Parental involvement in English language education of Secondary School students - A case study of Korovuto settlement, Ba, Fiji

Abstract

English has become the medium of communication across the globe today and it is connected with social and economic power globally. The Fijian government has placed greater emphasis on ESL, by fostering compulsory literacy education from lower primary. Hence, in order to achieve merit in ESL learning, parental support is paramount. Parental contribution is a substantial factor influencing learners’ educational development. The present study, therefore, explores Fijian parents’ perceptions of involvement in their children’s learning English as a Second Language in terms of their demographic characteristics. The participants of this research study consist of the parents of the secondary school students from Korovuto, in Ba, Fiji who are studying from Year 9 to Year 13. This study was intended to be a sequential qualitative study which used 20 item surveys from nine (9) different homes together with telephone interview. This paper aims to study the educational and social background of the parents so that justification is provided in terms of the extent of support provided by the parents. It further explores the hindrances between ESL teachers and the students’ parents.  The paper will plausibly provide psycho education to the parents to minimize the differences between them and the ESL teachers