THE ROLE OF PARENTING STYLES IN SHAPING ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT: A STUDY AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

International Journal of Current Research and Modern Education (IJCRME) International Peer Reviewed - Refereed Research Journal, Website: www.crystalpen.in Impact Factor: 6.925, ISSN (Online): 2455 - 5428, Volume 10, Issue 2, July - December, 2025 80 THE ROLE OF PARENTING STYLES IN SHAPING ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT: A STUDY AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS Flurina Boruah* & Sima Kalita** * Research Scholar, Department of Education, Gauhati University, Jalukbari, Guwahati, Assam, India ** Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Gauhati University, Jalukbari, Guwahati, Assam, India Cite This Article: Flurina Boruah & Sima Kalita, “The Role of Parenting Styles in Shaping Academic Engagement: A Study Among Secondary School Students”, International Journal of Current Research and Modern Education, Volume 10, Issue 2, July - December, Page Number 80-84, 2025. Copy Right: © Crystal Pen Publication, 2025 (All Rights Reserved). This is an Open Access Article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: Abstract: This study explores the relationship between parenting styles and the academic engagement of secondary school students. Utilizing a descriptive survey method, investigator surveyed 140 students from different schools, employing validated questionnaires to assess perceived parenting styles and academic engagement levels. The results indicate significant correlations between democratic parenting and high academic engagement. The findings underscore the critical role of parenting in shaping students' educational outcomes and highlight the need for parental awareness and education programs to foster supportive home environments conducive to academic success. Key Words: Academic Engagement, Parenting Styles, Secondary School Students Introduction: Academic engagement, characterized by students' enthusiasm, effort, and persistence in their educational pursuits, is a critical determinant of their academic success and overall development. In secondary education, the level of academic engagement often dictates students' academic trajectories, influencing their future educational and career opportunities. Understanding the elements that promote or hinder academic engagement is crucial for educators, politicians, and parents alike. One of the pivotal factors influencing academic engagement is the style of parenting adopted by caregivers. Parenting styles, broadly categorized into authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful, encompass a range of behaviours and attitudes that parents exhibit towards their children. Each style uniquely affects the emotional, social, and cognitive development of adolescents, thereby impacting their engagement in academic activities. Authoritarian parenting, defined by high attentiveness and high demands, is frequently related with positive educational outcomes. This method blends warmth and support with clear standards and autonomy, creating an environment in which students are encouraged to actively participate in their learning. Conversely, authoritarian parenting, marked by high demands but low responsiveness, may lead to high levels of stress and lower self-esteem among students, potentially diminishing their academic engagement. Permissive parenting, which is characterized by strong responsiveness but low demands, frequently leaves teenagers lacking the self-discipline and drive required for prolonged academic work. Finally, negligent parenting, defined by poor responsiveness and low demands, might result in academic disengagement due to a lack of parental support and involvement. This paper aims to study the intricate connection between different parenting patterns and the academic engagement of secondary school students. By examining empirical evidence and theoretical frameworks, the study seeks to elucidate how parenting practices shape students' attitudes towards learning, their involvement in school activities, and their overall academic performance. Through a comprehensive analysis, this research endeavours to provide insights that can inform educational strategies and parental interventions designed to enhance student engagement and academic achievement. Objectives:  To find out the perceived parenting styles of parents by the secondary school students of Tinsukia district.  To study the levels of different parenting styles as perceived by the students.  To compare the Parenting styles as perceived by the Secondary School Students of Tinsukia District in relation to their Gender, viz. Male and Female.  To study the levels of academic engagement of secondary school students.  To investigate the relationship between different parenting styles and academic engagement of secondary school students. Materials and Methods:  Study design and setting Descriptive method has been used to operate the research. Study Participants and Sampling:  The population of the study: The population of the current study includes all the class X students studying in the schools of Tinsukia district, Assam. The total number of class X students is 7398 (3098 boys and 4300 girls). There are a total of 127 schools in the Tinsukia district.  Sample and sampling technique: The total sample used in the present study was 140 students (68 boys and 72 girls), which were collected by using proportional random sampling technique out of the total class X students (7398) from the Tinsukia district, Assam. Data were collected by using two standardized scale. Delimitations of the Study:  In this study, the Tinsukia district of Assam has been considered as the study area.  