ParentingStylesandEducationalAdvantage10 PDF
ParentingStylesandEducationalAdvantage10 PDF
ParentingStylesandEducationalAdvantage10 PDF
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Muzaza Musangu
Ministry of Education, Zambia
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Abstract
This study was conducted to examine how parenting styles adopted by middle and
lower-class parents affect academic achievement of children. A sample of 600 (287
male and 313 female) participants was purposefully drawn from a cross-section of
employees in the public sector in Lusaka, Zambia. These participants were classified
into three social classes based on occupation prestige and the level of education they
have attained. In the context of this study, participants whose occupations required
them to perform some manual work and hold a high school certificate or less were
classified as lower-class. Those whose occupations required them to perform
professional duties and hold college certificates or diplomas were classified as lower
middle-class. The upper middle class were those whose occupations required them to
perform professional duties and hold bachelor’s degrees or postgraduate. The study
adopted a survey research design of which a questionnaire was used to collect
relevant data from the respondents. The regression test results for the relationship
between authoritative parenting style and academic achievement of children
produced a weak positive relationship (ẞ value =0.361). Also, the regression test
results revealed that there was a weak negative relationship between authoritarian
parenting style and academic achievement of children produced a weak negative
relationship (ẞ=0.002).Further, the regression test results revealed that there was a
weak positive relationship (ẞ=-0.041) between permissive parenting style and
academic achievement of children.
New Words: Authoritative, Permissive and Authoritarian
1|Page
Introduction
There are recurrent debates among sociologists on the impact of home environment
on academic achievement of children. Parenting style is one of the factors of home
environment that has been found to solidly affect children’s academic achievement.
As defined by Bradley and Caldwell (1995), parenting is the control of children’s
conduct and behaviour so that they can carry on with a socially desirable life, adjust to
their environment, and pursue their goals. In other words, parenting is the
socialization process through which parents transmit social esteem, conviction,
custom, and standard to their children. Through this process, parents transmit socially
acceptable conduct to their children. This they do so that their children become good
citizens in society who are equipped with desirable conduct and competences. The
degree to which parents become acquainted with the sort of activities their children
are engaged in when they are away from home and school assumes an important role
in adolescence outcomes (Kim, 2008). This is especially obvious when children
perceive genuine care from their parents. Therefore, Kim (2008) was of the view that
parental monitoring is related with less school problems, less substance abuse, and
decreased misconduct. In this way, parental monitoring is emphatically connected to
social advancement and academic achievement.
Parenting styles can differ significantly from one family to another, one
country to another or one region to another depending on the cultural practices that
influence people’s way of life. Kulas (2014) identified three widely used parenting
styles as authoritative, authoritarian and permissive parenting styles. The first
parenting style is authoritative parenting style. According to Mgbemere and Telles
(2013), authoritative parenting style is characterised by high expectations and support
for the children. This definition suggests that authoritative parenting style is
characterised by the most advantageous condition, and a profitable connection
between parents and their children. Additionally, Bradley and Caldwell (1995) noted
authoritative parents know and comprehend their children’s autonomy, henceforth,
frequently engaging them in a two way verbal correspondence and family basic
leadership. They also noted that authoritative parents urge their children to logically
embrace greater duty of responding to the requirements of other family members
within their capacities. Essentially, authoritative parents are in most cases consistence
in executing rules set up for the family. In fact, when setting family rules all family
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members are involved and input or suggestions are considered. In an event that family
rules are set by parents, the reasoning behind each rule would be explained to the
children. It is for the above discussed reasons that children raised by authoritative
parents are more likely to become independent, self-reliant, socially accepted,
academically successful, and well-behaved. They are also less likely to report
depression and anxiety, and less likely to engage in antisocial behaviour like
delinquency and drug use.
