Socio-Economic Status(SES)

SES refers to an individual's or family's social and economic standing in society, which is often
measured by factors such as income, education, and occupation. According to the American
Psychological Association's Task Force on Socioeconomic Status, SES is "the social standing or
class of an individual or group, often measured as a combination of education, income, and
occupation"
A family’s socioeconomic status (SES) describes their level of access to and control over
economic and social resources relative to that of other families. Family SES has been recognized
as an important determinant of children’s educational opportunities and outcomes, but less is
known about the stability of the influence of family SES on children’s school performance over
longerhistorical periods Family SES captures a multitude of factors that interact to shape
children’s neurocognitive development through synergistic biological pathways, although it is
typically operationalized by parents’ educational attainment, occupation, and income status. A
family’s SES represents their economic capital, for example, their access to good nutrition, high
quality housing, and safe transport; their cultural capital, including the competencies, skills,
values, and aspirations that the family holds; and their social capital, which refers to a family’s
network
of personal and professional relationships.
These characteristics of family SES are embedded within a wider ecological framework that
spansamong other thingsthe neighborhood, local labor markets, and the quality of nearby
schoolsThe influence of family SES on their offspring’s education emerges from children’s
experiences within the family home and the conditions that inform their wider environment. For
example, high SES parents have been found to talk on average more often with their children,
using larger and more complex vocabularies, and referring to more abstract concepts than parents
of lower SES. In turn, children from high SES families develop greater verbal ability
themselvesand become more familiar with the language patterns and linguistic codes that prevail
in formal educational settings and that are expected by teachers than low SES children. The
language environment that children experience is only one of many pathways through which
family background exerts its pervasive influence on child development. Yet, it exemplifies how
children become differently equipped to meet the demands of formal education and to maximize
its learning opportunities depending on their family’sSES.
[Link] Involvement

Parental involvement is a critical phenotypic factor that influences student’s motivation and
engagement with parents playing a vital rolein supporting student learning (Henderson & Mapp
2017). Parental involvement encompasses various dimensions including parental expectations,
parentteacher relationships, parental engagement. Students whose parent are actively involved
in their education perform better academically. This is due to various factors including parental
expectations, social supports and access to resources.
Parental expectation iscritical aspect of parental involvement. Parents who have high
expectations for their children’sacademic achievement are more likely to
•Encourage their children to pursue higher education
•Provide access to resources and opportunities
•Engage in Parent-Teacher Conferences
•Support homework and learning activities.
Parent-Teacher relationship are another critical aspect of parental involvement with positive
relationships between parents and teachers supporting student learning (Mapp 2017). This aspect
of parental involvement is characterized by open communication, trust, collaboration and shared
expectation. Another aspect of parental involvement is parental engagement. When parents are
engaged in their children’slearning, they are more likely to support academic achievement
(Henderson & Mapp, 2017). Parental engagement in student learning involves
•Helping with homework
•Volunteering in the classroom
•Participating in school activities.
The family plays a big role in the learning ability of the child. Some of these could facilitate
or inhibit the child’s learning abilities. Parents who provide the necessary educational resources
for their children encourage and motivates such children to learn. Such resources like school bag,
books, school fees, school uniform to mention but few should be provided to learner for positive
learning. Socioeconomic status of the child’s parents has a significant effect on his/her learning.
It also affects the child’s attitude towards his perception of the school. The parent’s status affects
the child’s diet, his general care and the type of education the child receives. The parent’s
income affects the child’s performance and also his acquiring higher education (Salawu, 2010;
Nnachi, 2013). The number of siblings is also a social determinant to the quality of learning and
teaching a child gets. A child who has ten other siblings and the parents are of low-income
earners, will have difficulty in his education, level of medical care and general welfare will be
affected (Nnachi, 2013).

Learning Environment and Educational Resources.

The provision of an enabling and conducive learning environment and resources by the school
for the teacher is a necessary condition to facilitate the teaching and learning process. The learning
environment is a combination of the physical, psychological, emotional condition and social or
cultural conditions that pervade all-natural surroundings in which the teaching and learning take
place.
Learning environment includes physical facilities in different dimensions to enable teaching
and learning take place. Educational resources are those facilities in the school environment that
enhances learning which include size and shape of the classroom, provision for ventilation,
lighting, location of the school and learning facilities. (Ehiemere, 2023)
•Size and shape of the classroom: Size and shape of the classroom may facilitate or hinder
learning
in the classroom. Chairs and tables should be arranged in such manner as to allow for free
movement in the classroom without hindrance. In the term of spatial requirement, the available
space for the teaching-learning must be enough to meet up with variety of activities and spaces set
aside for use by individuals and groups(Olamuyiwa, 2002).
•Provision of ventilation: There should be adequate ventilation in the classroom the windows and
doors should be adequately fixed as to allow for free flow of air in the [Link] quantity and
quality of air must be that which add some freshness into the classroom. The thermal condition of
the classroom or facility must be conducive to allow effective teaching and [Link]
temperature and flow of air must be regulated through proper ventilation either by mechanical or
natural means(Olamuyiwa, 2022).
•Lighting: The classroom should be well lit. Enough light should be installed in the classroom so
that learner will be able to see and write. The absence of light could jeopardize learning especially
when the learner could not see well.
•Location of the school: The school should be located in an atmosphere of serenity. It should be in
an environment that guarantees learning. The place where the school is situated can also influence
pupils learning. If the school is located near the market place or a garage for instance, the noise
from these places can hinder effective learning as it distracts pupils’ learning to what is going on
in these [Link] from distraction, some pupils may also fall in love with the activities carried
out in these places that they begin to absent themselves from schoolso as to go to these places and
this will definitely hinder effective learning. Hover, if a school is situated in a quiet place, the
students will not be distracted in any form and this will stimulate their learning (Ashikia O.A
2008).
•Learning facilities: There should be learning facilities such as science laboratories, libraries,
recreation facilities, sporting facilities, clinics, hygienic hostels with facilities to mention but a few
for the child to learn very well (Ehiemere, 2023). These facilities are the most basic requirements
that should be adequately put in place for the use of the teacher to transmit knowledge and allow
for activities for the learners. The nature of these facilities in schools can affect learning. For
instance, it has been established that when pupils learn under conducive school environment with
good benches and desks, less crowdy classroom along with modern learning gadgets etc., the learn
better than where these things are available (Komolafe A. 2013)

