ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0998-112X

Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Education (Ph.D)

Department

Administrative and Instructional Leadership

First Advisor

James R Campbell

Second Advisor

Anthony J Annunziato

Third Advisor

Richard F Bernato

Abstract

Parental involvement in education remains important for supporting educational achievement in adolescents. The purpose of this ex-post facto study was to evaluate the impact of parental involvement a multidimensional construct, on mathematics achievement in adolescents (9th graders) in Kwara State Nigeria. The study also evaluated the relationship between social capital, parental involvement and two motivational constructs, the growth mindset and learning goals. A total of 280 students in their third year of Junior secondary school in Kwara state Nigeria, participated in the study. The study was conducted using a 46-item survey of parental involvement administered once to students who volunteered to participate in the study at two secondary schools in Ilorin metropolis. A path analysis, which does numerous multiple regressions was conducted on the data to determine the unique contributions of the predictor variables parental involvement, social capital, growth mindset and learning goals to the dependent variable math achievement. The findings from the study show that social capital is a precursor of parental involvement, and both are indirect predictors of math achievement with learning goals acting as a significant mediational pathway. The study findings also indicate that social capital may be a barrier to equitable access to learning supports for math achievement. Recommendations stemming from the study findings include suggestions for the government, policymakers, parents, and school administrators for fostering parental involvement. There is also a need for further research to generate more robust data to contribute to existing empirical evidence of the benefits of parental involvement for adolescents.

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