The study has been delimited to Govt. and provincialized secondary school students of Tinsukia district.  For the present study, only the class X students studying in the govt. and provincialized schools has been considered. International Journal of Current Research and Modern Education (IJCRME) International Peer Reviewed - Refereed Research Journal, Website: www.crystalpen.in Impact Factor: 6.925, ISSN (Online): 2455 - 5428, Volume 10, Issue 2, July - December, 2025 81  In the present study, Gender has been delimited to boys and girls. Data Collection Tool and Technique: The following tools have been used in the study:  Academic engagement scale by Dr. Vijaylaxmi AHM, Ms. Lingeshwari Mysore and Dr. K. P. Suresh (2022).  Parenting style scaledeveloped and standardized by Prof. Madhu Gupta & Ms. Dimple Mehtani (2017). The Technique of Data Collection: The researcher visited the schools personally and distributed the copies of the standardized scales and collected accordingly. The Procedure of Interpretation and Analysis: After the collection of students’ responses, the analysis has been done by using SPSS. For the present study, mean, standard deviation, t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyse the data. Analysis and Interpretation: Objective 1: To find out the perceived parenting styles of parents by the secondary school students. Table 1: Showing the mean score of each four parenting styles Parenting Styles Mean SD Democratic 24.78 5.09 Autocratic 22.79 4.39 Permissive 14.67 4.63 Uninvolved 5.74 4.77 Figure 1: Graphical representation showing the perceived parenting styles of parents by students Table 1 shows that mean and SD of democratic parenting style is 24.78 and 5.09 respectively. Mean and SD of autocratic parenting style is 22.79 and 4.39, mean and SD of permissive parenting style is 14.67 and 4.63 and lastly, mean and SD of uninvolved parenting style is 5.74 and 4.77. So, it is found that students belong to the democratic parenting style is more than the autocratic, permissive and uninvolved parenting style. Then the second parenting style which is more popular among these secondary school students is autocratic parenting style. And lastly, students belong to the uninvolved parenting style is very less than the other three parenting styles. Objective 2: To study the levels of different parenting styles as perceived by the students. Table 2: Showing levels of different parenting styles as perceived by the children Levels Democratic Autocratic Permissive Uninvolved N P N P N P N P Extremely High 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 High 11 7.9% 5 3.6% 0 0 0 0 Above Average 31 22.1% 37 26.4% 0 0 0 0 Average 68 48.6% 63 45% 12 8.6% 5 3.6% Below Average 19 13.6% 27 19.3% 36 25.7% 12 8.6% Low 9 6.4% 8 5.7% 46 32.9% 23 16.4% Extremely Low 2 1.4% 0 0 46 32.9% 100 71.4% Table 2 shows that most of the parents of secondary school students (48.6 %) are having average level of democratic parenting style, followed by (22.1%) of parents at above average level, 13.6% of parents at below average level, 7.9% of parents at high level, 6.4% of the parents are at low level and only 1.4% of the parents are at extremely low in democratic parenting style. 0 5 10 15 20 25 democratic autocratic permissive uninvolved 24.78 22.79 14.67 5.74 Mean International Journal of Current Research and Modern Education (IJCRME) International Peer Reviewed - Refereed Research Journal, Website: www.crystalpen.in Impact Factor: 6.925, ISSN (Online): 2455 - 5428, Volume 10, Issue 2, July - December, 2025 82 Then, most of the parents of secondary school students (45%) are having average level of autocratic parenting style, followed by (26.4%) of parents at above average level, 19.3% of parents at below average level, 5.7% of parents at low level and only 3.6% of the parents are at high level in autocratic parenting style. Also, the above table shows that most of the parents of secondary school students (32.9%) are having low and extremely low level of permissive parenting style, followed by (25.7%) of parents at below average level and only 8.6% of parents at average level in permissive parenting style. And lastly, most of the parents of secondary school students (71.4%) are having extremely low level of uninvolved parenting style, followed by (16.4%) of parents at low level, 8.6% of parents at below average level and only 3.6% of the parents are at average level in autocratic parenting style. Objective 3: To compare the parenting style as perceived by the secondary school students of Tinsukia district in relation to their gender, viz male and female. Table 3: showing the mean, SD, t and pvalue of the boys and girls in four different parenting styles Parenting Styles Gender N Mean SD T P-Value 0.5 Level of Significance Democratic Male 68 23.69 4.691 2.50 .013 Significant Female 72 25.81 5.267 Autocratic Male 68 22.60 4.412 .477 .634 Not Significant Female 72 22.96 4.397 Permissive Male 68 14.22 4.803 1.122 .265 Not Significant Female 72 15.10 4.441 Uninvolved Male 68 5.07 4.483 1.605 .111 Not Significant female 72 6.36 4.977 The analysis of the data indicates that the pvalue of democratic parenting style is .013 which is significant at .05 level. So, there is a significant difference between boys and girls in democratic parenting style. Thus, it leads to the rejection of the null hypothesis. So, there is a significant difference between boys and girls in democratic parenting style. The autocratic parenting style pvalue is .634, the permissive parenting style pvalue is .265 and uninvolved parenting style pvalue is .111; which is not significant at .05 level. Thus, it leads to the acceptance of the null hypotheses. So, there