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what parents think is right. This means that parents are in total control and have power
to give orders to their children. In this case, children’s role is to learn to respect this
authority and power their parents have without questioning anything they are ordered
to do. More so, usually there is little or no explanation given to children regarding
family rules but children are expected to accept and follow the rules because they are
set by their parents. When a child breaks any rule in an authoritarian household,
physical punishment is more likely to be used. It is thought that such discipline would
produce a good child. Therefore, Martin and Hite (2014) noted that authoritarian
parents tend to have children that are unhappy and have low self-esteem. This is most
likely a result of the intense pressure from their parents to be successful, and can often
result in the opposite effect, with their children doing poorly in school.
Therefore, this study was intended to examine how parenting styles employed
by parents of different social classes affect their children’s academic achievement in
Lusaka province, Zambia.
Literature Review
4|Page
permissive parenting style and students’ achievement. The association between
authoritarian parenting style and academic achievement of students was found to be a
weak negative association. Besharata, Azizi and Poursharifi (2011) explored the
relationship between parenting styles and students’ academic achievement on Iranian
families. The sample comprised 371 secondary school students (191 girls and 180
boys) and 706 parents (342 fathers, 364 mothers). All parents finished the Parental
Authority Questionnaire while students disclosed their grade point average (GPA) as
a measure of academic achievement. The multiple regression analysis revealed that
mothers’ authoritative was positively associated with children’s academic
achievement. On the other hand, the results for mothers’ authoritarian parenting style
produced negative association with children’s academic achievement. The multiple
regression analysis also revealed that fathers’ authoritative, permissive and
authoritarian parenting styles showed no significant association with children's
academic achievement. Also, the multiple regression analyses with children's
academic achievement as the dependent variable, where parenting styles were entered
simultaneously into the equation, revealed that only mothers’ authoritative parenting
style could significantly predict children's academic achievement (R2= .04).
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achievement among secondary school students in Iran. Also, the study revealed that
there was a negative relationship between permissive parenting styles and academic
achievement of students. It was also revealed that the relationship between
authoritarian parenting style and academic achievement of students was not
significant.
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from one urban primary school in the area of Brasov, Romania. The finding of the
study supported the notion that authoritative parenting was strong predictors of school
achievement than socio-demographic variables. The study disregarded parents’ level
of education variable stressing that responsiveness of parents and supervision are
significant factors for children’s academic achievement.
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between permissive parenting styles and academic performance of students. These
differences shows the outcomes could differ on the same study because of the
differences in cultural practices. Therefore, generalising the results of the studies
conducted in Western countries and Asian region on Zambia would be misleading.
This study was designed to add to literature on the effects of parenting styles
practiced by parents of different social class on academic achievement of children
from the Zambian perspective. Considering that there are inconsistences in the finding
of past studies conducted in different geographical locations, this prompted the need
for this study to be undertaken in Zambia where we identified a gap in literature on
the topic at hand. The differences in cultural practices could mislead our perception if
we are to generalise the findings of studies conducted in different social-cultural
context on Zambia. As noted by America Institute for Family Studies (2003), beliefs
and expectations that are embedded in culture give shape to the parenting strategies
practiced by parents. Therefore, parenting styles practiced by parents in Western
countries and Asia where much of the study on the topic at hand has been done could
be different from those practiced by the Zambian parents.
From the above general objective, the following specific objectives were extracted:
Research Questions
The following research questions were constructed to guide the research process:
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iii) Is there a relationship between permissive style and academic success of
children in Lusaka province in Zambia?
Hypotheses
To answer the research questions raised above, the following hypotheses were raised:
Theoretical Framework
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concerted efforts and talents. Lareau called this style of parenting concerted
cultivation.
On the other hand, Lareau (2003) called parenting style practiced by lower-
class parents as accomplishment of natural growth. With this parenting practice,
children are left for long unstructured hours playing with their neighbours and
cousins. They would play games like sneak and hide that involves chasing each other
and hiding within the big neighbourhoods. Also, children are left to spend long hours
watching television with their large extended families (Lareau, 2003). According
Lareau (2003), parents give orders to their children rather than soliciting for their
opinions as most middle-class parents do. Parents believe that they should care for
their children, but they should reach adulthood naturally without too much
interference from adults (Lareau, 2003).
