Parental Involvement in Basic Education: Principals’ Experiences and Perspectives

Involving parents is vital for a child's academic progress. In institutional schools, parental involvement is essential for improving children' overall development and their academic achievement. Students and the school community benefited from a supportive learning environment that arises when parents and school leadership, especially principals, collaborate properly. The present study examined a range of management strategies that might be used as guidelines to enhance parental involvement in Nepali institutional schools. The theoretical basis for this study originated from Epstein's typology of parental involvement and her theory of overlapping spheres. This study was carried out using a qualitative research strategy, which enabled the researcher to interview four principals of institutional schools of Gorkha district in rural Nepal. The majority of institutional schools, in accordance to the study, acknowledge the value of parental involvement but do not have formal frameworks for putting it into practice. Present study showed that improved parental involvement in institutional schools enhances student achievement, parental motivation and school satisfaction while strengthening school-home collaboration. The major barriers to parental involvement in institutional schools include busy schedules of parents, lack of communication between school and parents, low awareness about parenting, socio-economic constraints, and school policies. According to the findings, Nepal's institutional schools should design, manage, and carry out a parental involvement program that takes consideration the unique requirements of each institution.