THE EFFECT OF PARENTAL ENCOURAGEMENT ON STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENT IN EFL

Abstract

ABSTRACT : The purpose of this study is to determine the level of encouragement that Bahraini parents give to their children who are studying English as a school subject. Then the study measures the relationship between the level of parental encouragement and English scores of their children. The sample consists of 488 students of the third intermediate level and their parents residing in urban and rural areas. The students are 14-15 years old, including 214 boys and 336 girls. They have completed 9 years of education, and have studied English as a foreign language for a period of 6 years. A quantitative research design is utilized. The primary method of data collection is a 28-item questionnaire developed by the researcher. Parents are also asked to provide data on their socioeconomic background. Parents' responses to the items of the questionnaire are correlated with their children's achievement scores obtained from the students' results in the first and second semesters in English examinations of the academic year 2000-2001. Statistical measures of correlations and multiple regressions are applied to the set of the data using SPSS for Windows 2000 programme. This study reveals that Bahraini parents of third intermediate students report average levels of encouragement (3 out of 5). However, the regression analysis has come up with a model which shows that provision of learning aids, exam preparation, and pointing out the importance of learning English are the most critical factors affecting students' achievement in English. Other relationships have also been found between various socioeconomic factors and students' achievement. This study results in implications and recommendations for practice, and recommendations for future research. The most important implication is that schools should support existing parent encouragement and provide parents with advice on how to assist their children's learning.