Running head: PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE 1

Impact of Parental Involvement on Academic Achievement and Scholarly Motivation

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation
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Abstract

Parent involvement (PI) is highly advanced in the academic setting as a positive factor towards

the academic achievement (AA) and motivation (AM). However, the trend of parental

involvement appears to decline as the students advance in learning. Parents are less involved in

their children learning in secondary school than they are in primary and less involved when the

children get to university level. As parents reduce their involvement in schoolwork, students tend

to lose parental aspects such as expectations, goals, and discipline in learning, and their

performance progressive reduces. Nonetheless, parent involvement in student’s learning is

required at each level of education to promote positive achievement and motivation throughout

the education levels. A look at the effects of the decline on PI at higher levels of education on

academic achievement through behaviorism and socio-cultural learning theories enables the

implementation of strategies to promote PI across education levels.

Keywords: Parental involvement, Achievement, Motivation, Learning theory, Higher Education

levels
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Impacts of parental involvement of academic performance

Academic achievement and scholarly motivation are aspects of learning that significantly

affect students' performance in diverse academic settings. Aspects that motivate students towards

learning achievement are thus highly promoted. Parental involvement (PI) is promoted as an

effective approach to achieving exemplary academic results due to several benefits associated

with parental involvement. For instance, parents play an integral role in motivating student's

school attendance consistently and ensuring they complete their homework (Hirano et al., 2016).

Despite the important role of parental involvement in students' motivation and achievement, PI

has been found to decline with age as students advance in the education system. Parental

involvement in their children's academics reduces as the children transition into higher education

levels, leading to lower performance (Dot & Dotterer, 2018). There is a need to explore the

decline in parental involvement on student academics in higher levels of education. PI in

students learning achievement and motivation is founded on behaviorism and socio-cultural

learning theories. Therefore, an exploration impact of the decline in parental involvement as

children goes higher in the education system is important to provide a basis for the development

of effective measures to boost parents’ participation in the schoolwork of their children.

Research Question

How does a decline in parental involvement at higher education levels impact academic

achievement and scholarly motivation?

Literature Review

There is a vast literature on the impacts of parents' participation in academic

achievement. There is also proof for a decline in PI as students advance within the education

systems. The impacts identified by the literature showcase the importance of exploring and
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addressing the decline in parental involvement in academic achievement and motivation. In a

study by Chun & Devall (2019), the authors took a cultural approach to explore the relationship

between parents' participation in school work and academic socialization for Latino students in

high school. The study took two dimensions in exploring the relation, which included addressing

how the cultural value of identity and loyalty to family and its interaction with school culture

advance parental engagement and learning achievement. The second dimension explored the

impacts of socialization in learning as a distinctive factor from parents' participation. The

mediating impacts of involving parents in learning and academic socialization were proven to

link family identity and loyalty with the school environment and academic achievement

(Chun&Devall, 2019). The study population was at a high school level, thus illustrating the

importance of continued parental engagement in student's learning in higher levels of education.

In another study, See & Gorald (2015) reiterate the vital role that involving parents in the

academic process plays in advancing the academic achievement of young people by providing

that parental participation is directly linked to the learning attainments of young people. See &

Gorald identify the parental aspects that have an inclination on a child's outcomes later in life,

including warmth, parents' background, parenting style, and the parents' attention to the child.

Through a systematic review of 77 literature reports on the concept of the effects of involving

parents in student learning, the authors establish that parental participation is crucial in learning

and student outcomes in school later in life. One of the major reasons is that parent engagement

influences behavior and attitudes, which influences achievement in different areas of life,

including academics (See & Gorald, 2015). More so, Rogers (2018) explains that parents interact

with their children differently based on parents' personal experiences, expectations, and dreams,

which influences their mode and level of PI (Rogers, 2018). Thus, the authors conclude that
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developing different strategies to influence parents to participate in students' learning and

academics would be effective in promoting scholarly motivation and achievement.

Ross (2016) conducted a study more specific to the research question by studying the

effects of different aspects of parental participation and contribution in learning on students

completing high school and pursuing postsecondary education. The study pays attention to

parents' precise role in dropouts who went ahead to gain a GED and continued with schooling.

The study's findings indicate that the instructive desires of parents and guardians on their

children played a significant role in determining whether children completed high school and

pursued postsecondary education. Specifically, the study provides that parents' interest in their

children's schoolwork was a positive indicator for the attainment of secondary education and

furthering learning beyond the secondary level. The findings also indicate that parents'

expectations of their children's academic performance influence their self-efficacy in learning.

Furthermore, the study indicates that parents' participation was not only on academic aspects as

parents' engagement in co-curricular activities also influenced students' academic achievement.

The more parents are involved in diverse aspects of learning, including co-curricular activities,

the more students are motivated, and the higher the academic achievement and school

completion rates (Ross, 2016).

