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THE IMPACT OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT ONENGLISH LANGUAGE ACHIEVEMENT

AMONG FORM 4 STUDENTS IN MALAYSIAN RURAL SCHOOLS

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Background of the Study


Undoubtedly, every parent should be an active partner in their childs
academic, not only through the standard raft of activities like report card and
sports days, but also a strengthened parent-teacher association or Persatuan Ibu
Bapa dan Guru (PIBG) that provides input on school based management matters,
as well as parent tool kits to support student academic achievement. Parents
must have a network of community and private sector partners that contribute
expertise to the schools development. The involvement of all these stakeholders
will create a academic ecosystem that reinforces the knowledge, skills, and
values taught to students at school.
Teachers have also the responsibility to encourage academic among the
students because developing a academic attitude has to start at an early part of
ones life and it is a lifelong process. Teachers are aware that academic has to be
given top priority in teaching and is one of the four major skills in the teaching of
the English language. As a result, raising the standard of English language
among the students would be a major aims in Malaysian Education policy.
Academic is not just only to know the symbols and letters, but it must also be
interesting.
Therefore, the concerned parties responsible in developing students
academic attitude, such as parents and teachers, should have the knowledge on
how doing the task. In other words, they need to know the factors that affect the
academic attitudes of students before inculcating it. Yip, M. C., & Chung, O. L.
(2005), say this new commitment in developing the academic achievement and
interest has made a gradual move in the nations focus from the target of
achieving a literate society to the creation of a academic and thinking society.
Consequently also lead to success in academic.

Without a good achievement in academic, MSC will not be successful and


Vision 2020 could not be achieved. The long term plan to transform 10,000
schools in Malaysia into Smart Schools with a huge plan and budget will be a
useless effort. Thus, it is very important to study on how academic achievement
of students is affected by their parental involvement. In particular, how do
parental involvements affect the academic achievement of these students?
Historically, during the British colonial period, English was used as the
primary language in Malaya. It was widely used as a medium in education, social
interactions, government business, and economic activities. Thus, the standard
at that time was high. Students were required to pass English course/subject in
their Upper Certificate of Education (LCE) in order for them to progress or to
move on to Form Four.
However, post-independence era, the situation in Malaya changed. In
1980 for example, education was only carried out in the Malay language, and
English was learnt as an exclusive subject. The objective is to achieve internal
unity in a multi-cultural society and to increase the sense of patriotism. Students
need not have to pass English language subject anymore to get a place in Form
Four. As a result, students feel English language is not an important subject
anymore and there had been a gradual decline in the proficiency level of English.
Thus, there was an official awareness of the gradual decline in the proficiency
level of English (Zahid, 1993).
Previous studies done in Selangor and participating of form four secondary
students by (Razak, 2013)show that parental involvement at home or in school is
important when theyhave school going children. Components in the context of
the family have been found to besignificantly correlated with parental
involvement. This study supports a research done byHuntsinger and Jose (2009)
which stated that parental involvement is important in generatingexcellence in
children. Parental involvement should not stop after the children are already
insecondary school. Instead, parental involvement should be continued until the
children finishschooling.The study also explains that the components of the
family context contribute to 44.5% of parentalinvolvement at home, 16.0%
parental involvement in schools and 41.1% to overall parentalinvolvement. This
clearly shows that parental involvement at home provides a greater contribution
toparental involvement than participation in school. Parents should be aware that
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their responsibilityin playing a role at home will give a greater impact on their
childrens excellence.
Other than that, the studied done by (Vellymalay, 2012) in one of the
schools in Kerian district of Perak and, the findings of this study indicate that the
greater cooperation and support given by parents who are more exposed
tovarious strategies of involvement in their children academic at home as a
result ensure the educational success of the child. Regarding all previous
studies, the form 4 students were selected.The selection of this sampling was
based on the duration of the students in the school and also have the long time
to learn English
Malaysia has made great progress in education on many fronts, including
increased access to pre-school education and secondary education, as well as
expanded opportunities to pursue post-secondary and tertiary education.Steps
needed taken to address inequities in the system by upgrading and expanding
educational facilities.Taking into consideration, The Education Blueprint (20132025) has been outlined to provide a sustainable and rapid transformation of
Malaysias Education System. Looking aheadthe aspirations for Malaysian
students, The Education Blueprint was alignedand government equip every
parent to support their child's learning through a parent engagement toolkit and
online access to their child's in-school progress. The involvement of all parents
will create a learning ecosystem that reinforces the knowledge, skills, and values
taught to students at school. In conclusion, parents need to take a challenge as
outlined in the shiftto make sure their children become achieved success in the
academic.

