Parental Involvement in Child’s Education as Correlate of School Disengagement Among Primary School Pupils in Liberia

Abstract

School disengagement is a challenging educational issue in Liberia, despite its wide-ranging social effects. There has been minimal research on psychological factors that may affect students’ academic performance, and these variables have primarily been blamed for this school disengagement. Parental involvement in child’s education and school disengagement in Liberia were examined in this study. Palkovitz’s parental involvement theory guided the research. Correlational research was used. Targeted population were 636 fifth graders and 636 parents. Proportionate sampling picked five public schools, while simple random sample selected 246 fifth graders and 242 parents. A parental involvement instrument was modified for data collection. The researcher used standard scale questionnaires with 14 items for students and 17 for parents. Research instruments were tested in a pilot study. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were utilised in SPSS version 25 to evaluate and characterise the data. Results were displayed in frequency tables. The data demonstrated a positive but non-significant association between parental involvement in child’s education and school disengagement (r =.27, p > 0.05). School administrators should urge parents to monitor and participate in their children’s education, according to the report. School administrators and legislators could use the findings to enhance academic attainment efforts.