Parental Involvement, Academic Motivation, and Academic Achievement among Secondary School Students: A Correlational Study

Abstract

Parental involvement is widely regarded as an important influence on students' learning, yet the mechanisms through which it operates at the secondary level are not fully understood. This study examined the relationships among parental involvement, academic motivation, and academic achievement among secondary school students in Kerala, India, and assessed the extent to which parental involvement and motivation jointly predict achievement. A descriptive correlational design was employed with a sample of 320 ninth- and tenth-grade students selected through stratified random sampling from eight secondary schools. Parental involvement was measured with a validated multidimensional scale, academic motivation with an established motivation inventory, and achievement was indexed by students' aggregate marks in the most recent term examination. Data were analysed using Pearson product-moment correlation and multiple linear regression. Results revealed significant positive correlations between parental involvement and achievement, between academic motivation and achievement, and between parental involvement and motivation. Multiple regression indicated that parental involvement and academic motivation together explained a substantial proportion of the variance in achievement, with motivation emerging as the stronger predictor. The findings suggest that parental involvement supports achievement partly by fostering students' academic motivation. The study recommends structured school-family partnership programmes and motivational support strategies, and discusses implications for teachers, parents, school leaders, and education policy in the Indian context.