| Summary: | Magister Educationis - MEd === Different studies indicate that parents, who offer their services as volunteers at their children's school, assist with homework and participate in school activities, can influence the learners’ academic success in a positive manner (Lunenberg & Irby, 2002; Sanders & Sheldon, 2009). Therefore, parents are considered to be one of the most important and indispensable stakeholders in education. Parental involvement in their children's schooling is a critical factor that influences academic success of learners, but despite its importance, parental involvement at previously disadvantaged primary schools appears to be discouragingly low. This study explored the role parents play in their children's academic progress at a previously disadvantaged primary school in Cape Town. The study attempted to answer the following research questions: (i) How does parental involvement influence the academic achievement of their children? (ii) What roles do educators expect parents to play in the development of their children's academic achievement? (iii) Which factors enhance and hinder parental involvement across the phases of primary schooling? (iv) How does parental involvement in children's academic progress change over time as learners' progress through the primary schooling phase? The study is located within the interpretive paradigm, using qualitative case study design. The study began by undertaking a literature review to explore the phenomenon of parental involvement in their children's schooling and its relationship to the academic achievement of learners. Therefore, data was
collected using three groups of participants. Participants were purposively chosen with the aim of exploring perspectives about parental involvement (in their children’s schooling) from diverse role players. Data was collected via questionnaires and individual semi-structured interviews. Data was analysed thematically. The study's findings report on parental involvement in terms of both school-based (e.g. voluntary assistance at school) as well as home-based involvement (e.g. homework activities). The findings of this study revealed that parental involvement can positively influence academic achievement of primary school learners. The parent participants regarded education as important and this notion was affirmed by the learner participants. There was also sufficient evidence in this study to suggest that the parent participants associated the concept of parental involvement with more home-based activities. The learner participants in this study expressed both positive and negative feelings about their parents'
involvement with regard to their homework activities. The learner participants reported that their mothers rather than their fathers assisted them with homework. The weaker scholastic achievement learner participants reported that they received less homework assistance from their parents in comparison to the average and strong scholastic achievement groups. The parent participants also reported that they were unable to assist their children with certain homework activities. The parent participants reported that the homework workload was far too much for their children. Encouraging their children to read was more prevalent in the average and strong scholastic achievement categories than the weak scholastic achievement group. The findings revealed that those parents who were more involved in their children's schooling produced academically stronger learners than those who were less involved. The educator participants reported that parental involvement had a positive influence on the learners' academic achievement. The findings highlight the various factors responsible for enhancing and hindering parental involvement at a specific primary school. The study revealed that parental support declined as the learner's progressed from one phase to the next. There is no doubt that parental involvement plays a pivotal role in a learner's academic achievement.
Furthermore, since education is often regarded as the primary way to develop our country, encouraging
parental involvement in their children’s schooling is essential in developing an educational society
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