The Impact of Parental Involvement on Student Performance: A Case Study of a South African Secondary School

The purpose of this study was to ascertain how parental involvement in South African schools affects the academic performance of students in mathematics. Literature often claim that involvement of parents results in better academic performance than if parents are not involved. The aim of the research was to see if this relationship exists in South African high schools. The study used a quantitative research approach. Data was gathered using a questionnaire administered to 114 students’ parents. The main findings are that all the parents who responded are highly involved with their children’s education. They have high expectations towards their children’s education and performance. Three parental involvement constructs, that is, parenting, parent –teacher communication and home and family support were found to be positively related to performance. Results further indicate that home and family support is the most significant factor that determines a learner’s performance. Most of the parents consider themselves to have a good communication with their child’s teachers and the school. Children’s homework is considered to be important by each parent and they all assist their children with homework. Thus, it may be concluded that by staying involved with their children’s education, parents do impact positively on the academic achievement of the students. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n8p27