Abstract

This research was designed for discovering the effect of parental involvement as well as teachers’ involvement upon the students’ academic achievement at the secondary level. The research explored the impact of two characteristics of parental involvement i.e. parental communication, and their emotional support, and classroom security, and teachers’ motivation on students’ academic achievement. Sample selection was done through stratified random sampling. 1438 students were selected from 10th grade students. Data collection was done through self-developed and validated questionnaires. Multiple regression model, mean and standard deviation were used for the purpose of data analysis. The results indicate that parental communication has emerged as the major indicator of involvement of parents. Parental communication and parental emotional support has profound influence upon the academic achievement of students. Additionally, parental communication and their emotional support have deep positive influence on academic achievement of male students.

Key Words

Parental Communication, Parental Emotional Support, Classroom Security, Teachers’          Motivation

Introduction

Educational achievement and positive attitude of teachers has been linked to parents’ involvement (Bogenschneider, 1997; Gonzalez-DeHass, Willems, & Holbein, 2005). For example, active participation in home can result in better educational outcomes. These activities comprise of reading together (Evans, 1998) and monitoring children’s time (Finn, 1998). These activities in home environment help in academic endeavors and ultimately motivate them to learn (Seginer, et al, 2006).

According to Authors and researchers, there are a number of factors which influence the performance of students in terms of academic achievement with special reference to secondary school students. Some researchers suggest that the demographic features and psycho-social factors  influence the academic performance of the students (Parker, Creque, Harris, Majeski, Wool & Hogan, 2003) while others regard family size, motivational factors and structure of the society as the influential factors of academic achievement (Aremu & Sokan, 2003). But Ojedele and Ilusanya (2006) considered the involvement of parents as the fundamental cause of affecting the academic success of secondary school students. So it is supposed to be deduced that quality of involvement is decided by the quality of parental “knowledge, skills, health, or values” (Becker, 1975, p. 16). That is why parents influence their children in many ways. For example, they will voluntarily assist at school, exchange a few words with teachers about their children, be of assistance to children in home regarding educational activities, and be present at parent- teacher meetings (Hill & Taylor, 2004). All these activities reflect their educational aspiration (Hong et al., 2010). These educational aspirations are reflected in helping their children in completion of their homework, and conducive learning environment at home in addition to the parent- child communication regarding education and setting school routine  leading to academic socialization (Hill & Tyson, 2009). This communication includes discussing the significance of teaching- learning process, locating comprehensible goals of education, as well as planning for better education (Hill & Tyson, 2009).

Effect of involvement of parents with their children 

Researchers in the field of education remain attentive to parental involvement with the affairs of education of their children. This involvement affects the educational outcomes of their children. The educational achievement of children are greatly affected by involvement of parents in their academics both at home and school (Miedel & Reynolds, 1999). It means that it is not only related to home but also to school (Shaverand & Walls, 1998).

Enhancing the positive school experiences of children including the academic achievement is a well-documented fact (Taliaferro et al, 2009). Learning performance as well as personal and social growth of students is helped by their help (Sehee et al., 2010). Researchers have taken greater interest in the role as well as responsibilities of parents with regard to effective social development in addition to academic achievement. There are numerous studies which in which statistically significant relationships have been found between behaviors of parents and developmental outcomes such as achievement strategies (Besharat, Azizi & Poursarifi, 2011; Revers, Mullis, Fortner & Mullis, 2012). Parents who monitor the school homework in home greatly influence the school achievement of their children (Kordi and Baharudin, 2010). Research studies have also found that one form of parental involvement is their communication with their children. The school performance of the students is affected by authoritative parenting which includes high acceptance, and giving autonomy to their children (Patterson & Yoerger, 1991). The other characteristic of authoritative parents which affects the academic performance of their children is participation in school activities (Bogenschneider, 1990).

This communication improves resilience in their children (Lagace-Seguin & Case, 2010). All the above aspects of parental involvement speak about the significance of value given by parents to their children, which in turn, motivate students for further education (Regner et al., 2009).

Although at international level sufficient literature is available on this topic, however a small number of researches have been conducted in Pakistan to investigate the issue at school level. For instance, Rafiq et al (2013) have found a profound influence of involvement of parents on scholastic success at secondary level. Their scholastic success is strengthened when their parents spend extra time with their children (Atta et al., 2014). On the other hand parents who are unable to pay attention to their children show higher aggression (Amin, 2011) which leads to the decline in academic success of their children.

The other aspect which affects the academic of pupils is the teacher. If the teacher is trained, he/she can develop their students in a balanced manner (Bastian et al., 2015). Trained teachers make sure that classrooms should be arranged in a manner where the special needs of students are met and they are motivated for adopting a balanced approach (Hoy & Weinstein, 2013). Furthermore, effective teachers follow planned rules and procedures for managing their classrooms (Omomia & Omomia, 2014). This technique helps the teachers for maintaining control in the classroom (Glackin, 2018).  Elliot and Dwerk (2005) noted down that the vital part of learning in academics as well as accomplishment from childhood to adolescence is motivation. According to them, motivation has relationship with persistence, curiosity, learning as well as performance. If this motivation is low, the performance of students is adversely affected (Athman & Monroe, 2004). This motivation is strongly influenced by the environment (Cash, et al, 2003), for example, the environment of learners’ residence, school learning environment, their social and workplace environment. The school learning environment is greatly controlled by the teacher and can immensely affect the students’ motivation.

