Parental Involvement and Student Outcomes: Evidence from Public High Schools in Wuhou District, Chengdu

At the senior high school level, students’ outcomes are reflected not only in academic achievement but also in learning engagement and emotional well-being with school adjustment. Parental involvement, as an important family-level factor, may exhibit complex characteristics in high-pressure educational contexts, where support and pressure coexist. Based on this perspective, the present study investigated the relationship between different forms of parental involvement and students’ outcomes among public high school students in Wuhou District, Chengdu. Adopting a quantitative cross-sectional survey design, the study examined these relationships from students’ perceived perspectives. Students’ outcomes were conceptualized as a multidimensional construct comprising academic achievement, learning engagement, and emotional well-being and school adjustment, while parental involvement was categorized into home-based academic support, parent–child communication, parental expectations and motivation pressure, and school-based parental participation. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analyses were conducted using 435 valid questionnaires. The results indicated that students’ outcomes were at a moderate overall level, whereas parental involvement was relatively high, with notable differences across involvement dimensions. Correlation analyses revealed that overall parental involvement and its dimensions were significantly and positively associated with students’ outcomes, with home-based academic support and parent–child communication showing relatively stronger associations. The findings suggest that at the senior high school stage, parental involvement is not simply a matter of “more is better”; rather, its effectiveness depends on achieving a balance between support and pressure. This study provides empirical evidence for understanding the differentiated roles of parental involvement in students’ outcomes within the context of urban public high schools in China and offers practical implications for family education guidance and home–school collaboration.