Parental Involvement and Pupils’ Academic Performance in English Language

Abstract

This cross sectional survey investigated the extent to which parental provision of required text and work books, expression of concern towards academic work, support with homework and level of literacy influenced pupil’s academic performance in English language in Tubah Sub-Division, North-West Region of Cameroon. The target population of this study consisted of the 631 class six pupils and their respective parents in the 20 state-approved primary schools within Bambili and Bambui in Tubah Sub-Division. Data were obtained from a sample of 80 parents of pupils of four primary schools obtained through purposive and simple random sampling techniques. The pupils’ scores in English language were used to compare with respective parental responses. The Chi Square test (χ²) was used to verify the hypotheses given that data were non parametric. The findings showed that a significant relationship exists between parental involvement and pupils’ academic performance in English language. It showed that the more parents provided the required text books (χ²=6.401; P=0.011), assist their children directly or indirectly in the completion of their homework (χ2 test P<0.001) and express concern towards their academic progress (493.84, P<0.001), the higher their academic performance. It was also found that illiteracy is not a limitation to parental involvement in pupils’ academic work (χ²=0.001; P=0.970). Significant recommendations were made from the findings. Parents should be proactive towards their pupils’ academic work, provide recommended text and workbooks, verify their books constantly, offer assistance in the completion of homework, attend parent-teacher association meetings and maintain contact with school to monitor pupils’ progress. Teachers and school authorities should encourage parents to set attainable standards for their children, reinforce their commendable achievements, encourage the use of English language at home, and regulate and monitor study time at home. The findings are meaningful within the theories of Lev Vygotsky (1978), Gonzalez-Pienda et al. (2002), Fan and Chen (2001) and Van Voorhis (2003).