Maternal Education as a Key Determinant of Student Academic Achievement in Pakistani Schools

In this blogpost, Aisha Naz Ansari, Sadia Muzaffar Bhutta, and Sohail Ahmad present the findings of a nationwide study from Pakistan shedding light on the influence of the education of parents, most notably of mothers, on the education of their children.

It is widely acknowledged that parents play a pivotal role in shaping their children’s educational outcomes and attainment. This blog discusses the multifaceted influence of parents’ education, specifically the contribution of mothers, on students’ learning outcomes in the two core school subjects (i.e., science and mathematics) drawing on the findings of nationwide research. The study was conducted by a research team of the Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development, Pakistan. The overarching aim of the study was to assess the contribution of pedagogical quality on students’ learning outcomes in mathematics and science, after controlling for numerous relevant factors including parent education, across public and private schools in Pakistan. The study recruited 589 teachers, and their 15,389 students enrolled in grades 5, 6, and 8 from 153 schools across six geographical regions of Pakistan (i.e., Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan, and Azad Jammu & Kashmir). Pedagogical quality was assessed using a structured classroom observation tool, whereas mathematics and science achievement tests, separate for each grade, were administered to assess students’ learning. Similarly, a demographic questionnaire, comprised of various questions related to background including parent education, was also administered to the students.

The effects of parents’ education on students’ learning of science and mathematics are profound and multifaceted. Research indicates that parents’ educational credentials, particularly those with university degrees, positively correlate with students’ achievements in science and mathematics (Alreshidi et al., 2022). This could be attributed to the educational resources at home and parental involvement, both at home and in school activities, which are strong predictors of students’ science and mathematics achievement (Yıldırım, 2019). This also highlights the interplay between the home environment, often a product of mothers’ attitude towards education, and academic success.

Additionally, studies have highlighted the long-term effects of parents’ education as a sustained influence on students’ academic achievement in science and mathematics. Parental education, especially maternal education significantly contributes to students’ achievement in mathematics and science (Kusaeri et al., 2018). This is associated with higher levels of valuing these core disciplines among students, indicative of a family culture that prioritises these subjects, irrespective of their socioeconomic backgrounds (Cui et al., 2021; Knapp et al., 2017).

An analysis of nationwide data was important mainly for two reasons. First, both public and private schools are the two main formal education providers each accommodating an almost equal number of students. Secondly, the choice of a school system is mainly associated with parent socioeconomic condition, where those who can afford fees tend to enrol their children in private schools because private schools provide a relatively better quality of education. Therefore, we undertook further analyses of the nationwide data to explore the separative and interactive effects of the school system and parental education, specifically focusing on the education levels of both fathers and mothers. The results reveal significant main effects of the school system, fathers’ as well as mothers’ education on students’ science and mathematics performance. Notably, interactive effects between the school system and parental education were identified, highlighting the impact on students’ performance in these subjects. These results are graphically presented for each subject.

Figure 1 Father Education and Student Performance	Figure 2 Mother Education and Student Performance

The results presented in Figures 1 and 2 reveal that private school students have a significant edge over their counterparts in government schools. Having said that, a compelling pattern of association, regardless of system, was observed between parental education and student performance more so for mothers. It depicts that those students whose mothers and fathers have no schooling start from weak scores in science; however, the increase in scores is relatively more consistent and higher with an increase in mothers’ education as compared to fathers, whose effect is marginal. It is crucial to address the critical role maternal education plays in shaping children’s academic success and to confront the systemic inequities that perpetuate these disparities. Additionally, the contribution of fathers’ education in public schools (4%) is comparable to fathers’ education in private schools (5%). Moreover, the contribution of mothers’ education in public schools (12%) is lesser than mothers’ education in private schools (21%). Interestingly, the contribution of mothers’ education, regardless of school systems, is substantially higher than fathers’ education contributing to their children’s science achievement.

Figure 3 Father Education and Student Performance	Figure 4 Mother Education and Student Performance

The data presented in Figures 3 and 4 clearly show that private school students have a significant edge over their public-school counterparts. Notably, a compelling association exists between parental education and student mathematics performance, especially for mothers. Students whose parents have no formal education start with weak scores, which improve as their parents’ education levels rise – more consistently and significantly with maternal education compared to paternal. Additionally, the contribution of fathers’ education in public schools (2%) is lower than in private schools (7%), while mothers’ education contributes 9% in public schools and 22% in private schools. Interestingly, regardless of the school system, the impact of mothers’ education on students’ mathematics achievement is substantially higher than that of fathers’ education. This underscores the crucial role of maternal education in shaping children’s academic success and highlights the need to address systemic inequities that perpetuate these disparities.

These findings underscore the intricate relationship between parental education, school systems, and students’ academic performance in science and mathematics. Notably, there is an upward trend in students’ performance with an increase in mothers’ education across both systems in these core disciplines. These patterns align with the global discourse highlighting the positive correlation between parental education and their children’s academic achievement. However, the variation at the school system level can be explained by socio-economic factors. Public schools, offering free education, primarily cater to children from low socio-economic backgrounds, while private schools, which charge fees, cater to children from middle or high socio-economic groups. Studies also highlight that socio-economic status further mediates the relationship between parents’ education and students’ performance in science and mathematics (Hernández-Padilla et al., 2023).

These findings require attention from an educational equity perspective, with a particular focus on enhancing support for students whose mothers have lower levels of education. The performance gap between public and private school students, even among those with less educated mothers, suggests that private schools may offer better resources, teaching quality, or support systems. Therefore, it is crucial to advocate for policies that address these inequities, ensuring all students, regardless of their mothers’ educational background or the type of school they attend, have equal opportunities to succeed. To rectify these disparities, comprehensive reform and sustained investment in public education are essential. Alongside, enhancing parental educational opportunities, providing targeted support for students from less educated backgrounds, and ensuring that public schools have the necessary resources and quality teaching staff can help level the playing field. Addressing these issues is not only an educational imperative but also a societal one, demanding a holistic approach to fostering an equitable and inclusive educational system. Finally, we could not map and examine the contribution of both maternal and paternal education on their children’s performance – this could be a future research agenda.

Authors

Aisha Naz Ansari is a graduate of MPhil Education from Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development, Pakistan, and currently working as a research associate at the same institute. She has published more than 20 research articles and research blogs in international and national journals and forums. Her research areas include systematic reviews, educational technology, educational psychology, teacher education, public-private partnerships, and classroom teaching and learning. aisha.naz22@alumni.aku.edu

Sadia Muzaffar Bhutta is working as an Associate Professor at Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development, Pakistan. Her research interests include classroom practice, learning outcomes, health education, school improvement, and quantitative research methods, and undertaking numerous large-scale studies in these areas.

Sohail Ahmad is a doctoral candidate at Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development, Pakistan. His PhD research project is on ‘assessing and improving teaching quality in higher education through the development and validation of Classroom Observation Tool’. His area of research interest involves quality assurance in higher education, pedagogical quality and students’ learning outcomes, large-scale assessment, and mixed-methods research.