Familysocio-economicstatusandchildren’s
academicachievement:Thedifferentrolesof
parentalacademicinvolvementandsubjective
socialmobility
FengZhang,YingJiang,HuaMing,YiRen,LeiWangandSilinHuang*
InstituteofDevelopmentalPsychology,FacultyofPsychology,BeijingNormal
University,China
[Link](SES)isusuallyassocatedwith
children’spooracademicachievement,butthemechanismsunderlyingthisreationship
arelessunderstood.
[Link]
andthemoderatingroleofparentasubjectivesocialmobilityinthisrelationshipwith
cross-sectionaldata.
Sampleandmethods.Atotalof815fourth-tosixth-gradechdrenwererecruited
[Link](measuredbyparents’education,
parents’occupationandfamiyincome)andparentalsubjectivesocialmobilitywere
obtaineddrectlyfromparents,parentalacademicnvolvementwasreportedbychildren,
andinformationonchildren’sacademicachievementwascolectedfromtheirteachers.
[Link](1)bothfamiySESandparentalacademicinvolvement
werepositivelycorrelatedwithchildren’sChneseandmathachievement,(2)parental
academicinvolvementmediatedtherelationshipsbetweenfamilySESandchildren’s
Chineseandmathachievement,and(3)parentalsubjectivesociamobiitymoderatedthe
[Link]’sChinese
andmathachievementshowedthattheassociationbetweenfamilySESandparental
academicinvolvementwasweakamongchildren’sparentswhoreportedhighevelsof
subjectivesocialmobility.
[Link]
children’sacademicachevementthroughparentaacademicinvolvementandthatthis
pathwayisdependentonthelevelofparentalsubjectivesocialmobility.
Differencesinchildren’sacademicachievementduetofamilysocio-economicstatus(SES)
[Link],childrenfromlowSESfamiliesexhibitpoor
academicoutcomesthandotheirmoreaffluentcounterparts(Bradley&Corwyn,2002;
Kim,Cho,&Kim,2019;Liu,Peng,&Luo,2020;Sirin,2005;White,1982).ThisSES
inequalityinchildren’sacademicoutcomesislinkedbyoneimportantaspectoffamily
practices,thatis,parentalinvolvementbehaviours(Conger,Conger,&Martin,2010).
However,thecorrelationamongfamilySES,parentalacademicinvolvement,and
academicachievementhasbeenpredominatelyexaminedinEuropeanandAmerican
countries(Benner,Boyle,&Sadler,2016;Tazouti&Jarl egan,2019),andthus,thereis
scarceevidencefromothercountriesregardingthisissue(Bornsteinetal.,2012).
Specifically,fewstudieshavebeenconductedtoexaminethemediatingmechanismof
parentalacademicinvolvementwithrespecttotherelationshipbetweenfamilySESand
academicachievementinmainlandChina(forexample,Guoetal.,2018).
InthecontextofChina’scontemporaryeducationsystem(TheNationalCollege
EntranceExamination),attaininghighacademicachievementisakeypathwaytohigh
[Link],children’sacademicachievementextendsbeyondpersonal
[Link],itisfurtherregardedasacollectiveeffortthatrepresentsfamily
honourandreflectstheworthoftheparentsasbasedontheacademicachievementofthe
child(Huntsinger&Jose,2009;Ng,Pomerantz,&Deng,2014).Assuch,comparedwith
Westernparents,Chineseparentsarewellknowntoengagemoreextensivelyintheir
children’seducation(Cheung&Pomerantz,2011)throughmorerigidparentalpractices
viatrainingandgoverning(Chao,1994,2000).
RecentevidencehasdemonstratedthatlowerSESfamiliesarecorrelatedwithlower
parentalacademicinvolvementinChina(Guoetal.,2018;Wang,Deng,&Yang,2016).
Thisis,inpart,becausethelackofresources(e.g.,timeandfinances)thatareassociated
withlowSESfamiliesinevitablypreventsparentsfrombeingmoreinvolvedintheir
children’sacademics(Barg,2019).However,littleisknownastowhysomeChinese
parentsfromlowerSESfamiliesdoengageheavilyintheirchildren’seducation
(Yamamoto,Li,&Liu,2016).Onepossibleexplanationisthatparentalsubjectivesocial
mobilitymaybuffertheadverseeffectsoflowfamilySESonparentalacademic
[Link],arecentstudyhasproposedthatendorsingthesocialmobility
beliefsmaymotivateparentsfromdiversefamilybackgroundstobecomeinvolvedintheir
children’seducation(Ng&Wei,2020).Therefore,thepresentstudyaimstoexaminethe
mediatingroleofparentalacademicinvolvementintherelationshipbetweenfamilySES
andchildren’sacademicachievementaswellasthemoderatingeffectofparental
subjectivesocialmobilityonthisrelationshipinthecontextofChina’seducational
system.
FamilySESandchildren’sacademicachievement
PlacingtremendousemphasisonacademicachievementiscommonintheChinese
culture(Phillipson&Phillipson,2007),particularlybecauseimprovedacademic
achievementisaneffectivewaytopreventtheintergenerationaltransmissionofpoverty
(Behrmanetal.,2017).ChinesefamilieswithlowSEShopethathighacademic
achievementwillchangethefateoftheirchildren,andthusresultinbetterfuturesand
improvedfamilystatus(Chi&Rao,2003;Kim&Fong,2013).However,comparedwith
highSESfamilies,lowSESfamiliesencountermorechallengesandbarriersastheystriveto
enhancetheacademicsuccessofthenextgeneration(Barg,2019;Evans,2004).This
premiseissupportedbysocialcapitaltheory,whichpositsthatthecapital(e.g.,resources
andassets)possessedbylowSESfamiliesisunabletoeffectivelyaddresstheirchildren’s
educationalneeds,thusleadingtotheirchildren’sfailuretoachieveacademicsuccess
(Coleman,1988;Dika&Singh,2002).Assuch,childrenfromlowSESfamiliesmayhave
feweropportunitiestoattainbettereducationalresourcesandhighlevelsofacademic
achievement,arealitythatmayadverselyaffectthemthroughouttheirlives(OECD,
2018).