1.1 Problem Statement.


In terms of English language achievement, an analysis done for the School Based
Assesement (PT3) results of the Malaysian Board Examination, which focused on
student English achievement in rural schools in Kedah. Kedah rural district
become the top bottom in Malaysia. Analysis showed that there was the
decrease by year from 67.50% in 2014 to 65.86% in 2015 for the English
language in the SPM examination in Kedah. There is also the decline in the
overall percentage for Kedah in 2012 (65.86%) compare to the national
achievement (68.10%) in the English PT3 examination. The achievement in
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English of rural schools also fell behind the urban schools. In an unpublished
report by the Kedah Education Department (2015), the disparity between urban
and rural schools could not only be identified in the PT3 English language result,
but also in three others core subjects, Bahasa Melayu, Science and Mathematics.
This shows that English language needs to be given more attention and
addressed.
A study has information about students, parental involvement in their
children academic English achievement. There are many reasons about
regarding their low achievement in academic. Practically, almost of the students
in interviews, feel their parental involvement reluctant to involve in their children
academic English.In supporting this view,(Coulter-Kern & Duchane, 2007)
maintain that the decreased involvement of parents in their childrens schooling
as the children move from primary to secondary school may be because parents
think that teenager's desire and need independence. It can be concluded that
parental involvement is crucial factor in achieving of academic English.
In Malaysia, parental involvement in childrens education is still at the
minimum level. Some of the formative work on parental involvement has been
criticized as being limited in its ability to capture the needs of their children from
diverse cultural, linguistic and socioeconomic backgrounds (Auerbach 2007;
Pushor and Ruitenberg 2005). A lot of parents place the responsibility to teach
their children and ensure their childrens education upon the teachers. Besides,
they think that by sending their children to school and give money when needed
is enough to make them believe that they have fulfilled their responsibilities as
parents. (Kertas Kerja Kajian Sistem Pendidikan Kebangsaan, 2001).
Furthermore, according to Faridah et al. (2005), in Malaysia, the reason
why the students English results are poor is because of their parents who give
less support in their education, lack of supervision in the students improvement
in schools and did not check the students homework. Available literature from
writers such as Reynolds, et. al., (1996) reveals that parents in rural areas are
not as involved in the education of their children as compared to their
counterparts in the urban areas. Their parents do not willing to speak or read in
English and they in turn are influenced by them. Parents also limit their
involvement in students they also limit educational opportunities for their
children as well as limiting the schools academic performance (Woolfork, 1997).
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Living in low socio economic status (SES) can be difficult and challenging not
only for children, but also for parents. Parents living in poverty are less likely to
participate in their children's education than those living out of poverty (Van
Velsor & Orozco, 2007). This situation occurred in rural schools and become a
factor that parents unwilling to engage with their children academic. When living
in low socioeconomic status, parents failed to create a conducive home
academic environment such as prepare encourages academic environment.
Parents also failed to help their children with studies such as helping and
supporting in their homework, giving tuition either home tuition or outside
tuition. The lowest likelihood of engagement occurs when parental role
construction is weak that is, when parents do not believe they should be
involved in their childs education and have at the same time a low sense of
efficacy. These kind of parents also declares that they are lack of confidence in
their interactions with the education system.
1.2 Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of parental involvement on
academic proficiency influence by ethnicity, cultural and economic status and
which ethnic group of parents is more involved in their child achievement. Data
will be gathered from students in one of the rural schools in Malaysia. This work
can be regarded as important in providing useful data which can help the parents
to serve their children in achievement of academic English as related to their
involvement. The researcher sought to find out whether in fact the parents are
aware of the importance of English language in this new globalized world.
The researcher also wants to bring new areas of knowledge to meet the gap
between a parent and their children regarding ethnicity, cultural and economic
condition. Moreover, a prominent study of the education of Indian students was
done by Santhiram (1999), who found that overall, the performance of Indian
students in Malaysia was not satisfactory.

