Investigation of factors which influence parental involvement in some high schools

Abstract

Parental involvement in schools has been documented to have a positive influence on the education of children . There is also evidence which suggests that parents of secondary school learners are less involved in education than those of primary school learners . South African parents have recently been given a greater say in education . This study investigated the extent of parental involvement in some high schools , identified factors which have a positive and negative influence on parental involvement and investigated the possibility of improving the extent of parental involvement in order to facilitate the learning of high school learners . The sample consisted of 368 parents of learners who attended three public , co-educational Johannesburg high schools . The overall findings obtained through a specially devised Parent Questionnaire showed that attributes of sex and parents’ home language were more closely associated with various aspects and degrees of parental involvement than were attributes of employment , educational level, and parents’ marital status . In order to increase parental involvement in education , it was suggested that school- -i-ould convcne meetings in a manner that would cater for most parents ; teachers should help parent? vith ways of supporting their children’s academic work and more importantly, it was suggested parents need education and advocacy which would make them more effective participants in education