Systematic Review of Mixed-Methods Evidence on Parental Education, Home Learning Environment and Academic Outcomes of Secondary School Students in Nepal Following PRISMA 2020 Framework

Abstract

Background: Parental education and the home learning context is a key factor in determining students' learning. Students' academic experiences are influenced not only by their formal learning environment in school, but also by their parents' education, expectations, learning resources, academic support, learning conditions and family socioeconomic status. However, in Nepal, evidence on these relationships is still scattered across various educational contexts and methodologies and appears to be limited to those studies that have focused on the qualitative aspects of family influences on student learning and those that have focused on quantitative aspects.

Objective: This systematic review gathers the mixed-methods evidence on the relationship between parental education, home learning environment, parental involvement, and academic outcomes in secondary school students in Nepal.

Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 framework is used to conduct the review. Studies were eligible if they: were primary empirical studies in Nepal; were related to secondary-level students or secondary education; included parent education or related home/family learning factors; focused on academic learning outcomes/learning outcomes; and explicitly used quantitative and qualitative methods and demonstrated evidence of integration between these methods. Studies strictly quantitative and qualitative, or conceptual, review, and those not in the target population or context were excluded. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used for quality assessment. Database search was done in Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, ProQuest, Nepal Journals Online (NepJOL), and Google Scholar. The Zotero software was used for reference management.

Results: There were 847 records found from all the databases in a systematic search. Following the removal of duplicates (n=203), screening of titles and abstracts (n=644) and assessment of full-text articles (n=47) resulted in 5 articles that met the inclusion criteria and were of mixed-methods design. The findings of these studies support the positive correlation between academic achievement, parental motivation, and parental access to learning resources and students. The home learning environment in terms of study space, learning materials, digital access and parental support emerges as a critical mediating pathway. Parental involvement has two aspects, a supportive and a controlling, and the quality of parental involvement, and its type, is more significant than the quantity. These relationships are moderated significantly by cultural factors, socioeconomic status and digital inequality.

Conclusions: It is important to consider parental education as a component of a larger family educational resource system, not as an independent factor in achievement. The enhancement of the school-family partnerships, access to home-learning resources and support to the members of home with limited educational capacity may be contributing towards human capital development and sustainable educational development in Nepal.