Overthepastdecades,thepositiveassociationsbetweenfamilySESandacademic
achievementhavebeenmarkedlyhighlighted(Alexander,Entwisle,&Olson,2001;
Blanden&Gregg,2004),andrecentresearchindicatesthattheroleoffamilySESin
predictingacademicperformancehasbeenconsistentlydemonstratedamongpreschool
andelementaryschoolchildren(Hair,Hanson,Wolfe,&Pollak,2015;Hentges,Galla,&
Wang,2019).Therefore,itisgenerallyacceptedthatchildrenfromlowSESfamilieslag
behindtheirmoreadvantagedpeersonavarietyofstandardizedtests(Bradley&Corwyn,
2002;Letourneau,Duffett-Leger,Levac,Watson,&Young-Morris,2013).Moreover,this
gapinacademicachievementduetofamilySESiswidening(Blanden&Gregg,2004).
AlthoughfamilySESisdirectlyrelatedtochildren’sacademicachievement,somemeta
analysisstudieshaveindicatedthatthestrengthofthisrelationshipvariesfromweakto
moderate(Kimetal.,2019;Liuetal.,2020;Sirin,2005;White,1982).Moreover,thereisa
[Link]
researchershavefoundthatfamilySESisnotsignificantlyrelatedtochildren’sreading
achievement([Link],Liu,Mcbride,Wong,&Lo,2016),otherstudieshave
identifiedasignificantbutweakrelationship(Duan,Guan,&Bu,2018;Pong&Hao,
2007).Therefore,toexplaintheinconsistentfindingsinpreviousresearch,itisnecessary
toexaminethemechanismsthroughwhichandunderwhatconditionsfamilySESis
associatedwithchildren’sacademicachievement.
Parentalacademicinvolvementasamediator
Parentalacademicinvolvementreferstoparentalinvolvementintheirchildren’s
educationandschooling,anditisdefinedasparentalparticipationintheirchildren’s
schoolandparentalengagementinworkingwiththeirchildrentobenefittheirchildren’s
educationaloutcomes(Hilletal.,2004;Hill&Taylor,2004).Parentalacademic
involvementincludesaseriesofparentalbehaviours,suchasattendingparentteacher
conferences,schoolactivitiesandeventsanddiscussingschool-relatedtopicswiththeir
children(Grolnick&Slowiaczek,1994).Significantbenefitsofparentalinvolvementin
theirchildren’seducationhavebeenfoundwithrespecttochildren’sadaptationin
kindergarten(Wolf&Mccoy,2017),theiracademicachievementinprimaryschool
(Khajehpour&Ghazvini,2011),juniorandseniorhighschool(Benneretal.,2016),and
evencollege([Link]&Ho,2012).
ThefamilyinvestmentmodelpositsthatahighleveloffamilySESincreasesparental
investmentintheirchildren’sdevelopment,thusimprovingtheacademicachievementof
thesechildren(Conger&Donnellan,2007).Thetypesoffamilyinvestmentinclude
human,social,andculturalcapital(Huston&Bentley,2010),aswellasparental
involvementintheirchildren’seducation(Mcneal,1999;Sohr-Prestonetal.,2013;Wolf&
Mccoy,2017).Thus,basedonthefamilyinvestmentmodel,parentalacademic
involvementmaybeamediatorthatlinksfamilySESandchildren’sacademicachieve
ment.
Moreover,priorevidencehasimpliedamediatingroleofparentalacademic
involvementintherelationshipbetweenfamilySESandchildren’sacademicachieve
[Link],thewellestablishedandpositiveassociationbetweenparental
academicinvolvementandchildren’sacademicachievementhasbeendemonstrated
[Link]
correlationbetweenparentalacademicinvolvementandchildren’sacademicoutcomes
(Driessenetal.,2005;Khajehpour&Ghazvini,2011),butlongitudinalstudieshavealso
demonstratedthelong-lastingeffectsofparentalacademicinvolvementonchildren’s
academicperformance(Benneretal.,2016;Dearing,Kreider,Simpkins,&Weiss,2006).
Additionally,metaanalysisstudieshaveconsistentlyindicatedsignificantandpositive
associationsbetweenparentalacademicinvolvementandchildren’sacademicachieve
ment(Castroetal.,2015;Fan&Chen,2001;Jeynes,2005).Ontheotherhand,previous
studieshaveindicatedthatfamilySESiscorrelatedwithparentalacademicinvolvement.
Forinstance,highfamilyfinancialstrainisrelatedtolessparentalinvolvementin
schoolingforadolescents(Camacho-Thompson,Gillen-O’Neel,Gonzales,&Fuligni,
2016).Incontrast,advantagedfamiliesareabletooffermorecognitiveactivitiesthanare
disadvantagedfamilies(Mistry,Biesanz,Chien,Howes,&Benner,2008).Inaddition,
positivecorrelationsamongfamilySESandparentalparticipationinschoolactivitiesand
academicadvicehavebeenfound(Benneretal.,2016).Whenconsideringthisevidence
together,itisreasonabletohypothesizethatparentalacademicinvolvementmediatesthe
relationshipsbetweenfamilySESandchildren’sacademicachievement.
Themoderatingroleofparentalsubjectivesocialmobility
Anumberofstudieshavesuggestedthesignificantroleofparentalfactorsinshapingthe
associationbetweenfamilySESandfamilyprocesses(Congeretal.,2010;Conger&
Donnellan,2007;Kaplan,Liu,&Kaplan,2001;Mayer,1997).Moreover,arecentstudyhas
reviewedseveralparentalbeliefsthatunderlieparents’learning-relatedpractices(e.g.,
academicinvolvement),andhasdeterminedthatparents’socialmobilitybeliefsmay
motivatetheiracademicinvolvementregardlessoffamilybackgrounds(Ng&Wei,2020).
Assuch,parentalsubjectivesocialmobilitymaybeapotentialmoderatorunderlyingthe
aforementionedmediationalmechanism.
Subjectivesocialmobilityisdefinedasone’ssubjectivebeliefofhisorherabilityto
moveuptoapositionofhighersocialclass(Huangetal.,2017;Kelley&Kelley,2009).In
particular,accordingtopreviousresearchers(Mayer,1997;Ng&Wei,2020),parental
subjectivesocialmobilitymaybepositivelycorrelatedwithparentalacademicinvolve
mentand,accordingly,[Link]
withahighlevelofsubjectivesocialmobilityaremorelikelytobelieveinsocialequality
andjustice(Kelley&Kelley,2009)andarealsomorelikelytoascribesuccesstoself-effort
(e.g.,diligenceandwillpower)(Gugushvili,2016),thusmaybelievethatthemorethey
pay,[Link],combinedwith
thefactthateducationleveliscloselyrelatedtotheirchildren’sfutureSES(Blanden,
2013),itismorelikelythatparentswithahighlevelofsubjectivesocialmobilityaremore
involvedintheirchildren’seducation,independentoffamilySES.
TheprotectiveroleofsubjectivesocialmobilityforlowSESindividualshasbeen
[Link],arecentstudyhasrevealedthatchildrenfrom
lowSESfamilieswithahighlevelofsubjectivesocialmobilityaremorepersistentin
strivingforacademicachievement(Browman,Destin,Carswell,&Svoboda,2017).
Additionally,previousstudyhasfoundthatthesubjectivesocialmobilityofmigrants
alleviatestheadverseeffectsoflowSESontheirwellbeing(Huangetal.,2017).Moreover,
NgandWei(2020)havesuggestedtheprotectiveroleofparentalsocialmobilitybeliefsin
therelationshipbetweenfamilySESandparentalacademicinvolvementbemore
[Link],thefindingssuggestthatparentalsubjectivesocial
mobilitymaybeaprotectivefactorforchildrenfromlowSESfamiliesandmayexert
moderatingeffectsontherelationshipbetweenfamilySESandparentalacademic
involvement.

Usingmultiinformationaldatacollectedfromchildrenandtheirparentsandteachers,this
studyaimedtoexaminetherelationshipbetweenfamilySESandchildren’sacademic
achievementasmeasuredbychildren’sChineseandmathscoresandtotestthemediating
[Link],twominorlimita
[Link],theindicatorsof
[Link],threecommon
indicators,namelyparents’education,parents’occupation,andfamilyincome,may
betterreflectthegenerallevelsoffamilySES(Bradley&Corwyn,2002).Second,few
[Link]
hasindicatedthatthelevelsofparentalacademicinvolvementasself-reportedbyparents
areusuallyhigherthanthosereportedbychildren(Leung&Shek,2016).Wearguethat
thelattermaybeamoreproximalfactorforchildren’sacademicachievementthanthe
[Link],familySESwasassessedbasedonparents’education,parents’
occupation,andfamilyincome,andparentalacademicinvolvementwasreportedby
childreninthecurrentstudy.
Severalhypothesesweretestedtoexamine(1)whetherfamilySESispositivelyrelated
tochildren’sacademicachievement,(2)whetherparentalacademicinvolvement
mediatestherelationshipbetweenfamilySESandchildren’sachievementinChinese
andmath,and(3)whetherparentalsubjectivesocialmobilitymoderatesthepathfrom
[Link],therelationshipbetween
familySESandparentalacademicinvolvementisweakforchildrenwhoseparentshave
highlevelsofsubjectivesocialmobility.

Education is germaneto individual, economic, social and cultural development. It is a

catalyst for positive societal change. Therefore, academic performance can be defined as
an outcome of education, the degree to which a student has attained the institutional
objectives [1]. The most significant assetsofany universityare the students; therefore, the
nature and standard of a university aredeterminedby the academic performancesof the
students [1].Academic performance has been recognizedas a weighing scaleforchecking
the mental capabilities and abilities of students. It is the reflector of theeducational set up
of a country [2]. The academic performance shows students' levels of skill, knowledge
and identity; personal efforts, fixed factors and more. Good academic performanceis an
outcome of sound education and produces good outcomes that could improve students’
value, exempt students from criminal activities, open the students to huge opportunities,
reduce menace, and give the students better selfesteem in the society. Therefore, the
priority of every parent and student is sound education, leading to good academic
performance. Nevertheless,many students are still struggling to attain good academic grades while
some are finding it difficult to maintain their achieved grades. From the literature there
are many factors that may be responsible for this, among which socio-economic factors
have been frequently highlighted [3],[4] and[5]. This suggeststhe need for a proper
awareness of such socio-economic factors and the extent of their effects on students'
academic performance.A decision support system isa domain specific computerized
information system that supports decision making in a particular area [6]. Therefore,
availability of a decision support systemwill enable the students to take the right decision
about their involvement in such socioeconomic factors. To this effect, in this study, a
student decision support system is proposed for proper awareness of the jointeffect of
some socio-economic factors on students' academic performance. The system is
established on Data mining techniques to extract hidden and previously unknown
interesting knowledge from data. Also, the system was enhanced with fuzzy concept so as
to capture intra uncertainties of the domain expert in the study. The remaining parts of the
paper are as follows: section two provides a review of decision support system and related
works, Section 3 explains the proposed system, while the proposed system was validated
andevaluated in Section 4 and 5 respectively. The paper is concluded in Section 6.
[Link] Review

