Parental Involvement and Academic Achievement of Private Secondary School Students in Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated parental involvement and academic achievement of private secondary school students in Kwara State, Nigeria. The study was motivated by growing concerns about students’ academic performance and the increasing recognition of parental involvement as an important factor influencing educational outcomes. Despite the expansion of private secondary schools in Kwara State, limited empirical studies have examined how specific dimensions of parental involvement contribute to students’ academic achievement within the private school context. Therefore, the study examined parental participation in the provision of school facilities, frequent meeting attendance, homework assistance, school event attendance, and academic progress monitoring in relation to students’ academic achievement. The study adopted a survey research design. The population consisted of teachers and principals from private secondary schools in Kwara State, Nigeria. A sample of 357 respondents was selected using multistage sampling techniques. Data were collected using a researcher-designed questionnaire titled “Parental Involvement and Students’ Academic Achievement Questionnaire (PISAAQ).” The instrument was validated by experts and tested for reliability using the Cronbach’s Alpha method. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while Pearson Product-Moment Correlation (PPMC) statistics were used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that parental involvement activities were highly practised in private secondary schools and that students’ academic achievement level was high. The study further found significant relationships between all dimensions of parental involvement and students’ academic achievement. The study concluded that active parental involvement positively influences students’ academic success.