1.3 Objectives of the Study


The study will attempt to:
1.

To identify the relationship between parental involvement and proficiency

among the rural English as a second language students.


2.

To identify in case of which group of rural students parental involvement

is more influentialin improving English proficiency in term of and parents social


cultural background.
1.4 Research Questions
The study will attempt to answer the following research questions:
1. Is there any significant relationship between parental involvement and
proficiency among the rural English as a second language students.
2. Is there any significant differences between the subgroups of students
parental involvement is more influential in improving English proficiency in term
of the impact of parental involvement and parents socio cultural background
1.5 Significance of the study
The significance of this study is to review whether parental involvement
impact students' academic achievement. This is because the involvement of the
parents is said to have considerable impact on student achievement in
academic. The socioeconomic status of the family, culture and ethnic the more
capable he is to contribute and provide at home that will not only be a matter of
basic needs, but also provide support in the process of cultivating an interest in
academic among children.
This study provided evidence of the need to educate parents about their
involvement in children learning development and achievement. This will help
them to have a better understanding of theirchildrens progress and to actively
participate in the school system.The findings from this study may enhance
parent-teacherinteractions on a personal basis.

Based on the findings, researcher want to implement one of the practices in


Malaysia but this time researcher will reform effectively that called Science of
Life (SOLS) which school community will be visiting the villages lived by students

to meet with parents to strengthen their involvement in their children's academic


process.
The findings of this study also can be used to help policy makers and educators
effectively respond to adiverse population of students. It may provide insight to
the school level policy makers whenthey are developing a parental involvement
program that meets the needs of all families involvedin their school and should
also be used to promote academic excellence andlife skills to encourage success
for all students.
1.6 Limitations of the Study
There are many limitations in this study. The limitation is the difficulty to get to
know students of different culturalbackgrounds and to gain their trust and it may
cause problems.Bogdanand Biklen (2003) mention, for example, different rules
with regard to human communications and interactions in diverse cultures. For
instance,in some cultures it is inappropriate to express oneself about
personalmatters or opinions with irrelevant people. Therefore, it can be a
goodthing to have a contact who can introduce the participants to theresearcher.
Lastly, the size of the population sample is limited. Fifth, it islikely that the
sample population was not a representative sample and some students did not
complete certain sections of the survey.

1.7 Scope of the Study


First, the study uses theoretical approaches of relations of parental involvement
and their impact on children academic achievements in Kedah district. I only
focus on the relationship of the parental involvement in a rural district and I do
not deeply explore the similarities and differences with any typical studies.
This study is a correlation study of parental involvement and students
academic achievement in academic English. However, this study is limited to
childrens academic achievement in the upper secondary school level. The scope
of the study is investigated based only on academic achievement in English
language. Secondly, only the parental involvement as follows socio economic
status, parental encouragement, culture and ethnicity are the variables that

looking into. To include other components would be really ambitious and time
eating up. Lastly, the students is only from three cultural groups and from a rural
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan are used for this work.

1.8Definitions of terms
1.8.1 Parental Involvement
Parental involvement is the most important element in childrens life and
growth. Researchers show that parents have heavy impact on children (Hart &
Risley 1995; Peechia 2002; Vacca 2008). Parental involvement in the form of 'athome good parenting' has a significant positive effect on children's achievement
and adjustment even after all other factors shaping attainment have been taken
out of the equation. So, what they take from their parents in the first couple
years of their lives will impact children for the remainder of their lives.
Substance, if their parents carry an honest position in understanding them also
be proficient at academic achievement too.