BSTRACT
ARTICLEHISTORY
Parentsplayanimportantpartinadolescents’lifeandsignificantly
contributetoyoungsters’[Link],parents’and
students’perceptionsregardingparentalinvolvementmaydiffer
andhowtheseperceptionsarerelatedtoschoolachievementand
[Link],selfreport
measuresassessingstudents’andparents’perceptionsofparenta
involvementwerecompleted,usingasampleof50037thgrade
[Link]
[Link],parentsindicate
ahigherextentofparentalinvovementcomparedtostudents.
Accordingtostudents,parentsfocusonmonitoringgrades,
whereasparentsdisplaythehghestscoresforinterestinschoo
[Link]
[Link],effectsaresmall,and
theeffectsofsocio-demographicvariablesoverruletheseeffects.
Theseresultsgiveinsightindifferentperceptionsonparenta
involvementandunderpintheimportanceofmiddleschoolstu
dentsasactiveparticipantsinlearning.
Received20August2018
Accepted1March2019
KEYWORDS
Parentalnvolvement;
mddeschool;student
perceptions;parent
perceptions;achievement;
schoowellbeng
Introduction
Parentsplayanimportantpartinadolescents’lifeandarethereforeconsideredsignificant
contributorstoyoungsters’learningandacademicsuccess(e.g.FroilandandDavison2014;
Pinquart2015).Thepotentialpositiveimpactofparentalinvolvementonstudents’aca
demicsuccessisnotonynotedbyresearchers,butisalsoincorporatedinWestern
[Link],inmanystudies,onyteacherand/orparent
ratingsofparentalinvolvementareconsideredtotheneglectofthestudentperspective,
[Link],thepresentstudyconsidersstudents’andtheir
parents’perspectivesasbotharekeyactorsinparentainvolvementandactivelycontribute
toandinfluencethewayitoccurs(EdwardsandAldred2000;GrolnickandSlowiaczek
1994).Students’perceptionofparentainvolvementisalsofoundtobemoreinfluentialon
theirschooloutcomescomparedtoparents’actuaactivities(Keith1991).Forthesereasons,
students’perceptionsofparentalinvolvementarevaluable,especiallyatthemiddleschool

ge,asparentalinvolvementdecreases(FroilandandDavison2014)andyoungstersgo
throughmultiple,simutaneouschanges(Toren2013).
Severalstudies(e.g.FroilandandDavison2014;Pinquart2015;Hattie2009)revealed
thatparentalinvolvementinlearning([Link]’sschooworkandattending
parent–teacherconferences)facilitateschidren’slearningand,utimately,theirachieve
ment,[Link]’smeta-anaysis(2009)regardinginfluenceofthe
familyinvestigated716studiesandshowedthatambitionofparentsandtheirexpecta
tionsaboutlearningoutcomeshavethestrongestcorrelationwithstudents’performance.
Communication(interestinhomeworkandschoolwork,helpwithhomework,discussing
progressinschool)hasanaverageeffectandparentalcontrol([Link]
watchingtelevision)[Link],parents’autonomygranting
isassociatedwithhigherschoolachievement(Steinbergetal.1992).Parentalinvolvement
isalsofoundtomediatebetweenthefamilybackgroundandstudents’achievement.
Studiesshowedconsiderablevariationinthedegreeofinvolvement,dependingonthe
socioeconomicandethnicbackgroundoftheparents(Boethel2003).
However,theestablishedrelationofparentalinvolvementforstudents’outcomes,it
remainsuncearhowthedifferentperceptionsofparentsandstudentsandstudents’
[Link],itwouldbevaluable
fromatheoreticalandpracticalperspectivetoinvestigateparents’andstudents’per
ceptionsofparentalinvolvementforstudents’achievementandwelbeingconsidering
thesociodemographicbackground.
Parentalinvolvementatmiddleschoolage
Atmiddleschoolage,youngstersgothroughmultiple,simultaneouschanges(Toren2013).
Theyhavetomanagemajorbiological,educational,[Link],
youngsterssignificantlydeveophighercognitivefunctionsandtheirsefconceptualization
asautonomous,[Link],
youngstersredefinetheirrelationshipswithpeersandsignificantothers(Parketa.2012).
Still,asdevelopmentalandcontextualchangesgohandinhandatearlyadolescence,the
needforcontinuedsupportremains(HillandTyson2009).Earlierstudiesalreadyhigh
lightedparentsaskeyresourcestoprovidesupport,asoatmiddeschoolage(e.g.
MartinezPons2002;Ryan,Connell,andGronick1992).Additionally,studiesfoundthatin
middleschool,thetypeofinvolvementchangesfrommorevisibleschoolbasedinvolve
menttomoresubtleinvolvementathome(HilandTyson2009),thereforethisstudywant
totakeacloserlookatwatparentalpracticesparentsuseinmiddleschool.
Parentalinvolvementineducationisaconcepttodescribeawiderangeofpractices.
Involvementofparentscanbeassubtleasparentaeducationabeliefsandschool
achievementexpectationstomultipletypesofbehaviour,whichparentsapplyto
promotetheirchildren’sachievementathomeandinschoo(Seginer2006).
Consistentacrossallthestudies,parentalinvolvementisdividedintoschoolbased
andhomestrategies(e.g.Epstein1987;EpsteinandSanders2002;Pomerantz,
Moorman,andLitwack2007;Seginer2006).Schoolbasedinvolvementstrategiesrefer
toparentalactivitiesatschool(suchas,volunteeringatschool,parent-teacherconfer
ences),whilehomebasedinvolvementstrategiesfocusonparents’engagementin
educationalactivitiesathome(likeparentalreinforcementofearningathome).
Additionally,theframeworkofGrolnickandSlowiaczek(1994)isathree-partframe
workconsistingofbehavioural,[Link],
behaviouralinvolvementincludesbothhome-basedandschool-basedinvolvement
strategiesandreferstoparentalbehavioursinrelationtotheschool([Link]
tionbetweenhomeandschool,andassistingwithhomework).Second,cognitive–
intellectualinvolvementispartofhome-basedinvolvementandreflectsparents’initia
tivestoexposechildrentocognitiveandintelectualstimulation([Link]).
Third,personalparentalinvolvementreferstoparentalsocializationaroundthevalue
[Link]‘academicsocialization’(i.e.
parentscommunicatingabouteducationalexpectations,fosteringfutureaspirations
regardingschooloroccupation,discussinglearningandlearningstrategies).Especially
atmiddleschoolage,thiskindofinvolvementalowsparentstomeetyoungsters’desire
forautonomy,butstillbeinginvolvedinyoungsters’life(HillandTyson2009).
Parentalinvolvementandstudents’achievement
Students’[Link]
general,parentalinvolvementinlearning([Link]’sschooworkand
attendingparentteacherconferences)isfoundtosignificantlycontributetostudents’
schoolachievement(e.g.CheungandPomerantz2012;FroilandandDavison2014;Hill
andTyson2009;Pinquart2015;Steinbergetal.1992;Wilder2014;YouandNguyen
2011).However,notalltypesofparentalinvolvementarepositivelylinkedtostudents’
[Link],studentsofparentsadoptinganauthoritativeparentingstyle
tendtohavehigherachievementscores([Link].1987;Paulson1994;
Turner,Chandler,andHeffer2009).Authoritativeparentsarehighlyinvolved,show
interestintheirchild’slifeandparticipateactivelyinit,andencouragethechild’s
autonomy(Steinberg2001).Despitetheseresearchfindings,HillandTyson(2009)
indicatedthatparents’supportwithschoolworkisnegativelyassociatedwithachieve
[Link],thetransitionalperiodofearlyadolescence
andpotentialchangingfamiydynamicsduringthatperiodmayhaveanimpactonhow
parentalinvolvementimpactsstudents’achievement.
Parentalinvolvementandstudents’wellbeingatschool
Nexttoparents’influenceonacademicachievement,researchhasobtainedsubstantial
evidencesuggestingthatparentalinvolvementpractices,withafocusonanauthorita
tiveparentingstyle(asdescribedabove),canexertapositiveinfluenceonstudents’
affectiveoutcomes,suchasstudents’wellbeing(CrippsandZyromski2009;Richards
etal.1991;Simons-MortonandChen2009).Students’schoolwellbeingcanbedescribed
as“asustainablestateofpositivemoodandattitude,resilience,andsatisfactionwithself,
[Link]
demonstrateseffectiveacademic,socialandemotionalfunctioningandappropriatebeha
viouratschool”(NobeandWyatt2008,21).Especialyinadolescence,students’well
beingisacriticalfactorforasuccessfulschoocareer(UpadyayaandSamela-Aro2013).
Forexample,alowevelofwellbeingappearstobeanimportantriskindicatorfor
educationalstagnationandisoftenaccompaniedbynegativebehavioursuchasalack
ofengagementinlearningandananti-schoolattitude(NobleandWyatt2008).