In addition, a study by Miller (2015) suggested that there was variation in
parenting style according to parents’ level of education. In this study, 8% of the
respondents with a postgraduate degree indicated that they often spank their children
compared to 22% of those with a high school qualification or less. Similarly, a study
by Cardona, Watkins, and Noble (2009) revealed that there was greater emphasis on
concerted cultivation among parents who have attained high level of educational
capital. On the other hand, parents with low levels of educational capital apply less
intervention on their children’s education, and more unregulated practices on
homework and extracurricular activities (Cardona, Watkins, and Noble, 2009).
Similarly, Bodovski (2010) was of the view that parents who engage their children in
more extensive concerted cultivation are influenced by their own educational and
occupational experiences to have the desire for their children to achieve similar levels.
Therefore, the foregoing theoretical framework provided a guide throughout
the process of conducting this study.
Methodology
i) Research Design
This study adopted a survey research design. According to A Dillman (2000) a survey
research is among the essential tools used for estimation in applied social research. In
this study, the questionnaire was designed in such a way that respondents reported
their parents’ parenting strategies when they were young. In addition, respondents
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reported their demographic data, i.e. level of education, gender and their occupation.
In addition, they also reported their parents’ occupational statuses and the level of
education they achieved.
ii) Participants
This study utilised respondents who were employees in the public sector in Zambia.
These employees were classified into three social classes, i.e. lower class, lower
middle-class and upper middle class. According to Zambia Institute of Policy
Analysis and Research (2014) social class to which employees belong is determined
as a result of prestige that comes along their occupation. It is worth noting that
variation in monthly income and prestige is a result of importance attached to certain
occupations than others. This is because certain occupations are more technical and
involving than others.
The target population was classified into three social classes was based on
occupational prestige and level of education. Those who performed manual work and
hold a high school certificate were classified as the lower class. These receive more
attention from the government since their salaries are considered not enough to meet
the cost of living. For this reason, the government uses the minimum wage laws to
guarantee a fundamental personal satisfaction among the lowest paid workers within
its borders (Vitez, 2017). As noted by Rose (2016), the lower-class workers have very
limited options and often rely on means tested government programs to meet their
living expenses. Workers within this category are usually equated to blue-collar
workers because they perform some manual work (Forrest, 2012). According to
CSO-Zambia (2012), lower-class occupations in Zambia include general workers,
cleaners, cashiers, plant and machine operators and assemblers, clerical support
workers, forestry and fisheries, Craft and related trades workers, Service and sales
workers, skilled agriculture and other elementary occupations. Little and McGivern
(2013) asserted that lower class workers usually have less educational background
that makes them earn a smaller monthly income. Most of these occupations for lower
class are exempted from paying tax because their salaries fall below the tax
exemption threshold (K3,300).
The middle class workers could be split into two social classes, lower middle
class and upper middle class. According ZIPAR (2013), middle class workers earn a
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monthly pay over the base limit for income tax exclusion. This makes them the
fundamental citizens and along these lines drivers of the nation's economy. As noted
by Beeghley (2004), the lower middle class are workers with at least college
education and have considerably higher than average income and compensation than
the lower class. According to Gilbert (2002), lower middle-class employments may
incorporate semiskilled and skilled workers with generally an average life. These
perform professional skills and technical skills depending what programme they
pursued. Lower class workers earn a monthly salary of between K3, 301 to K4, 100
and are obliged to pay monthly income tax of 25% and 30%.
The upper middle class consists of well-educated professionals. Most of the
upper middle-class workers hold bachelor’s and postgraduate degrees (Little and
McGivern, 2013). It is for this reason that upper middle class occupations are viewed
as white-collar professionals. The upper middle class earn a salary of above K6, 200.
At this study was conducted, upper middle workers were obliged to paying 37%
monthly income tax. Some notable professions in this category include physicians,
dentists, lawyers, commissioned military officers, accountants, economists, urban
planners, college and university lecturers, architects, psychologists, scientists,
engineers, optometrists and pharmacist.
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iv) Procedure
Three steps were followed in order to collect data from the respondents. The figure
below shows the steps that were followed in order to collect relevant data from the
respondents.
