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This study examines the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on the academic performance of primary school learners in the Nzhelele West Circuit of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Despite national attempts to enhance educational results, considerable performance gaps remain, especially in rural and semi-rural areas. The study used a qualitative descriptive approach to acquire a thorough knowledge of the lived experiences of learners, parents, and teachers. Data was produced by semi-structured interviews and focus group discussion in chosen primary schools of communities with different socioeconomic backgrounds. The findings reveal the conditions of low-SES, which include unemployment, low parental education levels, poor learning materials and unstable family conditions, as those that result in obstacles that weaken the ability of learners to concentrate, attend school, have motivation, and perform well as learners. Among the problems that were emphasized by the participants was food insecurity, inadequate literacy provisions at home, and overcrowded families. The study found that SES has extensive effects on educational achievement and suggests context-sensitive intervention, such as enhanced school-community collaborations, parental empowerment programs, and special support programmes to eliminate SES-based obstacles. The results can help in gaining a better insight about the intricate nexus of SES and academic performance in rural South African primary school education

The main aim of this study was to explore the impact of parental engagement on learner achievement in primary schools. A case study was used as a qualitative research design. Data were gathered through semi-structured in-depth interviews. The data collected through interviews was systematically analyzed using thematic analysis, a qualitative method that involves identifying, analyzing, and interpreting patterns or themes within the data. The key findings of the study highlight the concept of parental engagement, the role of parents in helping children with homework, parent-teacher communications, and parent-teacher partnership as aspects of the impact of parental engagement. The findings further indicate that working parents are less interested in their children’s education due to work responsibilities and a lack of time, which proved to be a difficulty for parental engagement. The findings suggest that effective parental engagement can be positively impacted by a strong parental-teacher relationship. However, implementing parental engagement presents several difficulties that, if specifically handled, could enhance parental engagement for the benefit of the learners.

Parental involvement is recognised as a significant factor in education globally. However, evidence suggests a scarcity of research focusing on parental involvement in education of vulnerable children in South Africa. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the perspectives of house parents at Sunshine Haven Children’s Home regarding parental involvement in the education of vulnerable children. Informed by Epstein’s theory of overlapping spheres of influence, the qualitative study adopted an interpretivist paradigm and a case study design. Data were obtained through focus group interviews with a group of five purposefully selected house parents at Sunshine Haven Children’s Home. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings of the study reveal that, according to house parents’ perspectives, parental involvement in education for vulnerable children is not satisfactory. House parents experienced challenges in offering educational support, including lack of resources, lack of confidence in assisting with children homework and lack of effective communication between school and home. Therefore, the study recommends the forging of a viable partnership between teachers and house parents, the development of targeted interventions and training programmes and the allocation of resources to enhance parental involvement and ultimately improve the academic performance and wellbeing of vulnerable children.

The literature links significant parental involvement in school activities to good school outcomes. The two-fold study examined factors affecting parental participation in rural primary school governance and its advantages. The qualitative case study method was used to collect data from nine purposively recruited individuals from three rural elementary schools. Individual semi-structured interviews collected thematically analyzed data. The study found that negative school attitudes caused parental animosity toward school. Lack of role awareness, inadequate professional connections caused by academic gaps, and language difficulties also discouraged parental involvement in school governance. Parental involvement promotes collective accountability and school-home integration. Home and school characteristics affected parental participation in school activities, the study found. Based on the findings, recommendations included improving parent-teacher interactions to help students succeed and training SGBs to improve their performance.