BACKGROUND

bstract
Education is considered the most signifcant factor in producing human resource
developments in terms of social, cultural, technological, economic, and overall
national perspectives. Higher education is infuenced by several factors that afect
the quality of students’ education and outcomes. Most students in Bangladesh study
at private universities from various socioeconomic conditions. Some of the factors
have restricted their ability to attain higher education and as a result, impacted their
academic performance. The goal of this study was to explore those socioeconomic
factors afecting the academic performance of private university students in Bangla
desh. The primary dataset was collected through an online survey from three private
universities in Bangladesh named Varendra University (VU), Dafodil International
University (DIU), and City University (CU). The Chisquare tests indicate that the
age, gender, studying on a subject of their own choice, getting the right direction
to make studying comfortable, consulting with the teacher about learning, family
status, etc. variables signifcantly impacted their cumulative grade point average
(CGPA). Relationships with parents and the opportunity to share opinions with par
ents were also signifcantly associated with their results. According to the multino
mial logistic regression model age, gender, employment status, choice of own study
feld, getting the right direction, previous academic result, consultation with teach
ers, father’s annual income, family status, and relationship with parents are found
to be statistically signifcant determinants of academic performance. Considering
the reality and outcomes of this study, to improve academic performance, paren
tal involvement needs to be increased, and they must provide fnancial and material
support to their ofspring for their academic success. Moreover, for achieving a sat
isfactory CGPA, the students need to build friendly relationships with their parents
and have regular consultations with their teachers as well.
Bangladesh was a country of poverty, famine, drought, low income, and poorly
educated people. Despite so many problems, the people of Bangladesh have
begun to make progress in various felds, including education, medicine, and eco
nomics. At present, as the poverty rate is decreasing in Bangladesh, on the other
hand, the literacy rate is increasing (World Bank 2018). Bangladesh’s higher
education sector is one of the fastestgrowing private sectors (Tasnima 2008). In
addition to government educational institutions, many private educational institu
tions, such as schools, colleges, and universities, have been established. Private
universities have proved to be innovative and efective institutions in Bangladesh,
just like readymade garments industries and microfnance institutions (Shamsul
Haque 2014). To consolidate the growth already achieved, everybody involved
needs to work together as this subsector has an important role to play in develop
ing a longterm manpower plan for the critical skills required for the economy in
Bangladesh (Alam et al. 2007). At present various factors afected the academic
performance of students and these include students’ behavior, socioeconomic
conditions, institutional characteristics, family background, and other demo
graphic factors (Amin et al. 2010; El Ansari and Stock 2010; Imran 2017).
The term socioeconomic condition/factors generally encompasses two vari
ables: social and economic conditions. The word “Socioeconomic Status” (SES)
refers to a person’s relative place in society in terms of family money, political
power, educational background, and professional prestige (Parson et al. 2001;
Hossain et al. 2022). It is a consolidated proportion of an individual or family’s
monetary and social position compared with others in light of pay, instruction,
and occupation (Kessler et al. 2005; Saif et al. 2011). Social class, economic
status, unemployment, ethnicity, homelessness, detainees, and refugees were also
covered by this list (Hossain et al. 2017a, b; Wales et al. 2018; Turner & Flem
ming 2019).
In 2001, research was attempted to determine the association between socio
economic status and students’ academic performance, and discovered that it has
a very signifcant impact on their achievement (Mirza et al. 2001). A parent’s
money or the social position has a positive impact on a student’s exam result
(Considine & Zappalà 2002). The measurement of students’ previous educational
outcomes is the most important indicator of students’ future achievement, this
means that the student’s academic success in future endeavors will be better if
they have a better previous appearance (Durden and Ellis 1995). The background
of a student’s family and socioeconomic level is important both within and out
side of the classroom (Mirza et al. 2001). The socioeconomic status of a family is
determined by family income, parental education, parental occupation, and social
status in the community, which includes community contacts, group afliation,
and the community’s perception of the family (Chen et al. 2018).
In diferent studies, selfefcacy plays a signifcant role in academic achieve
ment by increasing motivation to succeed as well (Schunk 1991, 1994; Ban
dura 1997; Pietsch et al. 2003). It is often regarded as one of the most important non-intellectual
determinants of accomplishment in academic contexts. The
relationship between self-efcacy and academic performance has regularly been
found to be positive in meta-analyses (Multon et al. 1991; Honicke and Broadbent
2016). Motivation has been well documented in the literature as one of the key
aspects of students’ academic performance (Pintrich 2000; Pintrich and Schunk
1996; Garcia 1995; Bandura 1986). Researchers have focused on individual
student characteristics including motivational orientations that afect students’
chances of persisting (Girelli et al. 2018; Dresel and Grassinger 2013; Suhre et al.
2013). It is challenging and rewarding to develop and implement programs that
move students from probation to good standing and fnally to graduation (Heis
serer and Parette 2002). Lacking motivation in a particular class, students fre
quently miss class and their grades plummet (Brewer and Burgess 2005). Stu
dents may sufer from poor academic performance as a result of improper course
selection or wrong advice (Babad 2001). There may be a chance of making a mis
take regarding course selection if personal motivations, interests, and objectives
do not match those of friends, family, or faculty (Ahmed et al. 2015).
Due to family problems, a student may lose focus on studies and have limited moti
vation and determination to succeed (Simon and Tovar 2004). In addition to simple
family problems, severe family problems like illness, death, or a break-up between
family members can contribute to a more signifcant adverse efect. A student’s family
problems will likely hinder their ability to concentrate and study, resulting in poor aca
demic performance and eventual academic probation (Ahmed et al. 2015). However,
mental health problems may afect a student’s ability to concentrate and motivate them
to study (Olson 1990; Lucas 1991; Trombley 2000). Three types of interventions can
have a positive efect on students’ GPAs and these are academic skill instruction, advis
ing and counseling programs, and comprehensive support programs (Pascarella 2006).
In addition, efective communication with the teacher in the classroom and the
ofce is crucial to a student’s understanding of confusing topics and grey areas. Stu
dents’ poor communication skills appear to afect their ability to perform well in class
(Chowdhury 2001; Farooqui 2007). Generally, a student’s performance in the past, or
his or her educational background, tends to infuence his or her performance in the
future (Ahmed et al. 2015). This paper aims to fnd out the socio-economic factors that
afect the academic performance of private university students in Bangladesh. For that
reason, in this paper, bivariate and multivariate analyses are carried out to determine
the signifcant factors that afect academic performances. The association between cur
rent university CGPA and the socio-economic factors like students’ age, gender, extro
version/introversion status, social media activation status, fathers’ occupation, mothers’
occupation, parents’ income, relationships with parents’, opinions shared with parents,
family status and so on are checked using Chi-square test and multinomial logistic
regression analysis.

