Positive or Negative and General or Differentiated Effect? Correlation between Parental Involvement and Student Achievement

Abstract

Parents can have a significant impact on student progress, but it is unclear whether generally influential forms of parental involvement can be identified or if they have a differential impact. Our research focuses on the impact of different forms of parental involvement (at-home and in-school involvement) on primary and high school students’ academic performance, and we also examine the differences between low- and high-status families. Our quantitative research analyzed data from all students that were in Grade 6 and Grade 10 in Hungary in 2019, and we conducted analysis using the Hungarian National Competency Assessment database (n = 183.366). We examined how parental involvement affects children’s mathematics and reading achievements. The results of our research were as follows: (1) Parental involvement type impacts student achievement. Home-based PI has a negative effect, while teacher–parent conferences and discussing school events have a positive effect. (2) The link between parental involvement and student achievement is weaker for higher-status families compared to lower-status families. Based on our results, the generalizability of the positive impact of parental involvement can be questioned because not all forms of it have a favorable effect on student achievement.