Anthony & Ogg (2019) also carried out a study to explore whether specific learning

approaches provide explanations for the impacts of parents' participation in academic

achievement and motivation for students. The authors defined approaches to learning as students'

capacity to manage emotions behavior and attention in adaptive ways and voluntarily in the

context of their study. The study assessed participants from kindergarten through 8 th-grade,

assessing school-based, home-based, and school-home communication domains. Home-based

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environments' effects were insignificant, while school-based and home-school communication

aspects had positive effects on academic achievements progressively in different education

levels. Most importantly, the study provides that research needs to explore changes in home-

school communication and school-based involvement across different learning levels and the

related effects on achievement (Anthony & Ogg, 2019). The study provides for the need to

explore the forms and changes in PI at different stages of education, which is the essence of the

research question. Benner, Boyle & Sadler (2016) assessed the home-based and school-based PI

and provided a positive association between PI in both environments and educational success.

They highlighted the aspects of enduring PI to promote achievement at different levels (Benner,

Boyle & Saddler, 2016).

Macklem (2015) explores a distinct dimension of the research topic from the other

literature reviewed herein by exploring the correlation between motivation and academic

achievement. According to Macklem, motivation is one of the non-cognitive factors that impact

academic success, and it pertains to how engaged students are in the learning process. He

explains that engagement relates to behavior, emotions, and cognitions, with emotional

engagement being key to motivation. However, students often get bored with learning, which

deteriorates their emotional engagement and, conversely, their motivation leading to poor

performance. Macklem also cites the lack of motivation as a huge cause of dropout in schools.

The author highlights that students' motivation for learning decreases as they go higher in

education and schooling levels (Macklem, 2015). The provisions stress the importance of

parental involvement as students advance in learning levels to boost motivation. See & Gorald

(2015), Chun & Devall (2019), and Ross (2016) outlined that PI impacts positively on students'

sense of self-efficacy and is a motivating factor to their learning.

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Gonzales & Gabel (2017) contributed to the existing literature by confirming the PI's

significance on academic achievement. The authors carried out a study on PI effects in a group of

linguistically and culturally diverse students. Notably, PI has a lot to do with culture as cultural

perspectives of parenting and learning largely influence parents' role in a Child's life. Gonzales

and Gabel provided diverse meanings of PI and explored vast factors that caused the decline in

parental participation in children learning. For instance, language barriers between parents and

teachers were one of the barriers to PI identified. The authors' approach to the PI in education

calls for a review of the school climate and teacher perspectives as potential hindrances of

effective PI, especially for diverse students (Gonzales & Gabel, 2017). The study is relevant in

that it offers the different dimensions of promoting parental participation in students learning

from the education system perspective rather than placing the blame to reduce PI entirely on

parental factors.

Jeynes' (2016) study specified the research on PI impacts of learning achievement on the

African American community throughout their academic journey. The study showed that PI was

very impactful in general achievement for African American students at an early age. Fluctuation

in PI is noticeable in academic performance early on in learning. Jeynes stressed that the PI's

consistency is critical in boosting confidence and students' understanding and seeing the worth of

their education. (Jeynes, 2016). Day and Dotterrer (2018) also take an ethnically based approach

to exploring the benefits of PI strategies in boosting educational achievements. The ethnic

approach was due to the existing educational gaps in the US based on a socioeconomic and

ethnic base. The findings of the study reiterated Jeynes (2016) study that parents from minority

ethnic groups such as African Americans, Latinos, and Caucasians and those from low-income

families need to be more involved in the education of the children because the children are at
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higher risk of failing academically and dropping out of school ( Dot and Dotterer, 2018). Benner,

Boyle & Saddler (2016) also mirrored the socioeconomic aspect of education and PI. They

provide that PI and School-based involvement is critical in increasing educational achievement

in primary and secondary education, especially for the minority groups (Benner, Boyle &

Saddler, 2016). The studies offer important aspects of PI in higher education levels by stressing

the minority groups have to reinforce their PI for their children to attain significant educational

achievement due to the existing gaps that are likely to demotivate their children from achieving

in school.

The literature review shows that PI has significant impacts on the learning achievement

and motivation of students. The more parents are involved in the home and school environment,

the higher the students' motivation and higher educational achievement. The literature also

recognizes the decreasing level of PI as students get in higher education institutions, which

increases the risk of decline in student motivation and achievement. Effective strategies for

enabling and prompting PI across the educational levels are continually advocated for learning

motivation and academic achievement in the literature.

Learning Theory Association

Parents' participation in their children's learning is grounded on behaviorism and

sociocultural learning theories, and related principles. The behaviorism learning theory

disregards the independence of the mind in the learning process and focuses on students'

observable behaviors to the stimulus in their environment. In the educational paradigm,

behaviorism appoints teacher control over the environment and related stimuli that influence

student's behavior (Zhou & Brown, 2015). The principles of behaviorism align with the

structuration theory, promoting the analysis of both structure and agents in the reproduction of
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social systems. Parents are the agents, while teachers represent the structure (learning

environment) (Gross, 2019). In the context of the theory, PI is an environmental stimulus that

influences student's motivation and achievement in learning. The teacher is thus tasked with

assessing and ensuring PI at different educational levels by implementing strategies that promote

PI. Gross (2019) study provides that resistance from structures represented by teachers and

school systems undermine agents' participation. Gross explains that agents (parents) are

unsuccessful in initiating or upholding involvement due to the unwelcoming nature of structures,

or information sharing, and a culture based on fear of between two stakeholders, parents and

teachers/school systems (Gross, 2019). The provisions of Gross illustrates the aspects of

behaviors that behaviorism advances as a stimulus of student's responses through motivation and,

consequently, achievement.