According to the figure above, the first step was to seek appointments with relevant
authorities overseeing government institutions where data was collected. These
appointments were made via telephone followed by a formal letter. At this stage, we
formerly expressed interest to conduct a study at selected government institutions.
Thereafter, we visited the selected government institutions on appointment dates to
explain the purpose of the research. At this stage, we held meetings with authorities
overseeing the institutions to explain what the study was all about and how collected
data would be used. Finally, we visited the institutions that accepted out study for data
collection from the employees. At this stage, we moved from office to office
distributing the questionnaires and fixed the time to collect them back.
v) Instrument
Since this study adopted a survey research design, a questionnaire was used to collect
relevant data from respondents. The questionnaire was designed in such a way that
respondents reported their level of education as well as their fathers’. They also
reported what were their parents’ occupations and rated on the 5 point Likert scale the
degree to which they agreed or disagreed with each of the statements. The coding of
the Likert scale used in this study were 1=strongly disagree; 2= disagree; 3=agree; 4=
strongly agree.
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vi) Data and Measurements
This study relied on primary source of data while secondary data was used for
literature review and validation of the primary data obtained. Therefore, data was
collected by means of self-reported questionnaire. The variables were measured as
follows:
a) Academic Achievement of Respondents
Academic achievement was measured based on the level of education that
respondents stated they had level they have attained. The options provided were high
school certificate or below, college certificate or diploma, bachelor’s degree or above.
c) Parenting Style
Parenting style consists of the attitudes about children that parents communicate to
their own children and the emotional climate in which these attitudes are expressed.
The items that were used to measure parenting style engaged in by parents of
respondents were adopted from the questionnaire designed by Buri (1991). The
original questionnaire has thirty (30) items which were all adopted with
modifications. Respondents rated on the 5-point Likert scale to show the degree to
which they agreed or disagreed with each item. The coding of the Likert scale used
were 1=strongly disagree; 2= disagree; 3=agree; 4= strongly agree.
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d) Validity Testing
With modification made to the original to suite the Zambian context, the new question
was subjected to validity testing. Therefore, a copy of the primary questionnaire was
given to three experts in Zambia to check for technical flaws. After effecting
necessary amendments to the questionnaire based on experts’ views, the instrument
was confirmed to have validity.
e) Reliability Testing
After testing the instrument for validity, the instrument underwent reliability testing.
A test is reliable if it is given to the same group of people for several times in a
short time, and the results are consistent. Therefore, Cronbach’s Alpha was used to
determine reliability of the instrument. The results are indicated in the table below.
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Results and Data Analysis
The findings of this study are shown in Figures and Tables that follows:
Descriptive Statistics
i) Distribution of Respondents by Gender
The figure below presents the distribution of respondents by gender.
52.20%
47.80%
Male Female
According to Figure 2 above, 47.80% of the respondents were male while the other
52.20% were female.
Occupation
Parenting Strategies Unskilled Semi-Skilled Skilled TOTAL
Authoritarian 33% 33.9% 41.5% 36.1%
Permissive 38.2% 37% 23.1% 32.8%
Authoritative 28.8% 29.1% 35.4% 31.1%
%within the Group 100% 100% 100% 100%
The results in Table 1 above reveals that among fathers who were unskilled workers,
33% were authoritarian, 38.2% were permissive while 28.8% were authoritative. The
results also reveals that among fathers who were semi-skilled workers, 33.9% were
authoritarian, 37% were permissive while 29.1% were authoritative. In addition, the
results reveal that among fathers who were skilled workers, 41.5% were authoritarian,
23.1% were permissive while 35.4% were authoritative.
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iii) Distribution of Mothers by Parenting Style and Occupation
The results in Table 2 above reveals that among mothers who were unskilled workers,
31.4% were authoritarian, 38.9% were permissive while 29.7% were
authoritative. The results also reveals that among mothers who were semi-skilled
workers, 32.1% were permissive, 35.7% were permissive while 32.2% were
authoritative. As for mothers who were reported to have been skilled workers, the
results indicate that 39.3% were authoritarian, 27.2% were permissive style while
33.5% were authoritative.
