INVESTIGATING THE PERCEPTION OF THE INFLUENCE OF PARENTAL SUPPORT ON THE INTEREST AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN EGOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, EDO STATE

Abstract

This study was an investigation on the perception of the influence of parental support on the interest and academic achievement of secondary school students in Egor Local Government Area, Edo State. The objectives of the study were to investigate the impact of parental support on the academic performance of secondary school students; examine the relationship between parental support and students’ level of interest and enthusiasm for their school subjects; find out the relationship between the nature of parental support and its influence on students’ academic achievement. To guide this study, three research questions were created. Furthermore, the study was anchored on the attachment theory. The research method was descriptive survey while the research instrument was a questionnaire. Findings from the study showed that the role parents play through support and involvement especially in the monitoring and supervision of home-work significantly affects the academic interest, performance and achievement of secondary school students, and that children develop holistically when their parents take active interest in the school’s extracurricular activities, and that motivation in the form of rewards and gifts when provided by parents encourage the students to study harder in their academic work and that the occupation of parents makes them unavailable to their children and their academic work and that children value great communication between them and their parents regarding their academic progress and achievements.Based on the findings, it was recommended among other things that parents should actively participate in supporting and supervising their children’s academic activities at home as well as employing rewards and gifts as motivation in shaping their children’s academic advancement.