The sociocultural theory is the other learning theory that provides foundational principles

for the exploration of the impacts of PI on academic achievement and motivation. The

sociocultural theory promotes that social interactions result in step-by-step variations in

children's behavior and thoughts that are distinct across different cultures. Development and

behaviors are thus reliant on interactions children have with people and tools that their cultures

equip them and help the children develop their perceptions of the world (Zhou & Brown, 2019).

Parents are the primary agents of the Children's interactions in the social context. The way

parents interact with children concerning their learning influences their behavioral changes in

learning. Thus, the decline in schoolwork's parental involvement results in a decline in students’

motivation and achievement. Theories such as control theory of motivational and cultural capital

theory further support the sociocultural theory concepts in PI. Control theory of motivation and

achievements attaches certain emotions to achievement and related outcomes. The control theory
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of motivation and achievement defines aspects such as student's boredom and how parents taking

part in students’ learning appeals to their emotions to boost motivation to learn and conversely

(Macklem, 2015). In the cultural capital theory, parents are social assets in the student's learning

motivation and achievement, and thus their involvement is vital in student's learning outcomes

(Gonzales & Gabel, 2017). Parents’ experiences, parenting styles, and expectation influence their

value as social assets and their involvement in children learning to translate that value to the

children, which serves to motivate them towards achievement.

Define Key Terms

Parental involvement- Parental involvement is diversely defined in an educational context.

However, in the context of this study, it refers to the extent of parents' attendance of school

meetings, follow-up on student performance and schoolwork, interaction with teachers, and with

the child on school issues and support for school and student in learning (Gonzales& Gabel,

2017).

Achievement: Good results typify the extent to which a student attains the goals of education

and learning, completion of education programs such as primary and secondary and

advancement to the next level (Anthony& Ogg, 2019).

Motivation: The drive and process that propel students' behavior towards learning, engaging in

learning, and attaining academic goals (Macklem, 2015). PI is an aspect of external motivation.

Education Levels: Refers to the different levels of learning, such as elementary school, primary

education, secondary, college, and university levels.

Gaps in the Research

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The literature on the effects of parental participation on academic motivation and

achievement is vast. However, the main focus of most of the literature is on the impacts of PI on

learning. There is thus a gap in the examination of PI at different levels of education, particularly

through higher education levels such as secondary and tertiary levels. The few studies that

identify declines in PI as a student advances in the education levels do not assess the cause of the

declines and the related impacts. Thus, there is a need to explore the decline in parental

participation in students learning at higher levels of education by identifying the extent of the

decline, the causes of the decline in the involvement, and the impacts of the decline towards

developing strategies to facilitate PI at higher levels of learning.

Biblical Worldview

From a biblical point of view, children's behavior is attributed to parental factors, which

promotes the parents being actively involved in children's development. The family unit is the

foundation of societal development, and parenting is a primary determinant of children's

behavior and character. Parents' participation in their children's education is a divine

responsibility for parents (Shannon, 2018). Proverbs 22:6 compels parents to train their children

in the way they should go, and they will not depart in their older days. Parents can only train

their children in the learning context if they are involved in the process and constantly aware of

the school progress. Parents can thus develop behaviors of their children towards learning. These

include meeting schedules and follow-ups and communicating with teachers to engage in the

students' learning process continually. Deuteronomy 6:7 guides parents to teach children

diligently and converse with them at home or in casual settings constantly. The verse further

provides for the responsibility of parents towards their children's lives. The Bible also cautions

parents against frustrating their children and instead calls upon parents to encourage their
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children through instruction and training (Ephesians 6:4). 1 Peter 5:2-3 asks for parents to lead

by example and willingly watch over those placed under their care. Education is vital to

individual development and success in life in the modern world. By supporting their children

through involvement, parents exemplify a willingness to deliver the will of God to care for their

children. It is also important to note that the definition of 'child' in the Bible accommodates

different ages, including secondary and university ages. In Genesis 37:3, Joseph is considered a

child at the age of 16, and in Genesis 44: 20, Benjamin is still considered a child despite being

over 30 years. Therefore, the provision encompasses students in a higher level of education as

children worth the care of their parents and involvement in their lives. Parenting is a lifetime job

and thus never stops with the child moving up the education spectrum.

Conclusion

In summary, parental participation in students’ learning has been proven to have positive

effects on students’ motivation to learn and academic outcomes. Observation and research also

indicate that parents are less involved with children learning as the children advance in the

education system. The decline in involvement leads to adverse impacts on the motivation and

academic outcomes of students. Therefore, examining the decline in parental involvement in

higher learning levels is important towards developing strategies for implementation to promote

PI and, consequently, academic achievement and motivation.

References
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