Parental Involvement And Academic Achievement Are Positively Correlated

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15th November 2018
Parental Involvement and Academic Achievement are positively correlated
Academicians, scholars and researchers have for long investigated the relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement. One such study was conducted by Griffith who sought to establish the association between parental involvement and academic performance. The study findings suggested that it was possible to precisely project the benchmarks for parental participation, and student empowerment (1). The researcher conducted a multi-regression on the data and established that parental participation significantly varied when standardized performance tests were used. Similarly, the regression analyses also revealed that parental empowerment varied when data from standardized tests was used. In both cases, parental involvementranged between 25% and 5% respectively.
On the other hand, the study established a positive association between test performance and parental involvement thus further affirming the direct impact of parental involvement on student achievement. It was also ascertained that the relationship was unaffected by other research variables such as social economic, race and ethnicity (33). Furthermore, the study determined that parental participation can be leveraged at the grassroots level since it is cost effective and has numerous effects on student achievement. For instance, the research established that parental participation is pivotal for effective teaching as it was linked to high student achievement. The study suggested three ways through which schools could boost parental involvement in their children’s education. These three are involvement in extra-curriculum activities, classroom related work and active engagement in parental groups (33). The study also confirmed that parental involvement in their children’s school related activities enhanced their academic performance. Thus it suggested that educators should consider incorporation of parental involvement initiatives in the educational system since it was the most cost effective way of improving teaching and learning (33)
In a similar study, Benner, Aprile, Boyle and Sadler investigated the relationship between parental involvement and academic performance among adolescent students. The study also explored the link between parental involvement, prior achievement and the effect of other social economic factors (1053). The findings linked parental participation in the education of adolescent students to high academic achievement. The participants were mainly drawn from primary and secondary schools. The sampled students were studied to establish how their performance was impacted by the involvement or non-involvement of their parents in their education (1055). It emerged that long term effects of parental involvement in the education of their children were still unknown. Furthermore, the study investigated the relationship between parental involvement and other four factors. Besides, it also sought to determine if the relationship varied or remained constant regardless of the change in socio-economic status and parental expectations. The study utilized a large sample size of N=15, 240 that was constituted from a study population of 10th grade students (1056). The sample comprised of female and male participants who were either white, African American, Latino, Asian American and small percentage of other race/ethnicity.A longitudinal study designanddata from a survey that was previously conducted 2002 were used. The study findings showed that there was a significant association between school-based involvement and parental educational expectations (1060). Still, it also confirmed that there was a direct relationship between parental involvement and student educational attainment. Specifically, the study established that parental participation through school-based involvement enhanced the performance of disadvantaged students (those with dismal previous performance). On the other hand, parental socialization was linked to improved academic achievement for advantaged students (Those who reported higher previous achievement). The results of this study affirmed that academic interventions and support was an effective means of promoting academic achievement among the adolescents (1064).
The fact that parental involvement in the education of their children is linked to better academic achievement has been underscored by the findings of another study conducted by Yan, Wenfan and Qiuyun. The threeresearchers explored the relationship between parental educational involvement and student achievement in mathematics. Unlike previous studies, it focused on three variables of parental involvement namely family obligation, norms and parental knowledge. The researcher studied 12th grade students and explored the relationship between their achievement in mathematics and parental involvement across four different racial and ethnic groups. The ethnic groups were Caucasians, Africans, Americans, Hispanics and Asians. The study used a longitudinal design and was based on data that was previously derived from a previous longitudinal study. During the study, a sample of 39 parental involvement variables were used, and the link to the 12thGraders performance in mathematics determined using the least square regression method. The study findings established that parental involvement improved Caucasian students’performance in mathematics scores. However, in the minority racial groups, it was found that families influenced mathematics performance for senior 12thgraders. Notwithstanding the race or ethnicity of the student, parental expectations were found to have a positive effect on mathematics performance for the 12th graders. The study also established that there were myriad educational benefits associated with increased parental participation. Still, the literature review suggested that parental involvement leads to improved academic performance and a positive attitude toward school and positive behaviors (116).
Niemeyer, Ashley, Wong and Westerhaus studied the effects of parental involvement and familismo on student academic achievement. Among the Hispanic and Caucasian populations. Study utilized a sample size of N=163 comprising of 59% female participants. The mean age was 14.05 while the standard deviation (SD)=1.5. The study findings supported the existing literature that parental involvement positively affected academic performance. However, some variations were noted between different racial and ethnic groups. For example, Caucasian students ranked their parents higher than their Hispanic counterparts on parental educational involvement. Furthermore, they observed that their parents significantly participated in their education at home as opposed to school. The study utilized structural equation modeling to analyze the nature of parental involvement and concluded that parental involvement significantly varied for the two study groups. This result affirms that parental participation in school work is positively correlated to academic achievement and hence it should be encouraged.
In addition, it determined that familismo played a mediating role between academic achievement and parental involvement. On the other hand, the impact of familismo on educational achievement was mediated by parental involvement. The results showed that familismo was directly related to parental educational participation. Based on the results, it was established that students who endorsed familismo were more likely to regard their parents as highly involved in their education, and hence predictbetter academic achievement. Moreover, the study established that students who valued family support sought parental guidance, thereby positively influencing their academic performance. It was also established that students who endorsed familismo perceived their parents as likely to be involved in their academic work, notwithstanding the actual type of parental involvement. The study concluded that parental involvement had a positive impact on student academic achievement in the two study groups. Notwithstanding the constraints faced by Hispanic parents that encompass language and cultural disparities, their home-based involvement was found to have a significant impact on academic achievement of their children.
Okpala, Okpala and Smith also studied the impact of various factors on mathematics achievement among a sample of Grade 4 students. These factors were the impact of parental participation, family socio-economic status and instructional expenditure. The study was conducted among low income populations in North Carolina. It utilized a functional framework in the analysis of the impact of diverse educational resources on student achievement in mathematics. The relationshipwasanalyzed using Pearson correlation and the least square regression techniques where variables with the greatest influence were determined. The findings of the study established that instructional supplies influence on mathematics achievement was statistically significant while family economic status also influenced student performance. However, it also emerged that free lunch programs had a negative influence on student achievement in mathematics, and hence the conclusion that academic achievement and economic circumstances were correlated (110). Although this article does not directly support the existence of a positive relationship between parental educational involvement and student academic achievement, it demonstrates that parental involvement through income support plays a pivotal role in their academic achievement
Benner, Aprile, Boyle and Sadler studied the relationship between parental supervision and academic accomplishment among adolescent students (1). Their study established that parental involvement in the primary and secondary education of their children greatly influenced their academic success. This is notwithstanding the fact that there is scant evidence on the long term impact of parental involvement. The study focused on...