Education is afundamental process of human

life, as it isalleviating poverty (Brown &
James, 2020),work as anequalizer within
society (Nada & Zoran, 2019), provide equality
of opportunity(Aiyar &Ebeke, 2020)and
determine the health status of an individual
(Katoch, 2022). Adequate education improves people's understanding of the world around
them whichmakes them less vulnerable to the
influence of others(OECD, 2012).It has a
positive impact on the income, wages and
economic growth of every nation. School
performance determines the nature of
occupations, salary levels and status of
individuals in the society (Quinn &Rubb,
2006). Education has the ability to increase productivity by enabling workers to perform
existing tasks more quickly, by facilitating the
transfer of knowledge about new information,
products, and technologies, and by increasing
creativity by enhancing the ability of a country
to produce new knowledge, products, and
technologies (Grant, 2017). In addition to
improving people's understanding of
themselves, education improves the quality of
their lives, raises productivity and creativity,
inspires entrepreneurshipand technological
advances that lead to economic and social
progress and income distribution (Ozturk,
2001).
Educational attainmentor academic
performanceis influenced by parental
background (Ribeiro et al., 2019), (Abera
Gobena, 2018),parental socio-economic status
(Poon, 2020),(RodríguezHernández et al.,
2020), parental involvement (Otani, 2019)as
well as manyothersocioeconomic factors.
For instance, according to a study conducted in
Dhaka, Bangladesh (Husain SA & Syed SH,
2016)), there is a significant association
between parental educational background,
receiving scholarships, household income
level, etc., and academic achievement in the
[Link] study(Hojo, 2014)conducted in
Japan found that familybackgrounds has
strongly affected the level of academic
achievement of the students. Furthermore, an
analysis of a study conducted in Cambodia
(Sothan, 2018)found that a number of
variables, namely English ability, class
attendance, study effort, academic self
efficacy, and family socioeconomic status,
were positively related to academic
[Link] results of a studyconducted
in India showed that nutritional status of
children is significantly correlated with
academic performance at schools, which is
important for human and economic
development. It concluded that all the
anthropometric failureindicators (low height,
weight, and BMI for age) are negatively related
to academic performance of the children in the
schools (Katoch & Sharma, 2017).
Another studyconducted (Ogunshola, 2012), in
Nigeria with a sample of 180 school going
children to know the effects of parental
socioeconomic status on the academic
performance of students. The four factors that
were examined and statistically analyzed were:
parental socio-economic background, parental
educational background, parental educational
qualifications and students' health statuses. It
was found that parental socioeconomic
statuses and parental educational background
did not have any significant effect on the
academic performance of thestudents, while
parental qualifications and students' health
statuses affect the academic performance of the
students significantly. In addition to these two
variables that suggested significant influence,
the nature of the students' home environment
alsoplayed an important role in their academic
[Link] attendance is also seen as an
important factor and has been linked with
academic performance of the childrenat school
(Anna et al., 2016), (Sekiwu et al., 2020)and
(Luca Stanca, 2006).

Education is the best legacy a nation can give to her citizens. This is because the
development of any nation depends on the educational attainment of her citizenry and the
quality of education of such a [Link] does not only provide knowledge and skills
but also inculcates valuesto students. It prepares individuals to be responsiblecitizenlife.
According to Mahmmud (2010), cultural heritage and values are transmitted from one
generation to another through education. The responsibility of training a child always lies in
the hand of the parents. This is congruent with the common assertion by sociologistthat
education can be an instrument of cultural change which is being taught from home. It is then
generally believed that socioeconomic background of the parent has direct impact on the
academic performance of the students.
Socio-economic status (SES) is often measured as a combination of education,
income and occupation. It is commonly conceptualized as the social statusor class of an
individual or group. Low socio-economic status and its correlates, such as lower education,
poverty and poor health, ultimately affect our societies as a whole. Research indicates that
children from low social economic status (SES)households and communities develop
academic skills more slowly compare to children from higher socio-economic status group.
Aiken and Barbarin (2008) noted that, the school system in low social economic status
communities are often under resource and havenegatively affected student’s academic
progress. Families from low social economic status communities are less likely to have the
financialresource or time available to provide children with academic support. According to
Agulana and Nwachuku (2001) in the quest of finding survival feet, the
nation has evolved series o socio-economic and educational measures and policies such as
structuraladjustment program (SAP), austerity measure, universal primary education, (UPE),
Universal Basic Education (UBE) and devaluation of the naira. These measures have not
improved the socio-economic and educational status of families in the country. They have
rather increase their suffering and widened the socioeconomic gaps between families.
Curry (1996) lamented that parent becomes poor due to their hard measures, they can
no longer shelter, and clothing and special need of their children in school such as provision
of textbook, school uniforms and good medical bills can not be met.
Many rural and suburban dwellers can no longer pay the schoolfees of their children.
Children are made to engage in subsistence farming and become housemaids or engage in
other menial jobs to support their academic pursuit. The health status of the children which
could also be traceable to parental socio-economic background can be another factor that can
affect the academic performance of the student. Adewale (2002) had reported that in a rural
community where nutritional status is relatively low and heath problem are prevalent,
children academic performance is greatly hindered. This assertion is again hinged on nature
of parental socio-economic background.
Home backgroundaccording to program international studies assessment (PISA)
(2000) influence academic and educational success of [Link] reinforcesthe activities
and functioning of the teacher and students. The quality of parents and home background of
studentgoes a long way to predict the academic performances of student. Child from poor
home may suffer because there may be no money to pay school fees, purchase book,
uniforms, and other schools materials, such child may play truant, thus his performance in
school may be adversely affected shittu (2004). Similarly, good parenting supported by
strong economic home background could enhance strong academic performance of the child.
Learning environment that is free of barrier or obstacle or distraction such as noise,
gas/smoke pollutions and so on can constitute health hazards, which in turn affect or reduce
student’s concentration or perceptual focus to learning. Market and garages located near
schools have always posed a threat to student. Noise and pollution from these sourceshave
always endangered student life and concentration. Other factors according to Danes (2004),
complementing environment and socio-economic factors to produce highacademic
achievement and performance include good teaching, counselling, good administration,and
goodseating [Link] has also been proved that student that come from simulative
environment with laboratory equipmentor those that are taught with rich instructional aides,
picture and allowed to demonstrate using their functional nerves likes eyes, hands and sense
of test perform better than those trained under theoretical and canopy of abstraction. Thus
teaching and learning should be done under organize, planned and fortified environmental
withinstructionalaides to stimulate student sense of conception, and concentration to
facilitate systematic understanding and acquisition of knowledge.
Factors which are present in the family contributed greatly to the performance of the
students. Among these are parental educational backgrounds, income, exposure, parental
relationship with each other, strength of the family/population, religion, occupation etc.
determine to a greater extent the readiness of the child to learn. However, the influence of
other factor like mental and physical and disabilities can account for poor academic
performance of students in biology.
It is against this background that this work is being undertaken to empirically
investigate the possible affect of these factor on student’s academic achievement in selected
public secondary schools in Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State.
[Link] of Academic
Performance
A wide variety of academic subjects are used to
evaluate students’academic performance.
Classroom performance(Yaqoob et al.,
2014),(Carrillo & Perez, 2012), continuous
assessment(Samson &Allida, 2018),marks
obtained in term end or final examinations
(Katoch & Sharma, 2017), and standardized test
scores are typically used by teachers and
education officials to assess the achievement of
the students(Sulphey et al., 2018). (Good,
2016)defines academic achievement as ``the
knowledge obtained or skills development in
the school subjects usually designed by test
scores or marks assigned by the teacher''. It can
be assessed by using various indicators of
performance, such as marks or grade obtained
in the final examination based on the
curriculum (Sarma et al., 2013), (Lee & Manan,
2014)percentage of attendance in the school i.e,
numb
EMPIRICAL

