The Influence of Parental Involvement on Academic Self-Confidence and Engagement

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2016 in the subject Psychology - Intelligence and Learning Psychology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka (Faculty of Education), language: English, abstract: What is the relationship between parental involvement and academic self-confidence of junior secondary school students in Awka? What is the relationship between parental involvement and academic engagement among junior secondary school students in Awka? Parental involvement in the academic activities of their children, no doubt, plays a vital role towards developing academic self-confidence and engagement of the students. As the primary socializing agent of the children, parents have the responsibility of nurturing them for all round development through their interaction. However, in this contemporary time where parents are very busy with making money and pursuing their different careers and vocations, they seem to pay less or no attention by getting involved in the academic activities of their wards, thereby, leaving them solely in the hands of teachers or all by themselves. This development seems to be a slap on the expectation that parents through nurturing their children build their self-confidence which could in turn affect how they engage in academic activities. It is against this scenario that the researcher determines to explore the predictive influence of perceived parental involvement on academic self-confidence and academic engagement among junior secondary school students in Awka. Parental involvement refers to the degree to which parents are committed to their role in providing guidance, showing interest, motivating their wards and having a good communication skill geared towards promoting their children's active engagement in the school. It typically concerns the amount of effort that parents put into child-oriented education as well as other activities. Apparently, parental involvement refers to parent behaviours related to the child's school or schooling that can be observed as manifestations of their commitment to their child's educational affairs. This means that a parent who shows these behaviours in a larger extent, can be regarded as higher involved than a parent who shows these behaviours in a lesser degree. In this study, parental involvement is delimited to the degree to which students feel that their parents get involved and put efforts into their education to ensure their active engagement in academic activities revolving around teaching and learning processes in the classroom.