Revisiting Literature on Parental Investment and Academic Achievement: Trends, Evidence, and Implications
Acceptance: 09/06/2026
Published: 29/06/2026
Abstract
This review synthesizes empirical research from 2000 to 2024 on the influence of parental investment on students’ academic achievement across diverse cultural and socioeconomic settings. Integrating evidence from quantitative, qualitative, mixed-method, and experimental studies, it analyses core dimensions of parental investment—emotional support, time-based involvement, home learning activities, financial inputs, and parental beliefs—and their differential contributions to academic performance. The evidence consistently shows that nonmaterial investments, particularly emotional and home-based engagement, exert stronger positive effects on achievement than financial expenditure alone. Socioeconomic conditions significantly mediate families’ capacity to invest, producing persistent disparities, while gendered patterns of underinvestment— often disadvantaging girls—reflect entrenched sociocultural norms. Emerging work underscores the role of parental mindsets and psychosocial factors, with belief-focused interventions yielding measurable academic gains. Notwithstanding substantial scholarship, gaps remain regarding the interaction among investment domains, the mechanisms sustaining gender bias, and contextual influences in low-income and rural environments. The review concludes that parental investment is multidimensional and structurally embedded, necessitating more integrated, context-sensitive research to inform policies aimed at reducing educational inequities and improving academic achievement.
Author Name:
Vandana Mishra ; Dr. Prasamita Mohanty
Pages:
452-466
DOI Number:
10.5281/zenodo.20951284
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Writer Name
Vandana Mishra ; Dr. Prasamita Mohanty
Pages
452-466
DOI Numbers
10.5281/zenodo.20951284
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