Abstract:
This case study was conducted to assess the influence of democratic parental
practices on the academic performance of rural Day secondary school students in
the Bulilima District in Matabeleland South Province in Zimbabwe. The different
academic performance by students exposed to the same teachers has become a
cause for concern for researchers and educators, hence this study on democratic
parenting and academic performance of secondary school students in the
Bulilima District in Matabeleland South Province, Zimbabwe. The accessible
populations were students, parents and teachers in three secondary schools.
Purposive sampling was used to select 10 students, 6 parents and 3 teachers. The
study concluded that democratic parenting practices had a positive and
significant relationship with students' academic performance as compared to
autocratic and mixed parental practices. The study recommended that the teacher
training curriculum be revisited with the aim of readjustments to accommodate
students from different parental practices. Awareness presentations for parents
during school visits were recommended. Lastly, efforts should be made to provide
counseling services to the affected students.