1.8.2 Academic Achievement


Academic achievement refers student performance on state assessments
Cunningham (2003). However the propose study; overall will be measure of
academic achievement used. This term is used interchangeably with student
achievement. Student achievement is the act of achieving or in another word the
accomplishments as a result gained by great effort. In the context of academic it
basically based on the quantity and quality of students work. More than that, it
is one form of acquirement by a person or students with relates to a skill of mind
or body usually resulting from continuingendeavors. (Merriam Webster)
1.8.3 Rural School
Rural school, which is often used by ruralresearchers is the one that was
introduced by Johnson and Strange(2005).According to Johnson and Strange,
rural school is the school, which is located in a place inside or outside
themetropolitan area and has the population of less that 2,500 people.Herzog
and Pittman (1995), for instance, simply define rural as an area whichis not (part
of) a city (or non-metropolitan area). Whereas, Farmer(1997) offers a more
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abstract concept stating that rural is theopposite of urban. If urban is occupied


by a large number ofinhabitants, so rural is a place with a small number of
residents and the areas with populations less than 10,000 people having
agriculture and natural resources in which its population either clustered, linear
or scattered. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
define rural based on density. A locality is considered rural if the population
density is less than 150 people per square kilometer.

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction
This chapter deals with the review of study literature on many factors that
impact the academic achievement in English. It will also focus on the influence of
parental involvement in rural areas in Kedah. Moreover, this chapter will reveal
theories approach that helps the researcher to find information and enhances the
understanding of the study. All the literature review will support the findings by
researcher. This chapter will acquire a conceptual framework that used in this
study.

2.1 Definitions of Parental Involvement

Conflicting definitions exist for parental involvement. One suggested definition


refers to parental involvement as participation in one or more school-related
activities. For example: volunteering at school, participating in parent-teacher
conferences, homework help, etc. (Balli, Wedman, & Demo, 1997). This definition
seems inadequate, suggesting that parents arent involved with their children in
more ways than school. The No Child Left Behind Act, which defines parental
involvement in education as the participation of parents in regular, two-way and
meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school
activities (107th Congress, 2002). Epstien (1991), defines parental involvement
as families and communities who take an active role in creating a caring
educational environment.More broadly, parental involvement in education has
been defined as parents' interactions with schools and with their children to
promote academic success (Hill et al., 2004).
Parental involvement, parents academic achievements and behaviors, parental
beliefs and family socioeconomic status (SES) are frequently mentioned as
parental factors related to childrens achievement (Arnold, Zeljo, Doctoroff, &
Ortiz, 2008; Baker, Serpell, & Sonnenschein, 1995; Begum, 2007; Considine &
Zappala, 2002). Family SES is also associated with parents education and family
income (Arnold, et al., 2008). Family socio economic status influences childrens
academic achievement (Begum, 2007), and SES was positively related to
parents involvement (Arnold, et al., 2008; De Baryshe, 1992).
The term academic achievement is conceptualized as academic competence
andis defined as an individuals complete performance in school (Dweck & Elliott,
1983).It also refers to belief in ones abilities and is mediated by self-efficacy
(Bandura, 1997).For example, academic, business, or athletic abilities with
higher beliefs of self-efficacyproduce better outcomes than those with lowerefficacy. Many researchers studied the correlation between parental involvement
and the student achievements, and parental involvement have been suggested
to have an impact on their childrens academic achievements. This common
sense notion was proven by prior research and has been confirmed in numerous
studies overmultiple decades(Carpenter, 2008, p.165)

2.2

Parental Involvement and Language Learning

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Parental involvement, parents reading attitudes and parental beliefs are


frequently mentioned as parental factors related to childrens language learning
(e.g. Arnold, Zeljo, Doctoroff, & Ortiz, 2008). Children with parents who
demonstrate a highly positive attitude toward reading and who read to their
children generally profit from instruction when they begin learning to read and
also enjoy considerable success (Durkin, 1966; McCormack, 1977).
2.3The Role of Socio economic status in Parental Involvement
Family SES is also associated with parents education and family income (Arnold,
et al., 2008).Family SES influences childrens learning achievement (Begum,
2007) and SES was positively related to parents involvement (Arnold, et al.,
2008; DeBaryshe, 1992).A number of studies have noted the importance of the
parents socioeconomic status (i.e., parents education level, occupation status,
income and their household income) as important indicators of parental
involvement that leads to academic success of a child. For example,Lueptow
(1975) in his study found that students who achieve high performance in
education atschool were from urban areas, who had educated parents with a
higher occupation status and ahigher income home. Consistent to Lueptow
(1975), Katsilis & Rubinsons (1990) and Ho SuiChu& Willmss (1996) study
indicated that the parents socioeconomic status has a significantand positive
relationship with parents involvement in their childs education. These
studiesfound that the parents from higher socioeconomic status exert greater
parental involvement intheir childs education.