Higher levels of family income havebeen identified as having a positive effect on student
persistence and academic achievement. While researchers vary in their understanding of this
finding, one popular observation has been thatstudents from lower income families hadto work
more than students from higher income families; more hours dedicated to employment equated
with fewer hours dedicated to school work. Those who were fortunateenough to utilize
government financial aid typically had tonegotiate a complex processfor receiving it. These
financial pressures causedmany low-incomecollege students to disengage from school or drop
out (Bozick, 2007; Leppel, 2002).
Walpole (2003) found that students from low socioeconomic families were less engaged
in academics because they worked more and studied less than students from high socioeconomic
families. Low socioeconomic students were less likely to participate in student study groups.
Both Walpole (2003) and Titus’ (2006) suggested that college students from high-income
families outperformed students from lowincome families academically by grade point average
(GPA). Stinebrickner and Stinebrickner’s (2003) foundthat students from high-income families
had an 18%higher probability of successfully completing more thansix semesters than students
from low income families. This was supported by Nam and Huang (2009) findings that family
income and liquid assets had a significant impact on college attendance andgraduation rates. n
contrast to studies that showed the negative effect of low family income on academic
achievement, Terenzini, Cabrera, and Bernal (2001) found that more similarities than differences
in overall grade performance, when comparing students from low and high socioeconomic
backgrounds. They observedthat the addition of factors such as institution type and length of
enrollment increased this variation(Terenziniet al., 2001). Paulson and St. John (2002) found
thatacademic performance and persistence ratesof students with low socioeconomic
backgrounds were higher than their high socioeconomic counterparts, however, many of those
from the low socioeconomic group were older than those from the high socioeconomic group,
which may have impacted their findings.
Clearly student achievement may be impacted by a complex set of factors. Cokley and
Chapman (2008) found that racial and ethnic identity predicted academic achievement among
African American college students at a historically Black university. Perna and Titus (2005)
examined differences in college-going rates among racial and ethnic groupsandidentified
parental involvement as being important in promoting college enrollment among racial and
ethnic groups that were underrepresented in higher education. Stinebrickner and Stinebrickner
(2003)reportedthat other circumstances regarding family background were significant. They
found that the impact of family income declined when at least one of the students’ parents had a
college degree(Stinebrickner &Stinebrickner, 2003). Rowan-Kenyon, Bell, and Perna’s (2008)
highlighted the importance of encouragement from collegeeducated parents in students’
collegiate outcomes.
Suizzo and Stapleton (2007) definedparental involvement as the level of support that
parents give to their child’s learning and development. This support includedlearning inside as
well as outside of the classroom setting, engaging in school functions, serving on committees,
maintaining contact with teachers, and participating in home-based support. Most parents
practicedhomebased support through learning activities such as reading, discussions pertinent
to school and family, and communicating expectations and goals(Suizzo & Stapleton, 2007).
Parental involvement in a students’ educationbefore collegeinfluencedthe students’ pursuit of
education, and hasbeen shown to positively influence academic achievement. Furthermore,
parents’ beliefs and expectations about their children’s intellectual abilities werepredictors of
academic performance(Suizzo & Stapleton, 2007).

Students’ preparedness and academic performance wereconnected to their experiences

outside of the classroom and within their home (Durand, 2011). Specifically, students’ home
environments and their parents’ involvement in their education varieddue to sex, age, mother’s
psychological health and education level (Suizzo & Stapleton, 2007).
Durand (2011) highlightedmothers as the primary source of learning, while
implementing and maintainingsocialization, beliefs and values. In a qualitative study, six
mothers described their children’s routine chores, schedules, and choicesfor leisure activities
under the condition that all homework assignments were complete. Five out of six mothers
articulatedlong-term goals for their children, and approximately one-third of the mothers who
reported their long-term goals for their children referenced the importance of graduating high
school or going to college togain professional advantages(Durand, 2011). The mothers
commented that given these choices, their children would have more independent lives that their
own mothers had. In contrast, one mother expressed her concern to raise a moral child rather
than an intellectual child (Durand, 2011).
Kalsner (1991) suggested that high academic and career goals, along with the support of
parents, increase the students’ chance of graduation. According to Tinto’s (1975) interactionist
model, incoming college students already possessedtraits that determine their commitment to
learning(as cited in Kisar& Price, 2008). Haveman and Wolfe (1995) supported this ideaas
they noted that lesseducated parents may be less effective in supporting their child’s academic
achievement and career goals (as cited in Flouri, 2006). Ortiz and Dehon (2008) concurred with
the importance of parental education levels and theimpact on college student academic
achievement, however, they found that the mothers’ education level was more significant at
predicting student academic achievement than the fathers’ educational level.
Feinstein and Symons (1999) stated that parental support was the most influential factor
contributing to educational attainment (Flouri, 2006). Further research suggestedthe impact of
paternal and maternal influence on children’s schooling. Flouri and Buchanan (2004) found
“Father involvement and mother involvement at age sevenindependentlypredicted educational
attainment by age 20” (p. 141). Crockett, Eggebeen, and Hawkins (1993) reported that fathers
who are involved in their child’s education typically supportedthem financially, which enhanced
education opportunities and resources. Cabrera, Tamis-LeMonda, Bradley, Hofferth and Lamb
(2000) concurred that in families wherefathers wereinvolved, mothers werecommonly
involved, which resultedin a support system that fosterededucational attainment and positive
long-term contributions (as cited in Flouri, 2006).

Parents education levels. Seventy-seven (81.9%) of the participants provided

information regarding their fathers’ level of education. Nineteen participants(20.2%) stated
their fatherswere in the 12thgrade or less;18participants(19.1%) reported their father had
graduated from high school or received their GED;15 participants (16%) stated their fathers had
some college experience, obtained their associate’s degree,or completed a technical training
program;and 25participants(23.4%)reported their fathers had received abachelor’s degree. In
comparison,the mean level of education of the motherswas slightly lower than the fathers. A
total of 83 participants (88.3%) disclosed their mothers’ level of education. Twentyone
participants (22.3%) reported their mothers were at a 12thgrade level or less;24participants
(25.5%) stated their mothers had graduated from high school or had obtained her GED;13
participants (13.8%) said their mothers completed some college, obtained her associate’s degree,
or completed a technical training program;and 25(26.6%) participants reported their mothers
received their bachelor’s degree.
Participants sex and race. Of the 404students who were sent an invitation, 94
completed the survey. The participants included 42 (45%) males and 52 (55%)females, of
which 48 (51%) were White, 19 (20%) were Black or African American, 13 (13%) were
Hispanic, three (3%) were Asian, eight (8%) identified themselves as two or more races, and
three(3%) preferred not to answer.
To ascertainwhetherthe mean change in student’s GPA score differedamong their
mother’s level of education, father’s level of education and perception of their family income,
the researchers specifically looked for differences in the parents’ level of education, the students’
perception of family income and its effect on academic achievement. Three oneway ANOVAs
were applied to indicate if the parents’ level of education and the student’s perception of family
income influencedacademic achievement.

