Parents' Perceived Skills in Parenting Styles and Children's Academic Success in Uyole Ward, Mbeya, Tanzania

Author

Ramadhani Masoud, Dorothy Lubawa, Mkumbo G. Mittula


Abstract

 This study examined parents' perceived skills in applying parenting styles and how these skills relate to children's academic success in Uyole Ward, Mbeya, Tanzania. While parenting research has traditionally classified parents into broad style categories, this study argues that the categorical label alone is insufficient to explain variation in academic outcomes among children raised within the same style category and that the specific skills through which a style is enacted deserve closer examination. A qualitative approach guided by a phenomenological design was employed, using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions to collect data from 30 participants comprising 12 parents, 8 teachers and 10 students, selected through purposive sampling. Data were analysed thematically following Braun and Clarke's six-step approach, with findings presented through verbatim participant quotations. Four core parenting skill themes emerged: communication skills, consistency in discipline, guided autonomy and emotional support, each linked to distinct academic outcomes including motivation, self-regulation, critical thinking and resilience. A cross-cutting finding was a persistent gap between parents' awareness of effective parenting principles and their capacity to apply these principles consistently, driven largely by economic pressure, time constraints and limited practical knowledge rather than by lack of concern for their children's education. The study concludes that parenting skill, rather than style alone, is a critical determinant of children's academic success in Uyole and recommends that schools, community organisations and policymakers invest in sustained, practically oriented parenting skill-building programmes, delivered in Kiswahili, addressing both the knowledge and structural dimensions of the awareness-practice gap.


Keywords

Children's academic success; Parenting skills; Tanzania; Uyole Ward



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References


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