2.4.

Theoretical Framework

This study explores the nature of parental involvement and its consequences
within the context of Epsteins conceptual model and Cultural Capital Theory.
Parental Involvement in their childrens education has become widely recognized
as a predictor of positive academic achievement (Barwegen, Falciani, Putnam,
Reamer, & Stair, 2004;Wentworth, 2006), a valuable tool for increasing the
probability of improving children academic success (Christenson & Carlson,
2005; Hill, Castellino, Lansford, Nowlin, Dodge,Bates, & Petit, 2004), and a
construct controlled to influence by intervention (Cox, 2005). As theparental
involvement research has evolved, it has also become clear to most researchers
thatparental involvement is a multidimensional rather than homogeneous
construct (Fishel &Ramirez, 2005; Kelley-Laine, 1998; Kim, 2002; Park, 2008).
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The Epsteins parental involvement framework is by far the most


referenced, tested, andwidely-accepted conceptual model of parental
involvement (e.g. Barnard, 2004; Fishel &Ramirez, 2005; Hoover-Dempsey &
Sandler, 1995; Hutchins, Greenfeld, & Epstein 2007;McBride, Bae, & Wright
2002). The six sub-constructs are (1) Parenting, (2) Communicating, (3)
Volunteering, (4) Learning at Home, (5)Decision-Making, and (6) Collaborating
with the Community. But in this study, researcher only used four sub-constructs.
Parenting refers to parentsactions that foster the childrens learning and
cognitive development, not necessarily tied toschool. Communicating covers all
home-to-school communication regarding childrens academicdevelopment and
other academically relevant information. Learning at Home is more schoolworkspecific than Parenting (construct one). Itinvolves assisting with homework,
encouraging hard work in school, and emotionally supportingthe child in her/his
academic challenges. Decision-making reflects how much parents advocatefor
their childrens interests and influence the school environment (Epstein, 1992).
Academic achievements seem to derive from perceptions acquired from peoples
academic history and experience Guthrie & Greaney (1991). Day, Richard and
Bamford (1998), indicate that a learners experience of academic in the first
language influences the learners attitude to academic in all languages.
Furthermore, it seems that cultural beliefs are another cradle for the incubation
of negative or positive attitudes towards academic (McKenna et al. 1995). A
culture where academic is viewed in a negative light by people whose approval a
learner seeks, may not encourage positive academic achievements. This
statement emphasizes the role of teachers, parents and communities in the
development of positive academic achievements. Parents, teachers and
communities play a significant role in the mentoring and modelling of the culture
of academic, as each group serves as a vital part in the multilateral nature of
influence on a child (McKenna 2001).

2.4.1

Cultural Capital Theory

Cultural capital theory, developed by Bourdieu, and applied to elementary


schools by Lee and Bowens, provides a theory for predicting how parents are
involved in childrens basic education. Specifically, it predicts that parents with
greater cultural capital will be more involved,and that involvement will be more
efficacious in helping their children succeed.

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Cultural capital for parents related to the educational system exists in three
forms: personality, attitudes, and knowledge gained from experience;
connections to education-related objects (e.g., books, computers, academic
qualifications), and connections to education-related institutions (e.g., schools,
universities, libraries) (Grenfell & James, 1998; Robbins, 2000). Because cultural
capital involves a collection of cultural dispositions (Brubaker, 2004, p. 41), it
may be difficult to distinguish it from habit (Robbins, 2000). However, the habit
can be thought of as a characteristic (or set of characteristics) pertaining to an
individual. Although cultural capital is possessed by an individual or a family, it is
more a function of the concordance of the educational aspects of the familys
habit with the values and practices of the educational system with which the
family interacts.

