EXPLORING THE ROLE OF PARENTAL ENGAGEMENT IN SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR STUDENT ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66811/eije.vol1.no1.88Keywords:
parental engagement; school counselling; academic adjustment; social adjustment; family-school partnership; South-South NigeriaAbstract
Parental engagement is increasingly recognised as an important condition for effective school counselling because students move continuously between home and school, and difficulties in either setting can affect academic and social adjustment. This conceptual thematic study examines the role of parental engagement in school counselling programmes and its implications for secondary-school students in South-South Nigeria. The study synthesises contemporary Nigerian research, recent international meta-analyses and established scholarship on family-school partnerships. It distinguishes parental engagement from mere parental presence by emphasising purposeful communication, shared problem-solving, educational expectations, responsive monitoring, participation in counselling decisions and support for agreed interventions. The Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler model of the parental involvement process provides the main theoretical framework, while Epstein’s family-school-community partnership perspective supports the analysis of practical engagement forms. The conceptual results identify six interrelated pathways through which parental engagement can strengthen counselling outcomes: early identification of student needs; continuity between home and school interventions; academic socialisation and learning support; social-emotional support and behaviour regulation; career and educational decision support; and improved referral, monitoring and follow-up. The analysis also shows that parental engagement can become counterproductive when it takes the form of intrusive homework control, public confrontation of teachers, excessive decision-making for adolescents or breaches of counselling confidentiality. Evidence from Rivers, Delta, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Edo States indicates that parental support, family conditions, guidance services and school-family communication are associated with academic performance, adjustment, discipline and career development. The study concludes that school counsellors should treat parents as structured partners while preserving student dignity, developmental independence and professional confidentiality.
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