EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH A SPECIFIC FOCUS ON THE SOCIAL SCIENCE CURRICULUM

                                                            Kavya C Nair

ABSTRACT The present study was carried out to see, whether there was any significant relationship between academic achievement and parental involvement with special reference to Social Science subject. The present study consisted of 40 high school students studying in different schools in Ernakulam district. The Normative Survey method was used to collect the data. The statistical method used for the data analysis was computation of percentages. It was found that both the academic achievement and parental involvement are moderate and there was significant relationship between academic achievement and parental involvement. Key words: Parental involvement, academic achievement

INTRODUCTION

Education is essential for the development of society. The more educated the people of a society are, the more civilized and well-disciplined society might be. Education is not all about studying and getting good marks. It is a real means to discover new things which we don’t know about and to increase our knowledge. So, education shapes and molds the overall behavior of human beings and nurtures the potentialities.

Children have two educators in the beginning - their parents and their teachers of whom parents are the initial ones. It is not only till the age the child starts attending school, but even after that parents play a great role in educating their children. There is no fixed form of involvement of parents in children’s educational performance. Some parents think that education is the whole and sole responsibility of the child himself while some take active participation like doing projects together, taking care of all kinds of homework and even playing sports.

 It has been assumed that academic achievement of students may not only depend on the quality of schools and the teachers, rather the extent of parental involvement has vital role to play in academic achievement of their kids. The focus of this study is to examine a relationship (if any) between the extent of parental involvement in academic activities of their children and the level of their children’s academic achievement. The transition from middle school to secondary school may be an overwhelming and stressful experience for young adolescents. Developmentally, students are entering a period in their lives when their physical, cognitive, psychological, and social characteristics are beginning to evolve. Secondary school students experience both contextual change and a personal change during this transition. It may often be a confusing time for students, their families, and the other adults in their lives who seek to support their healthy development and learning.  Learning begins at home through interaction with one’s family. Parental involvement in school has been linked with academic achievement. Many factors that may contribute to the level of parental involvement and academic achievement in secondary school.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between parental involvement in academic activities of their children and academic achievement of high school students. The information obtained by completing this study will be beneficial to parents, students, and educators. If parents are aware of how their involvement affects their children’s learning ability and future, they may more actively participate in their children’s education. The findings of this research may also be beneficial to educational institutions. The results can be utilized to develop school programs associated with parental involvement in school activities, decisions, and homework. Programs such as these can be implemented to bridge the gap between home and school while improving student’s academic achievement. The result of this study might be useful to add new information to the existing knowledge of social aspects of education.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The study is stated as

“PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT’S WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SOCIAL SCIENCE SUBJECT”

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The present study is designed with the following objectives.

·        To analyze the parental involvement of high school students in Social Science subject

·         To understand the academic achievement of high school students in Social Science subject

·         To identify the significant relationship between academic achievement and parental involvement of high school students in Social Science subject

HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY

·         There is no significant parental involvement on high school students in Social Science subject.

·         There is no significant academic achievement on high school students in Social Science subject.

·         There is no significant relationship between academic achievement and parental involvement of high school students in Social Science subject.

 METHODOLOGY

Ø  Method Adopted

The normative survey method was used for the study.

Ø  Sample

The sample for the present study consisted of 30 high school students studying in different schools of Ernakulam district and used random sampling technique for selecting sample. The respondents were given questionnaires using google form and the data collected directly from them. The study is restricted to high school students in Ernakulam district only.

Ø  Tools used.

The tools used for the study was “Questionnaire on Influence of Parental Involvement on Academic Achievement of High School Students with Special Reference to Social Science Subject”.

Ø  Statistical Techniques

The statistical method used for the data analysis was computation of percentages.

DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The study was delimited when the following aspects were considered.

·         The sample size was limited to 40 due to time constraints.

·         The accuracy of the data depends on the information provided by the respondents.

MAJOR FINDINGS

·         Majority of the respondents are male students.

·         Parents have great expectations regarding the studies of their children.

·         Most parents pay sufficient attention to the studies of their children.

·         Only 45 percent of the respondents say that their parents enquire about the school related works.

·         Lion’s share of the students stated as sometimes parents spend time with them for working on creative activities.

·         Only a small percentage of the students stated that the parent’s absence affects their studies.

·         There is not much hindrance to the studies. when parents often asked them to do other jobs.

·         Only 35 percent of the students get rewards after passing the examination.

·         Most of the students stated that quarrelling between parents affects their studies.

·         About half of the parents do not attend the Parents-Teachers Association

·         About 42.5 percent of the parents can't clear the doubts because half of they are not much educated

·         About half of the parents do not compel the children for studies when they are tired

·         Most of the students have the opinion that their parents have a good relationship with the teachers.

·         About half of the parents are aware about the importance of Social Science subject

·          More than 60 percent of parents sometimes bring their children to the community to learn special things like zoos, museums etc.

·         About half of the parents encouraged the students to participate in competitions related to Social Science subject.

·         Most of the parents encouraged the students to understand social, political and cultural matters from newspaper, television, magazines etc.

·         More than 65 percent of the parents encouraged their children to gain more knowledge in current affairs.

·         Most of the students stated that sometime their parents try to inculcate social values such as harmony, civic duty, equality, justice etc.

·         The students have very good academic achievement and most of the students got above 40 marks in Social Science during the mid-term examination.

SUGGESTIONS

·         The parents should become more conscious of the responsibilities towards their children in molding and shaping their academic performance.

·         Parental Involvement plays a great role in high achievement of a student, so the parents should encourage their children to achieve better.

·         The parents should keep a positive attitude and motivate their child to show better performance.

·         The parents must try to recognize the nature of the child, encourage and inspire them.

·         The parents need to be very careful in using rewards or punishment as an incentive to encourage their children.

·         Parents should be encouraged to talk to their children about the school assignments. Parents can help their children to understand the assignments.

·         Guidance and orientation programmes can be organized for parents and students on the influence of parental involvement and academic achievement.

CONCLUSION

Parental involvement plays a vital role in the academic achievement of the students. Even though there are some limitations in the present study it is evident that, the students who receive high parental involvement are better at academic achievement than the students who receive less parental encouragement. Hence it is recommended that parents should take interest in the educational activities of their children. By implicating this, the educational achievement of the students could be enhanced.

REFERENCE

Ø  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3020099/

Ø  https://core.ac.uk/download/5065946.pdf

Ø  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/690/1/012064/pdf

Ø  https://www.marquette.edu/library/theses/already_uploaded_to_IR/minj_a_1999.pdf

Ø  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262924150_Parental_Involvement_Rating_Scale_PIRS

Ø  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131881.2021.1988672

Ø  https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/parental-involvement