The Influence of Parental Involvement on Academic Achievement in Boarding and Non-Boarding Schools

Abstract

Why do parents send their children to boarding schools? Is it for their children’s best education? If this is the reason, is it true that learners at boarding schools receive better education than those in non-boarding schools? This study investigates the differences in parental involvement between the two, the relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement and the difference in academic achievement between boarding and non-boarding schools of Grade 12 learners of the Capricorn District in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. A simple random sample was drawn from the population of three hundred and thirty-nine (339) schools and comprising 51 principals, 158 teachers and 290 learners from 51 schools in the Province. Ten of the 51 schools selected had boarding houses, whereas the remaining 41 had none. The School Environmental Questionnaire (SEQ) consisted of closed questions to determine if the school was boarding or non-boarding and the level of parental involvement. The Capricorn District Academic Summary Report of the Grade 12 results was used to determine academic achievement. The data analysis technique used was the t-test. The results revealed a significant difference between parental involvement in learners from boarding and non-boarding schools but that there was no significant difference in the parental involvement of children in low and high achieving schools. Results also indicated a significant difference in academic performance between boarding and non-boarding schools, with boarding schools performing better than non-boarding schools. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n2p155