INVESTIGATING PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN THE EDUCATION OF THEIR CHILDREN

Parental involvement (PI) is vital in child development and education, and has been posited as one of the reasons that Saudi Arabia has low performance scores in primary education. High levels of PI have a significant positive impact on academic outcomes of children, particularly in terms of primary education. Saudi Arabia’s low scores in primary education are also well-known: only 3% of Saudi Arabian 4th graders meet international standards in math, for example. This suggests that a lack of PI may be a significant underlying cause to the low school attainment in Saudi Arabia and a potential area for improvement. Little is known about the impact of PI on educational outcomes specifically in Saudi Arabia, despite the fact that the impact has been shown to be significant elsewhere. This research focuses specifically on the Saudi Arabian context to assess whether there are any underlying themes in the ability of parents to increase PI and the impact that this has on their children. Qualitative data is useful for conducting in-depth preliminary research about a topic. For this research, a qualitative semi-structured interview approach was used. The sample was parents living in Riyadh who have children in elementary school. One to one interview was used to allow for higher response rates and to increase participation and ease of access to the results. The results were then coded so as to identify common themes and presented by theme within the research. Almost all of the participants felt that PI was a vital component of childhood educational success. There were also several factors that promote PI identified in the interviews: school-related factors most commonly as well as the need for parents to modify and adapt their behaviour to increase PI. The main barrier towards PI in Riyadh was the work of one or both of the parents. Parents also felt that they could increase communication with their children as a way of promoting PI. The main opportunity for increasing PI was for parents to become more involved in school activities, such as after school clubs and charity events. The parents universally agreed that this was likely to be beneficial to their children’s academic performance, and that it is an attainable goal for increasing PI. Almost all of the parents felt that parent-teacher associations were vital in increasing the level of PI that they were able to provide for their child. The participants also felt that a strong relationship between parents and schools would help in PI. In terms of the overall benefits and underlying causes of PI increasing academic performance, parents felt that it helped to increase motivation and encourage creativity. The themes identified by this research suggest that parents in Riyadh are aware of the concept of PI and the fact that it can help to improve school performance. Despite this, there are concerns that work commitments are a barrier to increasing PI, despite the many benefits that it has. There is hope that these parents will be able to increase PI and improve their relationship with their children as almost all of the participants were aware of the links between PI and academic performance. Despite the barriers that were identified, the majority of the parents seemed as though they wanted to increase PI and work on communication with their children. Educators can use this information to drive stronger links between parents, teachers, and schools.