FELIX PETER UMEANAThe issue of parental involvement in children's education is of great importance to policy and decision makers about educational practices. I investigated the influence of parental involvement on the academic performance of secondary school students in Lagos state and Oyo state, Ibadan, Nigeria. The research method used was qualitative field methods, including open-ended, semi-structured face –to-face, responsive interviews for students, teachers, principals, and parents, focus-group interviews, and observations of family interactions. A questionnaire was also used, but in a limited way in my data presentation, because of the insufficient number of responses I received from the participants.The findings in the data presentation of my research project show that the parents who were interviewed and compared to each other were involved in parenting, followed by communication, and then by assisting learning at home. Both the home and the school have a great responsibility to help the adolescent develop a stable character that will yield positive educational outcomes. My literature studies show that a separated home has a negative psychological effect on the emotional stability and intellectual development of the child; and this affects the academic performance of the child. The outcome of my study also reveals that the importance of community and family participation to academic achievement cannot be over emphasized.Two important facts that support parental engagement within the national characteristics of Nigeria are as follow: first, most parents are primarily interested in activities that involve their children, and they also want to be helpful in classroom activities; still others are more interested in school programs and practices. Second, in the African setting, and in Nigeria precisely, extended family structure is a very strong component of parenting.The literature review on the importance of studying parental involvement in the Nigerian context highlights that stress, being a part of our everyday life, thus affects the learning process in Nigeria. This is because the educational environment in which Nigerian students study is highly stressful due to the incessant strikes in the educational system. This means that the socio-cultural contexts of the learning environment in which students grow up and their psychological development are contributing factors that determine student success or failure, both at home and at school. In addition, consistent with past literature, my study affirms that parents' own experiences also affect parents' school involvement, both at home and at school.These findings suggest the need for the Ministry of Education to organize constant conferences for stakeholders (principals and representatives of Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) in schools, in order to understand areas where parents can be involved in school management to their mutual advantage.The results of the study contribute to a better understanding of useful practices that can support educational achievement in Nigeria, and that might be supportive of educational achievement in other countries of Africa, such as Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia. As a project in the Nigerian cultural context, the study contributes to a better understanding of scholarship in a creative and scholarly manner. Keywords: Parental involvement, school, home, homework, and educational barriers.
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