2.4.2 Ecological System Theory


Bronfenbrenner (2005), developed the ecological systems theory to
explain how everything from a child and the child's environment affects how a
child grows and develops. He believed environment will affect human
development in the future. The contrasting environment that influences
children's development, including the microsystem, the mesosystem, the
ecosystem, and the macrosystem has been tagged by him.
Microsystem were the first stage in the theory. This stage is the closest
level of human and it was contact closely and the immediate environment in
child life. A microsystem included family, friends and adults around us. These
kinship reactions of the people in your microsystem will affect how they treat you
in return. This is the most influential level of the ecological systems theory.
The next level of ecological systems theory is the mesosystem. The
system was compatible interactions between the different parts of a person's
microsystem. The mesosystem is where a person's individual microsystems do
not function independently, but are interconnected and assert influence upon
one another. These interactions have an indirect impact on the individual.
The next stage is exosystem which refers to a setting that does not involve
the person as an active participant, but still affects them indirectly. The decision
that made by another person such as parents relatedness on the person even
the child have no engagement in the decision making process.
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The fourth level of ecological system theory is the macrosystem.This


theory embraces the cultural environment in which the person lives and all other
systems that effect them. This effect can be either a positive or a negative effect
on person development.

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EPSTEINS

CULTURAL CAPITAL
THEORY
(Bourdieu, 1977a,
p.494)

COLLABORATING WITH COMMUNITY

6 TYPES OF
INVOLVEME
NT

DECISION MAKING

LEARNINGATOME

VOLUNTERRING

ECOLOGICAL

COMMUNICATING

SYSTEM THEORY
Bronfenbrenner
(2005)

PARRENTING

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Figure
2.1 The
Theoretical
THE ROLES
OF PARENTAL

Parents involvement may or should also be viewed from many aspects.


Environmental, social and economic factors are very important on students
performance. Taking socio economic statusas an example, parents in
economically disadvantage families will face particular difficulties when
attempting to participate in their childrens education. As an example, parents
with low-wage jobs, face losing their jobs if they take time off work to attend
meetings or functions in school. Parents in low-paying jobs often must work long
hours to earn enough to support their families. Also, parents who are not welleducated themselves may find it difficult to help their children with their
homework (Brough & Irvin, 2001)

2.5The Conceptual Framework

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
ESL
ACADEMIC
ACHIEVEMENT

HOME
ENVIRONMENT

LANGUAGE
CULTURE
LEARNING

HELP
WITH
STUDIES

HOMEWORK
HOME TUITION
OUTSIDE TUTION
LIBRARY ETC.

Figure 2.2 The Conceptual Framework Study

Mathewsons academic achievement model brings in prevailing feelings


about academic, action readiness for academic and evaluative beliefs about
academic as component factors in the academic achievements. Emotional
states and external motivators also influence ones intention to read. This model

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brings about some balance in ones understanding, in the exploration of


academic achievements.
The conceptual framework in Figure. 2.1 is a

model that reflects the

interrelationship between the two variables in the study. According to the model
(Fig. 2.1) the independent variable (i.e. parental involvement) is conceptualized
in terms of family background which are assumed to affect students academic
performance (dependent variable). The framework further reflects that there are
other factors referred to as intervening variables which are assumed the
moderate the relationship between the independent and the dependent variable.

In the model, rural area is placed at the top. The affecting factors are the
parental involvement, socio economic status, parental encouragement, student
attitude and accessibility of academic materials. In academic, the self-system
plays the most important role because as it acts as a motivation for the reader to
read. Position towards the object language is also a deciding factor to get a
academic achievement. Parental involvements are vital as they influence the
attitude and academic achievements of students towards the target language.

2.5 Conclusion
It comes out that findings among the local and foreign researchers tell us
that parental involvement, such as socio economic status and parental
encouragement are all important in developing the academic achievement of
successful students. Thus, this survey seeks to replicate previous studies and
essay to confirm if there is a substantial relationship between the parental
involvement and the academic achievement of rural secondary school students.

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