Investigating positive parenting on the academic achievement of pre primary school children in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Parenting style, parental engagement and socioeconomic status greatly affect the children’s physical, mental and educational development at the pre-primary level and influence their achievements in the long run both academically and professionally. Parents' concern on the academic performance of their children is highly intense these days, especially in a metropolitan city like Dhaka, Bangladesh which may have detrimental impact on the development of the children of pre-primary level. This research aims to explore parental engagement and how it may influence the academic performance of the children studying in pre-primary schools. The study used in-depth interviews (IDIs) of six parents of pre-primary school children and evaluation scores/grades sheets for data collection and analysis of results was done from the audio recordings. The parents were grouped into poor and excellent performance of the children and the impacts of the parenting style and engagement was compared between the groups. The findings suggest that regular participation of parents with children through activities and educational practices during meal, study, play and bedtime affects positively in their academic achievements. Moreover, children with excellent academic performance were found to have parents with full time employment and practicing intrinsic motivational approaches with the children.