One Purpose, Multiple Realities: Parental Involvement in Two Private Secondary Schools in Malawi

Abstract

Parental Involvement has been associated with better academic achievement.
However, some studies indicate that parental involvement diminishes during
adolescence. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive multisite case study was
three-fold: (a) to explore the nature of Parental Involvement in children’s education
at the secondary level; (b) to determine types of involvement; and (c) to examine
parents’ and educators’ attitudes towards Parental Involvement in private schools
in Malawi. The 90 participants comprised of six administrators, 19 teachers and 62
parents. Grounded theory, an inductive methodology that uses constant
comparative data analysis process was used to make generalizations and discover
emergent themes from the data. The cross-case analysis portrayed a package of
contrasting ideologies held by proprietors, educators and parents which formed the
bedrock of the type of partnership that existed between parents and educators. These
ideological influences resulted in the formation of perspectives and attitudes, which
in turn translated into the schools’ practices and participants’ actions. Based on the
findings, recommendations were developed with the intention of improving
Parental Involvement in the two Malawian private secondary schools.