Therefore, based on the foundation of on hand literature on the topic, this study was carried out to investigate the effect of parental involvement and teachers’ involvement on academic achievement of students.

Purpose of the Study

1. To document the extent of involvement of parents and teachers involvement in relation to parental communication, parental emotional support, classroom, and teachers’ motivation towards their children 

2. To scrutinize the influence of involvement of parental, and teachers’ involvement on students’ academic achievement. 

3. To compare the effect of involvement of parents and teachers’ involvement on male as well as female students’ academic achievement. 

Research Questions 

1. Do parents communicate with their children during their academic work? 

2. Do parents provide emotional support to their children? 

3. Do teachers ensure security (free from bullying and teachers’ harsh behavior) in the classroom? 

4. Is there any influence of involvement of parents and teachers’ involvement upon educational success of students? 

5. What is comparative effect of involvement of parents and teachers’ involvement on educational achievement of male as well as female students? 

Research Methodology

For conducting the current survey research, the underlying procedure was adopted.

Population of the Survey

Class 10^th students composed the population of this survey.

Sample of the Study

The sample of 1438 students of class 10 was drawn from the population of secondary schools. These students of Hazara Division were contacted for the reason of gathering data. Demographic information of the students is described in table 1.

Procedure to Conduct the Study

Eighty four secondary schools were selected randomly from Mansehra, Haripur as well as Abbotabad districts of Hazara Division. To survey the answers from the students, two (2) questionnaires were developed. Questionnaire one was meant for exploring the aspects of parents’ involvement whereas the second questionnaire was developed to identify the teachers’ involvement. These questionnaires were developed after consultation of related literature. The questionnaire about parents’ involvement consisted parents’ communication and parents’ emotional support. On the other hand, questionnaire for teachers’ involvement encompassed security in classroom and motivation of teachers.

Random selection of the students took place after taking approval from the respective heads/principal of the schools.

Respondents were asked to rank the repetition of specific behaviors of their family members from Never (1) to Always (5). Higher parental involvement and teachers’ involvement was represented by highest score whereas lower parental involvement and teachers’ involvement was represented by lower score.

Table 1 Demographics of the Students

No. of Students in Public Schools	No. of Students in Private Schools
725 (50.4%)	713(29.6%)
No. of Students (Urban)	No. of Students (Rural)
720(50.1%)	718 (49.9%)

Data Analysis

Regression analysis, mean, and standard deviation were used for the analysis of the information. Descriptive statistics such as Mean (M) and standard deviation (S.D) were used to establish the intensity of parents’ communication, parents’ emotional support, security in classroom, and teachers’ motivation. Regression analysis was used to discover the effect of parents’ communication, parents’ emotional support, security in classroom, and teachers’ motivation on scholastic success of secondary school students.

Table 2. Description of variables of the study

	Mean	Std. Deviation
Parents’ communication	3.92	0.53
Parents’ Emotional Support	3.80	0.60
Security in Classroom	4.09	0.66
Teachers’ motivation	3.80	0.70

Table 2 elaborates the two parts of parental involvement and two parts of teachers’ involvement. The mean score of parental communication (3.92) indicates that parents consistently are highly involved with their children in terms of communication. The part of teachers’ involvement indicates that teachers have maintained a highly secured classroom (4.09) where there is no bullying and the teacher are highly positive in their behavior with students.

Table 3. Academic achievement due to involvement of parents and teachers

		B	Std. Error	Beta	t	?
	Parents’ communication	17.837	3.910	0.162	4.562	0.000
	Parents’ Emotional Support	14.373	5.715	0.073	2.515	0.012
	Class security	0.828	5.288	0.006	0.157	0.876
	Teachers’ motivation	4.548	5.327	0.023	0.854	0.393
R= 0.155         R square= 0.024       Adj. R square= 0.02       F= 8.788        P value= 0.000
Academic Achievement

Table number 3 highlights the impact of involvement of parents and teachers’ involvement on academic achievement of students. Statistical significance of the model is confirmed by (R²=0.024, F=8.788, P< 0.05).

The ? value for parents’ communication is 17.837 which indicates that scholastic success varies positively with parents’ communication which is statistically significant at t=4.562 (?=0.000). The value of ? for parents’ emotional support is 14.373 which indicates that scholastic success of students varies directly and positively with parents’ emotional support and is statistically significant at t =2.515 (?= 0.012).

 The value of ? for security in classroom is 0.828 which indicates that scholastic success varies directly and positively with security in classroom and the value of t (0.157) is statistically insignificant at ?=0.876. The ? value for motivation of teachers is 4.458 that indicates that scholastic success differ positively with motivation of teachers and the value of t (0.854) is insignificant statistically at ?=0.393.