Table 4: Cross-Tabulation Results for fathers’ Level of Education and Parenting Styles.
The results in Table 4 above indicate out of the total number of fathers who were
reported to have achieved high school certificates or less, 33.3% were reported to
have been authoritarian, 39.5% were permissive while 27.2% were authoritative
parenting strategy. The results also reveal that among fathers who were indicated to
have achieved college certificates or diplomas, 33.9% were reported to have been
authoritarian, 36.4% were permissive while 29.7% were authoritative. Further, the
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cross-tabulation results show that among fathers who were reported to have attained
bachelor’s degrees or above, 40% were authoritarian, 29.1% were permissive while
30.9% were authoritative.
Table 5 below presents the results for cross-tabulation of mothers’ level of education
with parenting styles they practiced.
The results in Table 5 above indicate that among mothers who had high school
certificates or less, 30.4% were authoritarian, 44.2% were permissive while
25.4% were authoritative parenting. The results also reveal that among mothers who
had achieved college certificates or diplomas, 31.6% were authoritative, 29.3% were
permissive style while 39.1% were authoritative. Further, the results reveal that
among mothers who achieved bachelor’s degrees or above, 32.2% were authoritative,
24.8% were permissive while 43% were reported to be authoritative.
Table 6 below presents the results for the means and standard deviations of
respondents’ level of education and their mothers’ parenting styles.
Table 6: Means and Standard Deviations of Respondents’ Level of Education and Mothers’
Parenting Styles
mothers’ Parenting Styles
Respondents’ Level of Authoritarian Permissive Authoritative
Education n Mean S.D n Mean S.D n Mean S.D
High School or Below 196 19.02 2.00 196 20.11 1.96 196 19.58 1.60
College Certificate 190 20.00 1.84 190 19.24 1.91 190 20.94 1.73
/Diploma
Bachelor’s Degree / 191 20.02 1.92 191 19.02 2.05 191 21.89 1.65
Postgraduate
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According to the results in Table 6 above, respondents who attained bachelor’s
degrees or above expressed the most that their mother’ were authoritarian (M=20.02,
S.D=1.92). In second place were those who achieved college certificates or diplomas
(M=20.00, S.D=1.84) while those with high school certificate or less were the least
(M=19.02, S.D=2.00). The results also reveal that respondents with high school
certificates or less expressed the most that their mothers were permissive (M=20.11,
S.D=1.96). In the second place were those with college certificates or diplomas
(M=19.24, S.D=1.91) while those with bachelor’s degrees or above were the least
(M=19.02, SD=2.05). Finally, the results reveals that respondents who attained
bachelor’s degrees or above expressed the most that their mothers were authoritative
(M=21.89, SD=1.65). In the second place were those who achieved college
certificates or diplomas (M=20.94, S.D=1.73) while those with high school
certificate or less were the least (M=19.58, S.D=1.60).
Table 7 below presents the results for the means and standard deviations of
respondents’ level of education and their fathers’ parenting styles.
Table 7: Means and Standard Deviations of Respondents’ Level of Education and Mothers’
Parenting Styles
Fathers’ Parenting Styles
Respondents’ Level Authoritarian Style Permissive Style Authoritative Style
of Education n Mean S.D n Mean S.D n Mean S.D
High School or 189 18.32 1.97 189 22.43 2.01 189 19.46 2.00
Below
College Certificate 183 20.92 2.32 183 20.36 1.65 183 20.01 2.27
/Diploma
Bachelor’s Degree / 192 20.87 2.23 192 18.11 1.95 192 23.40 2.32
Postgraduate
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above were the least (M=18.11, SD=1.95). Finally, the results indicate that
respondents who achieved bachelor’s degrees or above expressed the most that their
fathers were authoritative (M=23.40, SD=2.32). In the second place were those who
attained college certificates or diplomas (M=20.01, S.D=2.27) while those with high
school certificate or less were the least (M=19.46, S.D=2.00).
