A correlational analysis of parental involvement in students’ learning and school performance in high-performing public secondary schools in Tanzania

The impact of parental involvement on students’ learning is known worldwide but it is not as clear how this involvement relates to students’ academic achievement in high achieving public schools. This study examined how students’ performance in Tanzania’s top-performing public secondary schools is associated with parents’ involvement in students’ learning. A blended approach that combines both quantitative and qualitative data was used together with a convergent research design. 230 parents and 5 heads of school were involved in this study. Questionnaires, interviews, and document reviews were used to gather data. Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient was used to assess the quantitative data, while a thematic analysis was used to examine the qualitative data. Overall, the findings showed a strong positive relationship between students’ performance and their parents’ involvement in their education (r = 0.639, p < 0.01). The intercorrelation matrix indicated a significant, strong as well as low correlation between the tested variables and students’ performance. Qualitative results indicated that parents rarely supervise students’ homework and attend at school meetings but rather parents motivate students and teachers, attend students’ basic needs and other related school events and programmes. Policy makers and educational practitioners should actively promote the creation of Parent–Teacher Associations and stress the importance of parents’-based decisions so as to make better use of community resources to support students’ learning.