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The correlation between parental socioeconomic status (SES) and children's academic achievement: The case of Eritrea

By Tedros Mengesha

This study replicated and extended research on the link between parental socioeconomic status (SES) and children's academic achievement using Eritrea, a developing country, as a case study. It used a mixed methods approach that employed both quantitative and qualitative approaches and utilized data from different stakeholders that included a sample of 397 grade eight students, twenty-seven students’ parents, eight school principals, eight schoolteachers, and four education officers. The findings of the current study indicated that parental SES (education, occupation, household size, and household possessions) appeared to be correlated to students’ academic achievement, as measured by the scores in a grade eight national examination. The findings of this study further the extant literature for it addresses the research gap in SES and academic achievement in developing countries. Implications of the study's findings, limitations, and multiple avenues for future research are also discussed. © 2020