The first roll in Table 5 above presents statistical regression test results for the
hypothesis stating that there is no relationship between authoritative parenting style
and academic achievement of children in Lusaka Province, Zambia. The results
produced R-value =.158 and R2 = .572 that indicated that 57.2% of the variance in
children’s academic achievement was accounted for by their parents’ authoritative
parenting style. The F-value (132.253) which is significant at Sig. F < 0.05 revealed
that the effect of parents’ authoritative parenting style on academic performance of
their children was significant. Therefore, H0 was rejected instead H1 which suggests
that authoritative parenting has influence on academic achievement of children was
adopted. The ẞ value =0.361 indicated that there is a weak positive relationship
between authoritative parenting and academic achievement of children in Lusaka
province, Zambia.
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The second roll in Table 5 above presents statistical regression test results for
the hypothesis stating that there is no relationship between authoritarian parenting
style and academic achievement of children in Lusaka Province, Zambia. The
produced R-value = .879 and R2=0.773 that indicated that 77.3% of the variance of
children’s academic achievement was accounted for by their parents’ authoritarian
parenting style. The F-value of 333.805 which is significant at Sig. F < 0.05 also
revealed that the effect of parents’ authoritarian parenting style on academic
achievement of their children was significant. Therefore, H0 which suggest that there
is relationship between authoritarian parenting style and academic achievement of
children in Lusaka province was maintained. The ẞ value =0.002 indicated that there
is a weak positive relationship between parents’ authoritarian parenting style and
academic achievement of their children.
The third roll in Table 5 above presents statistical regression test results for the
hypothesis stating that there is no relationship between permissive parenting and
academic achievement of children in Lusaka province in Zambia. The results
produced R-value=0.654 and R2 = 0.424 that indicated that 42.4% of the variance in
children’s academic achievement was accounted for by their parents’ permissive
parenting style. The F-value (72.212) which is significant at Sig. F<0.05 revealed that
the effect of permissive parenting strategy on academic achievement of their children
was significant. Therefore, H0 was rejected instead H1 which suggests that permissive
parenting style affects academic performance of secondary school students was
adopted. The ẞ=-0.041 indicated that there is a weak negative relationship between
parents’ permissive parenting strategy and academic achievement of their children.
Analysis of Data
The regression results in the first row of Table 8 shows that there is a weak positive
relationship between authoritative parenting style and academic achievement of
children in Lusaka province (ẞ=0.361). The question we asked ourselves was that
which parents practice authoritative parenting? The results in Table 2 revealed that
28.8% of the unskilled fathers were authoritative while 29.1% of those who were
semi-skilled and 35.4% of those who were skilled practiced the same style. Also, the
results in Table 3 revealed that 29.7% of the unskilled mothers were authoritative
while 32.2% of those who were semi-skilled and 33.5% of those who were skilled
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practiced the same parenting style. In addition, the results in Table 4 reveals that
27.2% of the fathers who had high school certificate or less 27% were authoritarian
while 29.7% of those who attained college certificate/diploma and 30.9% of those
who achieved bachelor’s degree or above used the same parenting style. Also, the
results in Table 5 revealed that 25.4% of the mothers who had high school certificate
or less were authoritative while 39.1% of those who attained college certificate or
diploma and 43% among those who achieved bachelor’s degrees or more utilised the
same parenting strategy. We, therefore, again asked ourselves a question as which
respondents had parents who were authoritative. The results in Table 6 reveals that
respondents who achieved bachelor’s degrees or more reported the most that their
parents were authoritative (M=21.89, S.D=1.65). In the second position were those
who attained college certificates or diplomas (M=20.94, S.D=1.73) while those with
high school certificate or below were the least (M=19.58, S.D=1.60).
Further, the regression statistical test results in row 2 of Table 8 revealed that
there is a weak positive relationship between authoritarian parenting style and
academic achievement children in Lusaka province (ẞ value =0.02) though slightly
weaker that the results for authoritative. In our quest to determine which parents were
authoritarian, we performed cross-tabulation of parents’ occupation and level of
education with parenting styles they practiced. Therefore, the results in Table 2
revealed that 33% of unskilled fathers were authoritarian while 33.9% of those who
were semiskilled and 41% of those who skilled practiced the same parenting style.
