (e.g., at home vs. at school) (Giallo, Treyvaud, Matthews, & Kienhuis, 2010; Jeynes, 2003).
Research also shows that parental involvement at home and at school is favourably related to a variety of academic results (Jeynes, 2003, 2007). However, research on parental involvement in school is less consistent than research on involvement at home, particularly among different racial and ethnic groups (Fan, 2001; Sui-Chu & Willms, 1996).
In addition to directly influencing educational results, parental participation may also act as a mediator between socioeconomic status (SES) and academic achievement (Altschul, 2012; Lareau, 2011). While these linkages have been established in the United States and other affluent countries, the paths may alter in underdeveloped countries.
To investigate the correlations in Ghana, we will utilise a validated measurement of a parental engagement scale. This study contributes to the literature by testing an adaption of a parental participation measure that takes into account the disparities in parental involvement between developed and developing countries. It also looks into the link between at-home and in-school parental involvement and academic performance.
Parental engagement is characterised in numerous ways in the literature. Epstein (1990, 1995) classified parental engagement into six categories: fundamental parenting, encouraging learning at home, communicating with the school, volunteering at the school, engaging in school decision making, and working with the community.
Other studies adopt a typology of parental participation based on intuitive appeal or data factor analysis (Izzo, Weissberg, Kasprow, & Fendrich, 1999; Sui-Chu & Willms, 1996).
1.2 Statement of the Problem
All measures of parental engagement employed in studies in developing countries are based on scales created in developed nations; nevertheless, parental involvement may differ between developed and developing countries.
These distinctions, including the types and levels of involvement, must be considered when assessing parental involvement in developing nations. As a result, this article examines the construct validity of parental participation in a sample of Nigerian kids and their parents.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY
The purpose of this study is to find out the influence of parents’ participation on students’ academic achievement in Nigeria. The mentioned objectives are:
1. To determine if the parents’ degree of education has any influence on students’ academic achievement.
2. To determine whether the students’ academic performance is influenced by their parents’ income.
3. To determine if communication between teachers and parents influences children’ academic success.
4. To determine how the family environment affects pupils’ academic achievement.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Based on the research objectives, the researcher will be guided by the following questions throughout the study.
1. Does the parent’s income effect the child’s academic performance?
2. Is there a relationship between parents’ levels of education and students’ academic performance?
3. Does communication between parents and teachers have an impact on students’ academic performance?
4. Is there any major association between the family environment of students and his/her academic performance?
1.5 Significance of the Study
The study’s findings are likely to expose teachers, parents, and the government at several levels, including schools. The findings of this study will help educational planners, policymakers, and the community as a whole ensure that there is good parental involvement in their children’s academics.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study was meant to cover all secondary school pupils in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but due to constraints, the researcher limited his findings to schools in two local government areas in Kogi state, Nigeria. The local government areas are Ajaokuta and Ankpa LGA.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
The biggest limitation that impacted this research was a lack of time to complete the task and insufficient funding for the endeavour.
1.8 Definition of Terms
INVESTIGATION: the act of conducting investigation on something or someone; this is a formal type of research.
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT: Parental involvement is the degree to which a parent participates in her child’s education and life.
ACADEMIC: Anything related to education.
PERFORMANCE: the outcome of a student’s academic aim or goal.
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