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PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT, FAMILY BACKGROUND, AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS: A STUDY OF URBAN LAGOS.
ABSTRACT
Parental involvement and family background are widely recognized as powerful determinants of student academic achievement. In the context of urban Lagos Nigeria’s most populous and economically dynamic metropolis, the dynamics of parental engagement take on distinctive dimensions shaped by socio-economic stratification, rapid urbanization, occupational demands, and cultural norms. The study employs a mixed-methods design and has implications for educators, school administrators, policymakers, and families in urban Nigeria.
Keywords: parental involvement, family background, academic achievement, secondary schools, urban Lagos, socio-economic status, school-family partnership.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The achievement in academics is a multifactorial process that is formed by a complex of both in-school and out-of-school factors. One of the most steadily recorded of such variables is that of parents and home setting. Ever since the work of Epstein (1995) and the ensuing substantial body of research in the education psychology and educational sociology, it is strongly and positively correlated with the academic achievement of the student, at all levels of school enrolment.
This trend has been validated in the Nigerian setting, and unique obstacles that limit parental involvement have been established. Anggwaomaodoko (2025) carried out a study at Lagos Educational District III to identify the effects of parental involvement intervention and discovered that mathematical performance and self-efficacy of students in mathematical subjects were significantly enhanced. On the same note, a 2024 study in the Journal of Quality in Education by Soji-Oni, which investigated schools in Surulere, Mainland, and Apapa in Lagos, revealed that the connexion with parents was a major factor in school management and student result. These results are not unique, as the previous studies, where Yahya, Khadijah, and Adekunle (2022) recorded, show that parents in Nigeria, especially the lower socio-economic groups, often feel out of touch with the schools of their children, which makes effective engagement challenging.
A very interesting location to research such dynamics is the Lagos State. Being the economic and most urbanised place in Nigeria, Lagos provides a complicated socio-economic environment in which the extreme wealth and abject poverty are located in close geographical areas. The population of the city is incredibly diverse, in the terms of family income, parents education level, occupation, and culture, in the secondary schools. A 2024 study of Alimosho Local Government Area in Lagos State, which is published in the journal Evaluation Studies in Social Sciences, showed that the parental socio-economic status did not play a significant role in influencing the academic performance of students in all scenarios, which highlights why such a situation necessitates a context-specific analysis instead of a generalised assessment of the impact of family background.
Although the research on parental involvement is increasingly popular, the Lagos urban secondary school setting is under-researched compared to the rural and primary-level schools. This research paper fills that gap by giving a systematic, empirical analysis of the relationship between parental involvement and family background variables like parental educational attainment and occupation and household socio-economic status in determining the academic paths of secondary school students in Lagos urban centre.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
There is a pattern of lack of parental engagement in the Nigerian schools. At the national level, research revealed that Nigerian parents seldom cheque the schoolwork of their children and rarely volunteer in the school work (Angwaomaodoko, 2023; Akindipe, 2015). A recent study by K.A.S. (2023), which was mentioned in the most recent literature, revealed that socioeconomic and cultural factors often lead to low parental presence in the urban schools of Nigeria, and many parents do not know how their participation can positively affect the performance of their children. This lack of parental involvement has a practical impact: according to research by Gottfried and Freeman (2023), teacher-parent communication results in higher academic achievement, and a lack of this communication results in learning shortcomings.
The issue is also enhanced by plurality of family backgrounds in Lagos city. Though parents with higher education levels are less likely to be proactive in the education of their children, which is proven by Chan et al. (2022), many parents living in Lagos have low levels of formal education and low income, which limits their ability to engage proactively in the school. Adeyeye (2024) established that socio-economic status and parental education level played a significant role in determining the level of involvement with parents in the lower income bracket being affected by financial limitations, lack of literacy, and marginalisation in society.
More so, even when a positive and significant correlation between involvement of the parental role and the academic performance has already been established in the context of Lagos like the study by Yahya, Khadijah, and Adekunle (2022) on the Islamic Studies students in secondary schools and the research by Odeyemi on the performance of science students in Mushin LGA, the mechanisms by which the family background mediates the relationship between parental involvement and academic performance have not been well reported in the urban setting of the secondary school in Lagos. The deficiency of studies, which jointly evaluate the variables of home-based parental involvement, school-based parental engagement, and family background such as parental education, occupation, and household income and their interaction factors with the academic achievement is notable. This paper fulfils such a gap.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The broad objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between parental involvement, family background, and academic achievement among secondary school students in urban Lagos. The specific objectives are to:
i. Examine the nature and extent of parental involvement in the academic activities of secondary school students in urban Lagos.
ii. Assess the influence of family background variables including parental education, occupation, and household income on students’ academic achievement.
iii. Investigate the relationship between home-based parental involvement and academic performance of secondary school students.
iv. Determine the relationship between school-based parental engagement and academic achievement.
v. Identify the barriers that constrain parental involvement in secondary schools in urban Lagos and propose strategies for improving school-family partnerships.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions guide the study:
- What is the nature and extent of parental involvement in the academic activities of secondary school students in urban Lagos?
