Vol. 5 No. 1 (2025): KANO JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY (KaJEP)
Articles

Importance of Parental Involvement in Preschooler’s Cognitive Development

Read PDF
  • Janet Motunrayo Eseyin,
  • Tanko Benjamin
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59479/jiaheri.v5i1.103
Categories

Published 10/15/2025

Keywords

  • Parental involvement,
  • Preschoolers,
  • Cognitive development

How to Cite

Eseyin, J. M., & Benjamin, T. (2025). Importance of Parental Involvement in Preschooler’s Cognitive Development. Journal of Institute of Africa Higher Education Research and Innovation (IAHERI), 5(1), 50–59. https://doi.org/10.59479/jiaheri.v5i1.103

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of parental involvement in cognitive development; language development, problem – solving, attention skill, fostering curiosity and exploration, also impact of parental involvement on cognitive outcome, and strategies for enhancing parental involvement. The involvement of parent in preschoolers cognitive revealed that child’s early learning experiences significantly improved as a result of their engagement, due to the extensive amount of time children spend with their parents. Recommendations were made on how schools can maintain collaborative relationships with parents in cognitive development by organizing parents’ orientation programmes, workshops and conferences and parent-child interaction programmes and solutions to the challenges of parental involvement were suggested.

Read PDF

References

  1. Adekola, B. O. (2008). Some predictors of students' achievement in English grammar and comprehension in Ogun State public senior secondary schools. A Ph.D. post-field report presented at the Departmental Seminar of Curriculum Studies and Instructional Technology, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye.
  2. Baker, T. (2018). The role of parental involvement in early childhood education. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 16(4), 315-328. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X18804358
  3. Bardikoff, N., & Sabbagh, M. A. (2020). Cultural variation in preschoolers’ theory of mind. Developmental Psychology, 56(5), 1231-1245. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000927
  4. Bergman Nutley, S., & Söderqvist, S. (2017). How training affects the brain—a review of different training methods for cognitive skills. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11, 242. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00242
  5. Biddle, K. E., McCabe, L. A., & Dauber, S. L. (2021). Early childhood education and care quality across sectors: Implications for children and families. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 55, 81-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.10.005
  6. Boonk, L., Gijselaers, H. J. M., Ritzen, H., & Brand-Gruwel, S. (2018). A review of the relationship between parental involvement indicators and academic achievement. Educational Research Review, 24, 10-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2018.02.001
  7. Bonawitz, E., Shafto, P., Gweon, H., Goodman, N. D., Spelke, E., & Schulz, L. (2018). The double-edged sword of pedagogy: Instruction limits spontaneous exploration and discovery. Cognition, 120(3), 322-330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2011.08.001
  8. Burchinal, M., Roberts, J. E., Zeisel, S. A., & Rowley, S. J. (2020). Early cognitive and academic development: Longitudinal relations with school readiness. Child Development, 91(5), 1607-1620. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13346
  9. Castro, M., Expósito-Casas, E., López-Martín, E., Lizasoain, L., Navarro-Asencio, E., & Gaviria, J. L. (2015). Parental involvement on student academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 14, 33-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.01.002
  10. Center on the Developing Child. (2020). Executive function: Skills for life and learning. Retrieved from https://developingchild.harvard.edu
  11. Daniels, H. (2016). Vygotsky and pedagogy. Routledge.
  12. Diamond, A. (2016). Why improving and assessing executive functions early in life is critical. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3(2), 138-146. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732216651523
  13. Fisher, K. R., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Newcombe, N., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2013). Taking shape: Supporting preschoolers' acquisition of geometric knowledge through guided play. Child Development, 84(6), 1872-1878. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12091
  14. Flavell, J. H., Miller, P. H., & Miller, S. A. (2018). Cognitive development (6th ed.). Prentice Hall.
  15. Friedman, O., & Rusou, Z. (2015). Development of beliefs about moral and causal responsibility. Developmental Psychology, 51(6), 848-858. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000025
  16. Garbacz, S. A., McIntyre, L. L., & Santiago, R. T. (2018). Family engagement in education and intervention: Implementation and evaluation to maximize family, school, and student outcomes. Journal of School Psychology, 67, 21-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2017.09.002
  17. Ginsburg, K. R. (2007). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds. Pediatrics, 119(1), 182-191. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-2697
  18. Hayes, N., & Kernan, M. (2017). The quality of early years education and care in preschool settings. Early Childhood Development and Care, 187(5), 805-814. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2016.1168264
  19. Hill, N. E., & Tyson, D. F. (2009). Parental involvement in middle school: A meta-analytic assessment of the strategies that promote achievement. Developmental Psychology, 45(3), 740-763. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015362
  20. Hornby, G., & Lafaele, R. (2016). Barriers to parental involvement in education: An explanatory model. Educational Review, 63(1), 37-52. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2010.488049
  21. Jeynes, W. H. (2018). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of different types of parental involvement programs for urban students. Urban Education, 50(4), 407-432. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085914525789
  22. Kim, Y., & Sheridan, S. M. (2015). Foundational aspects of family-school connections: Definitions, concepts, and theories. In S. M. Sheridan & E. M. Moorman Kim (Eds.), Family-school partnerships in context (pp. 24-46). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13838-7_3
  23. McLean, K., Edwards, S., & Evangelou, M. (2019). Exploring the relationship between parental involvement and young children’s digital literacy practices. Early Years, 39(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2018.1532441
  24. McWayne, C., Downer, J. T., Campos, R., & Harris, R. D. (2016). Father involvement during early childhood and its association with children’s academic achievement in later years. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(6), 836-851. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000100
  25. Perry, N. E., Brenner, C. A., & MacDonald, C. A. (2020). Promoting self-regulated learning in preschool: A research review. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(5), 1049-1060. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000463
  26. Piaget, J. (1956). The origins of intelligence in children. Routledge.
  27. Pomerantz, E. M., Moorman, E. A., & Litwack, S. D. (2017). The how, whom, and why of parents’ involvement in children’s academic lives: More is not always better. Review of Educational Research, 77(3), 373-410. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430305567
  28. Susperreguy, M. I., Davis-Kean, P. E., Duckworth, K., & Chen, W. (2020). Parents' math talk and children's math skills: A longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 56(9), 1640-1651. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000984
  29. Tan, C. S., & Clarke, A. M. (2021). Parental involvement and its role in academic achievement. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 65, 101968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2021.101968