exists no significant difference between boys and girls in autocratic, permissive and uninvolved parenting styles. Objective 4: To study the levels of academic engagement of secondary school students. Figure 2: Graphical representation showing the levels of academic engagement of students Table 4: Showing levels of AE among secondary school students Academic Engagement Level Frequency (N) Percentage Extremely High 45 32.14 High 41 29.29 Above Average 30 21.43 Average 15 10.71 Below Average 8 5.71 Low 1 0.71 Extremely Low 0 0 Table 4 shows that most of the secondary school students (32.14%) are having extremely high level of academic engagement, followed by 29.29% of students at high level, 21.43% of students at above average level, 10.71% of students at average level, 5.71% of the students are at below average level and only 0.71% of the students are at low level in academic engagement. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 32.14 29.29 21.43 10.71 5.71 0.71 0 Percentage International Journal of Current Research and Modern Education (IJCRME) International Peer Reviewed - Refereed Research Journal, Website: www.crystalpen.in Impact Factor: 6.925, ISSN (Online): 2455 - 5428, Volume 10, Issue 2, July - December, 2025 83 Objective 5: To investigate the relationship between different parenting styles and academic engagement of secondary school students. Table 5: showing the relationship between different parenting styles and academic engagement Variables N Pearson Correlation P - Value Democratic Parenting Style 140 .305 .001 Academic Engagement Autocratic Parenting Style 140 .246 .003 Academic Engagement Permissive Parenting Style 140 .167 .048 Academic Engagement Uninvolved Parenting Style 140 .097 .255 Academic Engagement In the Table 5, the coefficient correlation of democratic parenting style and academic engagement shows a low but positive and significant correlation between the two which means that there is a significant correlation between democratic parenting style and academic engagement. Also, coefficient correlation of autocratic parenting style and academic engagement shows a low but positive and significant correlation between the two which means that there exists a significant relationship between autocratic parenting patterns and academic engagement. Then, the coefficient correlation of permissive parenting style and academic engagement shows a very low but positive and significant relationship between the two which means that there exists a significant relationship between permissive parenting style and academic engagement. And lastly, the coefficient correlation of uninvolved parenting style and academic engagement shows a strongly negative correlation between the two which means that there exists no significant relationship between uninvolved parenting style and academic engagement. Discussion: The current work aimed to investigate the relationship between parenting patterns and the academic engagement of secondary school students. The findings indicated a low and significant relationship between democratic, autocratic parenting styles and the academic engagement of students. Also, the results showed a very low but significant correlation between permissive parenting style and academic engagement. Specifically, democratic parenting, characterized by a balanced approach of responsiveness and demandingness, was related with higher levels of student engagement, suggesting that an environment fostering both support and autonomy can enhance academic involvement. Conversely, autocratic parenting, which is high in control but low in responsiveness, also showed a significant but less positive relationship, potentially highlighting that structure and discipline may drive engagement, albeit possibly through compliance rather than intrinsic motivation. Permissive parenting, marked by high responsiveness but low demandingness, was similarly linked to academic engagement, implying that warmth and leniency may encourage students' academic participation, though it may not always lead to optimal outcomes. Notably, the study found no significant relationship between uninvolved parenting and academic engagement, underscoring the importance of parental involvement in fostering an educationally conducive environment. These findings underscore the nuanced ways in which different parenting styles can impact students' academic experiences and highlight the critical role of parental involvement in supporting educational outcomes. Further research could explore the underlying mechanisms through which these parenting styles influence engagement and consider longitudinal impacts on academic achievement. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study underscores the significant influence of parenting styles on the academic engagement of secondary school students. The results reveal that democratic parenting, characterized by high responsiveness and high demands, is positively associated with enhanced academic engagement, fostering motivation, self-discipline, and better academic outcomes. Conversely, autocratic and permissive parenting styles, marked by high demands with low responsiveness and high responsiveness with low demands respectively, are associated with lower levels of academic engagement. These insights highlight the critical role of balanced, supportive, and structured parenting in promoting students' academic success and underscore the need for educational stakeholders to consider family dynamics in developing interventions aimed at enhancing student engagement. Financial Support and Sponsorship: Nil Ethical Approval: All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. 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