Differencesinchildren’sacademicachievementduetofamilysocio-economicstatus(SES)
[Link],childrenfromlowSESfamiliesexhibitpoor
academicoutcomesthandotheirmoreaffluentcounterparts(Bradley&Corwyn,2002;
Kim,Cho,&Kim,2019;Liu,Peng,&Luo,2020;Sirin,2005;White,1982).ThisSES
inequalityinchildren’sacademicoutcomesislinkedbyoneimportantaspectoffamily
practices,thatis,parentalinvolvementbehaviours(Conger,Conger,&Martin,2010).
However,thecorrelationamongfamilySES,parentalacademicinvolvement,and
*CorrespondenceshouldbeaddressedtoSilinHuang,BeijingNormalUniversity,19XinjiekouwaiStreet
,Beijing100875,China
(email:hsilin@[Link]).academicachievementhasbeenpredominatelyexaminedinEuropeanandA
merican
countries(Benner,Boyle,&Sadler,2016;Tazouti&Jarl egan,2019),andthus,thereis
scarceevidencefromothercountriesregardingthisissue(Bornsteinetal.,2012).
Specifically,fewstudieshavebeenconductedtoexaminethemediatingmechanismof
parentalacademicinvolvementwithrespecttotherelationshipbetweenfamilySESand
academicachievementinmainlandChina(forexample,Guoetal.,2018).
InthecontextofChina’scontemporaryeducationsystem(TheNationalCollege
EntranceExamination),attaininghighacademicachievementisakeypathwaytohigh
[Link],children’sacademicachievementextendsbeyondpersonal
[Link],itisfurtherregardedasacollectiveeffortthatrepresentsfamily
honourandreflectstheworthoftheparentsasbasedontheacademicachievementofthe
child(Huntsinger&Jose,2009;Ng,Pomerantz,&Deng,2014).Assuch,comparedwith
Westernparents,Chineseparentsarewellknowntoengagemoreextensivelyintheir
children’seducation(Cheung&Pomerantz,2011)throughmorerigidparentalpractices
viatrainingandgoverning(Chao,1994,2000).
RecentevidencehasdemonstratedthatlowerSESfamiliesarecorrelatedwithlower
parentalacademicinvolvementinChina(Guoetal.,2018;Wang,Deng,&Yang,2016).
Thisis,inpart,becausethelackofresources(e.g.,timeandfinances)thatareassociated
withlowSESfamiliesinevitablypreventsparentsfrombeingmoreinvolvedintheir
children’sacademics(Barg,2019).However,littleisknownastowhysomeChinese
parentsfromlowerSESfamiliesdoengageheavilyintheirchildren’seducation
(Yamamoto,Li,&Liu,2016).Onepossibleexplanationisthatparentalsubjectivesocial
mobilitymaybuffertheadverseeffectsoflowfamilySESonparentalacademic
[Link],arecentstudyhasproposedthatendorsingthesocialmobility
beliefsmaymotivateparentsfromdiversefamilybackgroundstobecomeinvolvedintheir
children’seducation(Ng&Wei,2020).Therefore,thepresentstudyaimstoexaminethe
mediatingroleofparentalacademicinvolvementintherelationshipbetweenfamilySES
andchildren’sacademicachievementaswellasthemoderatingeffectofparental
subjectivesocialmobilityonthisrelationshipinthecontextofChina’seducational
system.
FamilySESandchildren’sacademicachievement
PlacingtremendousemphasisonacademicachievementiscommonintheChinese
culture(Phillipson&Phillipson,2007),particularlybecauseimprovedacademic
achievementisaneffectivewaytopreventtheintergenerationaltransmissionofpoverty
(Behrmanetal.,2017).ChinesefamilieswithlowSEShopethathighacademic
achievementwillchangethefateoftheirchildren,andthusresultinbetterfuturesand
improvedfamilystatus(Chi&Rao,2003;Kim&Fong,2013).However,comparedwith
highSESfamilies,lowSESfamiliesencountermorechallengesandbarriersastheystriveto
enhancetheacademicsuccessofthenextgeneration(Barg,2019;Evans,2004).This
premiseissupportedbysocialcapitaltheory,whichpositsthatthecapital(e.g.,resources
andassets)possessedbylowSESfamiliesisunabletoeffectivelyaddresstheirchildren’s
educationalneeds,thusleadingtotheirchildren’sfailuretoachieveacademicsuccess
(Coleman,1988;Dika&Singh,2002).Assuch,childrenfromlowSESfamiliesmayhave
feweropportunitiestoattainbettereducationalresourcesandhighlevelsofacademic
achievement,arealitythatmayadverselyaffectthemthroughouttheirlives(OECD,
2018).Overthepastdecades,thepositiveassociationsbetweenfamilySESandacademic
achievementhavebeenmarkedlyhighlighted(Alexander,Entwisle,&Olson,2001;
Blanden&Gregg,2004),andrecentresearchindicatesthattheroleoffamilySESin
predictingacademicperformancehasbeenconsistentlydemonstratedamongpreschool
andelementaryschoolchildren(Hair,Hanson,Wolfe,&Pollak,2015;Hentges,Galla,&
Wang,2019).Therefore,itisgenerallyacceptedthatchildrenfromlowSESfamilieslag
behindtheirmoreadvantagedpeersonavarietyofstandardizedtests(Bradley&Corwyn,
2002;Letourneau,Duffett-Leger,Levac,Watson,&Young-Morris,2013).Moreover,this
gapinacademicachievementduetofamilySESiswidening(Blanden&Gregg,2004).
AlthoughfamilySESisdirectlyrelatedtochildren’sacademicachievement,somemeta
analysisstudieshaveindicatedthatthestrengthofthisrelationshipvariesfromweakto
moderate(Kimetal.,2019;Liuetal.,2020;Sirin,2005;White,1982).Moreover,thereisa
[Link]
researchershavefoundthatfamilySESisnotsignificantlyrelatedtochildren’sreading
achievement([Link],Liu,Mcbride,Wong,&Lo,2016),otherstudieshave
identifiedasignificantbutweakrelationship(Duan,Guan,&Bu,2018;Pong&Hao,
2007).Therefore,toexplaintheinconsistentfindingsinpreviousresearch,itisnecessary
toexaminethemechanismsthroughwhichandunderwhatconditionsfamilySESis
associatedwithchildren’sacademicachievement. Parentalacademicinvolvementasamediator
Parentalacademicinvolvementreferstoparentalinvolvementintheirchildren’s
educationandschooling,anditisdefinedasparentalparticipationintheirchildren’s
schoolandparentalengagementinworkingwiththeirchildrentobenefittheirchildren’s
educationaloutcomes(Hilletal.,2004;Hill&Taylor,2004).Parentalacademic
involvementincludesaseriesofparentalbehaviours,suchasattendingparentteacher
conferences,schoolactivitiesandeventsanddiscussingschool-relatedtopicswiththeir
children(Grolnick&Slowiaczek,1994).Significantbenefitsofparentalinvolvementin
theirchildren’seducationhavebeenfoundwithrespecttochildren’sadaptationin
kindergarten(Wolf&Mccoy,2017),theiracademicachievementinprimaryschool
(Khajehpour&Ghazvini,2011),juniorandseniorhighschool(Benneretal.,2016),and
evencollege([Link]&Ho,2012).
ThefamilyinvestmentmodelpositsthatahighleveloffamilySESincreasesparental
investmentintheirchildren’sdevelopment,thusimprovingtheacademicachievementof
thesechildren(Conger&Donnellan,2007).Thetypesoffamilyinvestmentinclude
human,social,andculturalcapital(Huston&Bentley,2010),aswellasparental
involvementintheirchildren’seducation(Mcneal,1999;Sohr-Prestonetal.,2013;Wolf&
Mccoy,2017).Thus,basedonthefamilyinvestmentmodel,parentalacademic
involvementmaybeamediatorthatlinksfamilySESandchildren’sacademicachieve
ment.
Moreover,priorevidencehasimpliedamediatingroleofparentalacademic
involvementintherelationshipbetweenfamilySESandchildren’sacademicachieve
[Link],thewellestablishedandpositiveassociationbetweenparental
academicinvolvementandchildren’sacademicachievementhasbeendemonstrated
[Link]
correlationbetweenparentalacademicinvolvementandchildren’sacademicoutcomes
(Driessenetal.,2005;Khajehpour&Ghazvini,2011),butlongitudinalstudieshavealso
demonstratedthelong-lastingeffectsofparentalacademicinvolvementonchildren’s
academicperformance(Benneretal.,2016;Dearing,Kreider,Simpkins,&Weiss,2006).
Additionally,metaanalysisstudieshaveconsistentlyindicatedsignificantandpositive
associationsbetweenparentalacademicinvolvementandchildren’sacademicachieve
ment(Castroetal.,2015;Fan&Chen,2001;Jeynes,2005).Ontheotherhand,previous
studieshaveindicatedthatfamilySESiscorrelatedwithparentalacademicinvolvement.
Forinstance,highfamilyfinancialstrainisrelatedtolessparentalinvolvementin
schoolingforadolescents(Camacho-Thompson,Gillen-O’Neel,Gonzales,&Fuligni,
2016).Incontrast,advantagedfamiliesareabletooffermorecognitiveactivitiesthanare
disadvantagedfamilies(Mistry,Biesanz,Chien,Howes,&Benner,2008).Inaddition,
positivecorrelationsamongfamilySESandparentalparticipationinschoolactivitiesand
academicadvicehavebeenfound(Benneretal.,2016).Whenconsideringthisevidence
together,itisreasonabletohypothesizethatparentalacademicinvolvementmediatesthe
relationshipsbetweenfamilySESandchildren’sacademicachievement.