THE ROLES OF PARENT INVOLVEMENT IN THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF EIGHTH GRADERS IN GONDAR TOWN

The major purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between three dimensions of parental involvement (to be called PI hereafter) and students’ academic achievement in the specific context of Gondar town. The study employed a quantitative method where 196 School children were asked 16 questions about their parent’s level of involvement in matters related to their schooling. Seven questions assessed parents’ involvement levels in their children’s education at home, and five questions assessed parents’ involvement levels with their children’s education at school. Their academic achievement was measured by report card grades. The analysis was limited to the bivariate relations among three categories of PI measures (Child-parent communication, Home supervision, and School contact and participation) students’ academic achievement as well as between selected demographic characteristics of children and of their families and measured levels of PI. Statistical tests were conducted to examine the relationships between each demographic variable to the three dimensions of PI and the relationships between each dimension of PI to students’ academic achievement. Results show that family demographic variables were significantly associated with levels of PI, and all the three dimensions of PI in turn were found to be significantly associated with students' academic achievement. Child-parent communication was found to have the strongest positive association with students’ academic achievement followed by School contact and participation.