TEACHERS' PERCEPTION OF THE INFLUENCE OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN OVER-SCHOOLING ON HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN IN AUCHI, EDO STATE

Abstract

Over-schooling has become a significant threat to the healthy development of children in Nigerian primary schools. Although empirical evidence consistently highlights the importance of parental involvement in children's education, many children are increasingly burdened with excessive homework, constant note-taking, and extracurricular classes. Despite this workload, parents continue to engage additional home lesson tutors after school hours. This paper examines teachers' perceptions of how parental involvement in out-of-school activities influences the holistic development of children in Auchi, Edo State. A descriptive survey research design was used, and a multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select 100 teachers from both public and private primary schools. Participants were purposively chosen based on a minimum of five years of teaching experience and direct interaction with pupils. Three research questions guided the study. A structured questionnaire titled Teachers' Perception of Parental Involvement in Over-Schooling, with a reliability coefficient of 0.78, was used to collect data on teachers' perceptions of how parental involvement in over-schooling affects children's holistic development. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, and mean) in SPSS. The findings revealed that over schooling has become a notable concern; teachers reported that parental involvement in practices contributing to over-schooling negatively impacts children's holistic development. The results also showed that pupils frequently experience academic stress and diminished personal time, further hindering overall development. The study thus recommends collaborative efforts among education stakeholders to address the problem of over-schooling. Reducing over-schooling will promote developmentally appropriate educational practices that support healthy child development and ultimately foster national progress.39