Also, the results in Table 3 revealed that 31.4% of the mothers who were unskilled
were authoritarian while 32.1% of those who were semi-skilled and 39.3% of those
who were skilled utilised style. Additionally, the results in Table 4 revealed that
33.3% of the fathers who had achieved high school certificates or less were
authoritarian while 33.9% of those who attained college certificate and 40% of those
who achieved bachelor’s degrees or above practiced the same parenting strategy.
Also, the results in Table 5 reveal that 30.4% of mothers who had high school
certificates or less were authoritarian while 31.6% of mothers who attained college
certificate or less and 32.2% of those who achieved bachelor’s degree or above used
the same method. Now, which respondents were raised by authoritarian parents? The
results in table 6 reveal that respondents with bachelor’s degrees or above reported the
most that their mothers were authoritative (M=20.02, S.D=1.92) while those with
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college certificate or diplomas were second (M=20.00, S.D=1.84). Those with high
school certificate were least (M=19.09, S. D=2.00).
The regression test results in row 3 of Table 5 revealed that there is a weak
negative relationship between permissive parenting style and academic achievement
of children in Lusaka province (ẞ value=-0.041). To determine which parents use
permissive style, we performed cross tabulation of fathers and mothers with their
parenting styles. Therefore, the results in Table 2 reveal that 38.2% of the fathers who
were unskilled were permissive, while 37% of those who were semi-skilled and
32.8% of those who were skilled applied the same method. Also, the results in Table 3
reveal that 38.9% of mothers who were unskilled workers used permissive parenting
strategy, while 35.7% of those who were semi-skilled and 27.2% of those who were
skilled were reported to have been applying the same strategy. In addition, the results
in Table 4 reveal that among mothers who had high school certificate or less 30%
used permissive style, while 39.5% of the fathers with high school certificates or
below applied permissive style, while 36.4% of those with college certificates or
diplomas and 29.1% of those with bachelor’s degrees or above applied the same style.
Also, the results in Table 5 revealed that 44.2% of the mothers with high school
certificates or less were permissive, while 29.3% among those who attained college
certificate or diploma and 24.8% among those who achieved bachelor’s degree or
more were reported to have been applying the same parenting style. Now, which
respondents were raised by permissive parents? The results in Table 6 reveal that
majority of the respondents with high school certificates or less reported that their
mothers were permissive (M=20.11, S. D=1.96). Those who attained college
certificates or diplomas were second (M=19.24, S. D=1.91) while those who achieved
bachelor’s degree or more were least (M=19.02, S. D=2.05). Also, the results in Table
7 reveal that majority of the fathers with high school certificate or less reported that
their fathers were permissive (M=22.43, S. D=2.01). Those who attained college
certificates or diplomas were second (M=20.36, S. D=1.65) while those who achieved
bachelor’s degrees or above were least (M=18.11, S. D=1.95).
Therefore, the foregoing results has revealed that in Lusaka parents with a
higher level of education and those who are skilled workers are likely to be
authoritative or authoritarian. These two parenting styles have been found to have a
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weak positive relationship with children’s academic achievement. Those are have the
lowest level of education and are unskilled workers are more likely to be permissive.
This study has found permissive to have a weak negative relationship with children’s
academic achievement.
Discussion
Findings of this study indicate that level of education educated and occupation
determine the kind of parenting style parents would adopt. Cross-tabulation results
shows that parents who have achieved high level of education and those who are
skilled workers are more likely to employ authoritative and authoritarian parenting
style. The study also found that few parents with moderate education are also more
likely to be authoritative though not as much as those who are highly educated. In
addition, the study also found that majority of the parents with lower level of
education and those who are unskilled workers are more likely to adopt permissive.
