Parental Involvement and Academic Performance of Pupils in Public Primary Schools: A Correlational Study

Parental involvement has long been recognized as a critical determinant of children's school success, yet the strength and nature of its relationship with academic performance vary considerably across contexts. This study examined the relationship between parental involvement and the academic performance of pupils in public primary schools, with attention to which dimensions of involvement contribute most strongly to learning outcomes. A quantitative correlational design was adopted, with data collected from 280 pupils in Grades 4 to 6 and their 280 corresponding parents across eight public primary schools, selected through stratified random sampling. The Parental Involvement Questionnaire, adapted from Epstein's framework, and pupils' end-of-term grade averages obtained from school records were the principal data sources. Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to test the relationships. Results showed a statistically significant positive relationship between overall parental involvement and academic performance (r = .57, p < .01). Among the six dimensions, learning at home (β = .31), parenting (β = .24), and communicating (β = .19) were the strongest predictors, jointly explaining 41% of the variance in pupils' academic performance. Socioeconomic status and parental education moderated the relationship. The findings reinforce the value of structured family and school partnerships and call for systematic engagement strategies in primary education.