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What is the relationship between family background variables and the academic achievement of secondary school students in urban Lagos?
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Is there a significant relationship between home-based parental involvement and the academic performance of secondary school students in urban Lagos?
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Is there a significant relationship between school-based parental engagement and academic achievement of secondary school students in urban Lagos?
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What barriers constrain parental involvement in secondary schools in urban Lagos, and what strategies can enhance school-family partnerships?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
H01: There is no significant relationship between parental educational attainment and the academic achievement of secondary school students in urban Lagos.
H02: There is no significant relationship between home-based parental involvement and academic performance of secondary school students in urban Lagos.
H03: There is no significant difference in academic achievement between students from high-income family backgrounds and those from low-income family backgrounds in urban Lagos secondary schools.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This research is important to various players within the educational ecosystem of Nigeria. To the school administrators and teachers, the results will provide practical information on how schools can develop structures that would proactively attract parents in the learning process especially in the heterogeneous urban setting of Lagos. The 2024 article by Soji-Oni determined that parental involvement based on active participation was a significant factor to the school administration outcomes in Lagos, and thus, school-based efforts to support parental involvement may produce systemic changes.
To the policymakers in the Lagos State Ministry of Education and the Federal Ministry of Education, which are the two ministries, the study provides some evidence to guide the formulation of parental engagement policies and programmes. Since the Leave-No-Child-Behind Policy in Lagos State has already shown the effect on its enrollment rates ( Evaluation Studies in Social Sciences, 2024), the policies aimed at enhancing the quality of family educational activity would only positively influence the learning results.
To parents and families, the research supplies them with a research-based insight into how their participation is significant and what types of participation have the most significant implications on the success of their children. The paper is also a part of the scholarly literature on the education phenomena in the urban sub-Saharan Africa, which is relatively little studied compared to rural educational environments.
1.7 Scope and Delimitations
The sample size of this study is limited to secondary school pupils in randomly selected local governments in urban Lagos which cut across several educational districts. The targeted students are junior and senior secondary school students, with interest put on academic performance as reflected by the school-based tests, and the national examination scores. The research is conducted in three main areas, namely home based activities, school based engagement, and home school communication, as is the case with the framework used by Angwaomaodoko (2023).
Parental education level, household income and parental occupation are used to operationalize family background. The study does not extend to pre-primary or tertiary levels and does not cover private or international schools whose parent populations may not be representative of the broader urban Lagos secondary school population.
1.9 Definition of Key Terms
Parental Involvement: The active participation of parents or guardians in their children’s educational activities, including home-based support, school-based engagement, and communication with teachers and school management.
Family Background: The collective socio-economic, cultural, and educational characteristics of a student’s household, including parental educational attainment, household income, and parental occupation.
Academic Achievement: The measurable performance of students in academic subjects, as assessed through examinations, continuous assessment scores, and standardized tests.
Secondary Schools: Educational institutions providing instruction to students in JSS 1 through SSS 3, typically serving students aged 11 to 18.
Urban Lagos: The metropolitan area of Lagos State, Nigeria, comprising high-density local government areas including Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, Mushin, Surulere, Alimosho, and Eti-Osa, among others.
References
Adeyeye, E. T. (2024). Investigating the influence of parental involvement on students’ mathematics achievement in secondary schools in Ogbomoso. Nigerian Online Journal of Educational Sciences and Technology, 6(1), 44–59.
Akindipe, T. (2015). Parental involvement and math achievement motivation among Nigerian elementary school students. International Journal of Education and Psychology in the Community, 5(1–2), 57–82.
Angwaomaodoko, E. A. (2023). Parental involvement and academic achievement of learners in Ibadan metropolis: A literature review and quantitative empirical analysis. Macrothink Institute Global Journal of Educational Studies, 9(1), 1–25.
Angwaomaodoko, E. A. (2025). Parental involvement intervention: Effect on students’ self-efficacy and math achievement among a Nigerian sample. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1589069. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1589069
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Yahya, A., Khadijah, I., & Adekunle, O. (2022). Influence of parental support and achievement motivation on academic performance of secondary school Islamic Studies students in Lagos State. Journal of Applied Science, Engineering, Technology, and Education, 4(2), 236–245.