PARENTING STYLES AS CORRELATE OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated parenting styles as correlates of academic achievement of senior secondary school students in Anambra State. Four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. The correlational research design was adopted for the study. The sample of the study consisted of 952 SS2 students. The instrument used for data collection was the Parenting Style Questionnaire (PSQ) adapted from Kimble (2009) and Shyny (2017). The instrument was validated by three experts in the Faculty of Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Awka. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained using Cronbach Alpha which yielded an alpha coefficient of 0.81. Data were collected by administering the instruments with the aid of five research assistants. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to answer the research questions while the t-test at 0.05 level of significance was used for testing the research hypotheses. The findings revealed a positive relationship between authoritative parenting style and student’s academic achievement. It also revealed a negative relationship between authoritarian, permissive and uninvolved parenting styles and student’s academic achievement respectively. The researcher recommended among others that seminars and other awareness creation activities to be organized for parents, teachers, counsellors and other stakeholders should focus among other things topics on the different parenting styles to highlight their importance for student’s academic achievement.