The above findings suggest that parents who are upper and lower middle class
are more likely to be authoritative or authoritarian than would be those who are lower
class. Slight majority of parents who are lower middle class are likely to adopt
authoritative or permissive parenting style with few of them adopting authoritative
parenting style. These findings are contracted the finding by Kohn (1969) that
suggested that lower class parents are more likely to practice authoritarian parenting
than the middle-class parents. Similarly, it also defied Morsy and Rothstein (2015)’s
finding that noted most of the lower socio-economic parents are harsh when
controlling the behaviour of their children. In the Zambian tradition, parents instil The
only agreement could be on the finding that lower socio-economic parents engage in
fewer educationally supportive activities
This study also found that there is a weak positive relationship (ẞ=0.361)
between authoritative parenting style and academic achievement of children in Lusaka
province. This finding is supported by Seth and Ghormode (2013) conducted on 1000
secondary school children in Nagpur, India, which revealed a strong positive
relationship between authoritative parenting style and academic performance of
secondary school students. Also, a study by Turner et al (2009) revealed that
authoritative parenting style emphatically and fundamentally predicts academic
achievement of children. Similarly, a study by Zahedani et al (2016) conducted on
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students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences produced a strong positive
association between authoritative parenting style and students’ academic achievement
(p=0.62). In addition, a study by Dehyadegary, Yaacob & Juhari (2012) conducted on
Iranian teenagers in Sirjan also revealed that there is a positive relationship between
authoritative parenting style and academic achievement of secondary school students.
The difference between the findings of the current study and the studies cited in this
journal is that this study found a weak positive relationship between authoritative
parenting style and academic of children while other studies found a strong positive
relationship. On the contrary, a study by Norlizah and Hew (2015) conducted among
undergraduate students at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) produced no significant
relationship between authoritative parenting style and undergraduates’ academic
performance.
The other finding was that there is indicated that there is a weak positive
relationship between authoritarian parenting style and academic achievement of their
children in Lusaka province (ẞ value =0.002). This finding contracted many other
studies conducted in different social-cultural contexts. For example, a study by
Zahedani et al (2016) conducted on students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences
produced a weak negative association between authoritative parenting and academic
performance of secondary school students (p=-0.03). Similarly, a study by Norlizah
and Hew (2015) conducted among undergraduate students at Universiti Putra
Malaysia (UPM) revealed a significant negative relationship between authoritarian
parenting style and undergraduates’ academic performance. In addition, a study by
Dehyadegary, Yaacob & Juhari (2012) conducted on Iranian teenagers in Sirjan also
revealed that the relationship between authoritarian parenting style and academic
achievement of students was not significant.
The last finding of this study is that there is a weak negative relationship
between permissive parenting style and academic achievement of children (ẞ value=-
0.041). This finding is supported by Dehyadegary, Yaacob & Juhari (2012) whose
study on Iranian teenagers in Sirjan revealed that there was a negative relationship
between permissive parenting styles and academic achievement of students. However,
this study contradicted many other studies conducted in different social-cultural
contexts. For example, a study by Norlizah and Hew (2015) conducted on
undergraduate students at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) found that there was no
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significant relationship between permissive parenting styles and academic
performance of students. Also, a study by Mehrinejada, Rajabimoghadamb and
Tarsafic (2015) conducted on 400 students who were randomly selected from
educational zones 2, 3 and 5 of Tehran in Iran found no relationship between
permissive parenting style of mothers and children’s creativeness.
Conclusion
In sum, this study has reviewed that social class of the parents affect their parenting
styles. The study also found that the effects of authoritative parenting style were still
superior over permissive and authoritarian parenting styles although the difference
was minimal in comparison to authoritarian. This study also contradicted most studies
conducted in Western countries and Asian region as it has found that the effects of
authoritarian parenting style was slightly superior when compared to the effects of
permissive parenting style.
Recommendations
The following recommendations were made:
o Since the study was conducted in Lusaka province which is urban, future studies
may focus on the rural provinces.
o The government of Zambia and other stakeholders concerned with the education
of children may initiate parenting training for parents for the benefit children.
o Future studies may focus on exploring other factors of home environment that
affect academic achievement of children of different social classes in the Zambian
context.
Limitations
The following were the limitations of this study:
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