Table 4. Impact of parents and teachers on academic achievement of male students

		B	Std. Error	Beta	t	?
	Parents’ communication	21.747	4.415	.199	4.926	.000
	Parents’ Emotional Support	16.495	8.330	.081	1.980	.048
	Security in Classroom	-3.038	8.789	-.016	-.346	.730
	Teachers’ motivation	12.189	7.893	.071	1.544	.123
R= 0.204           R2= 0.042             Adj. R2= 0.036              F= 7.670            P value= 0.000
a. Gender = Male

Table number 4 highlights the impact of involvement of parents as well as teachers’ involvement upon male students’ academic success. Statistical significance of the model is confirmed by (R²=0.042, F=7.670, P< 0.05).

The value of ? for parents’ communication is 21.747 which indicates that scholastic success varies positively with parents’ communication which is statistically significant at t=4.926 (?=0.000). The value of ? for parents’ emotional support is 16.495 which shows that scholastic success of male students varies positively with parents’ emotional support and is statistically significant at t =1.98 (?= 0.048).

The value of ? for classroom security is -3.038 which indicates that scholastic success fluctuate negatively with security in classroom and the value of t (-0.346) is insignificant from statistical point of view at ?=0.730. The ? value for “teachers’ motivation” is 12.189 that indicates that scholastic success positively differs with teachers’ motivation and the value of t (1.544) is insignificant from statistical point of view at ?=0.123.

Table 5. Impact of parents and teachers on academic achievement of female students

		B	Std. Error	Beta	t	?
	Parents’ communication	12.418	4.358	0.114	2.850	0.005
	Parents’ Emotional Support	12.380	7.585	0.066	1.632	0.103
	Security in Classroom	5.933	7.658	0.037	0.775	0.439
	Teachers’ motivation	2.675	7.423	0.017	0.360	0.719
R=0.130               R2=0.017                 Adj. R2=0.011              F=3.083            sig.=0.016

a. Gender = Female

Table 5 highlights the impact of involvement of parents and teachers’ involvement on academic success of female students. This table shows that the model is statistically significant (R²=0.017, F=3.083, P< 0.05). The value of ? for parents’ communication is 12.418 which highlights positive variation between parents’ communication and academic achievement (success) and the value of t (2.850) proves it statistically significant at ?=0.005. The value of ? for parents’ emotional support is 12.380 which highlights positive variation between parents’ emotional support and academic achievement (success) and the value of t (1.632) is statistically insignificant at ?= 0.103.

 The ? value for security in classroom is 5.933 which highlights positive variation in  classroom security and academic success of male students and the value of t (0.775) is insignificant from statistical point of view at ?=0.439. The ? value for teachers’ motivation is 2.675 which highlights positive variation between teachers’ motivation and academic achievement (success) and the value of (0.360) is insignificant from statistical point of view at ?=0.719.

Discussion

The study at hand was conducted for searching the effect of involvement of parents and teachers on academic achievement of secondary school students. The results indicated that parents consistently are highly involved with their children in terms of communication. It proves that students need constant involvement of parents for better academic achievement (Chaudry et al, 2015).

Results further indicated that parental communication and their emotional support has profound positive impact upon academic success of students. It is true that creation of nurturing environment by parents through better communication leads to their high academic achievement as well as high self-esteem (Lam, & Ducreux, 2013). One of the advantages of parental communication with their children is increased satisfaction and avoidance of conflict (Schrodt, Witt, Turman, Myers, Barton, & Jernberg, 2009) which leads to their better academic achievement. This is also proven in the theory and research findings that involvement of parents has confirmed to have profound influence on the academic achievement of students (Tella & Tella, 2003). These results also imply that parents who freely communicate with their children and provide emotional support are better educated. It is because highly educated parents, as compared to low educated parents, remain more involved in educational matter of their children (Bakker & Denessen, 2007). Additionally, the value and importance to education given by parents is also reflected from the component of parental communication. It has been indicated in the studies that as parents have communicated to their children that they value education and have high expectations, it leads the students to become more interested, motivated, and confident about their academic achievement (Fan & Williams, 2010).

Conclusion

For the provision of experiences and enhancing the academic achievement of children, parents use their emotional support and communication optimally. Similarly, teachers maintain classrooms secure from bulling and maintain positive behavior with their students.

Furthermore, parental communication and parental emotional support are significant predictors of secondary schools students’ academic achievement. It indicates that parental support and communication through consistent strategies brings desirable variations in their behaviors including academic achievement.

Additionally, Parental communication and their emotional support have profound positive influence on academic achievement of male students.

Recommendations

Based on the results of the study, it is recommended that a good environment should be established by the parents at home which enhance not only their physical, social, emotional development but provide them the opportunities for academic success.

It is recommended that parents should be well equipped in terms of knowledge as well as skills so that they can guide their adolescent children in a better way from educational angles. Leading role should be played by parents for supporting the children in their academics. It is because they are the agents of socialization who show them the social and academic aspects of the world.

For the educational success, parents should set realistic expectations from their children so that they can be motivated for performing academically well.

Parents should establish as well as enforce rules and regulations so as to make sure the supervision at home. These rules and regulations make easy the home as well as school activities and provision conducive learning environment.

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