Homework, Hegemony, and the Marginalised Parent: Unmasking Structural Barriers to Working-Class Involvement in Mathematics Education in South Africa
References
- Abrahams, R. A. (2013). Challenges to Parental Involvement in Homework Assignments of Learners in a Historically Disadvantaged Primary School in Cape Town (Doctoral dissertation). University of the Western Cape.
- Alasuutari, P. (1998). An Invitation to Social Research. California: SAGE Publications.
- Alreshidi, A. M., Alsharif, K. M., & Kandeel, R. A. A. (2022). Five important parental involvement variables that affect young children’s mathematical achievements: A comparative study. Education and Urban Society, 54(9), 1072-1096. https://doi.org/10.1177/00131245211048440
- Anderson, E., & Hira, A. (2020). Loss of brick-and-mortar schooling: How elementary educators respond. Information and Learning Sciences, 121(5/6), 411-418.
- Aromataris, E., & Riitano, D. (2014). Constructing a search strategy and searching for evidence. The Amirican Journal of Nursing, 114(5), 49-56.
- Basson, P., & Mestry, R. (2019). Collaboration between school management teams and governing bodies in effectively managing public primary school finances. South African Journal of Education, 39(2), 1-11.
- Bates, J., Finlay, J., & O’Connor Bones, U. (2023). “Education cannot cease”: The experiences of parents of primary age children (age 4-11) in Northern Ireland during school closures due to COVID-19. Educational Review, 75(4), 657-679. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2021.1974821
- Chikiwa, S. (2017). An Investigation into the Mathematics Knowledge for Teaching Required to Develop Grade 2 Learners’ Number Sense through Counting (Masters thesis). Makhanda: Rhodes University.
- Chowdhury, M. S. R., & Afrin, H. (2019). Parental involvement in rural covernment primary school: Current practices, problems and prospects. International Journal of All Research Writings, 2(4), 28-45.
- Echaune, M., Ndiku, J. M., & Sang, A. (2015). Parental involvement in homework and primary school academic performance in Kenya. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(9), 46-53.
- Eesuola, O. F. (2018). Parental Involvement and Grade 8 Learners’ Academic Achievement in Mathematics: A Study of Selected Schools in East London, South Africa (Doctoral dissertation). Alice: University of Fort Hare.
- Epstein, J., & Sanders, M. (2000). Connecting home, school, and community, new directions for social research. In M. T. Hallinan (Ed), Handbook of the Sociology of Education (pp. 285-306). New York: Plenum.
- Fiskerstrand, A. (2022). Literature review - Parent involvement and mathematic outcome. Educational Research Review, 37, 1-16.
- Geduld, B. (2024). Parental involvement in homework to foster self-regulated learning skills: a qualitative study with parents from selected higher quintile schools. Cogent Education, 11(1), 1-14.
- Gežová, K. C. (2015). Father’s and mother’s roles and their particularities in raising children. Acta Technologica Dubnicae, 5(1), 45-50. https://doi.org/10.1515/atd-2015-0032
- Govender, K. (2021). Exploring School Principals’ Experiences of Parental Involvement in Primary Schools Situated in Low-Income Communities (Doctoral dissertation). Durban: University of KwaZulu Natal.
- Grandly, J. S. (2022). Parental involvement in Grade 4 Mathematics Homework and a Family Mathematics Programme in the Western Cape (Doctoral dissertation). Belleville: Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
- Hidayah, R., Salimi, M., Suhartono, S., Susiani, T., & Ngatman, N. (2021). Homework in elementary school. Social, Humanities, and Educational Studies (SHES): Conference Series, 4(1), 144-151.
- Hill, N. (2022). Parental involvement in education: Toward a more inclusive understanding of parents’ role construction. Educational Psychologist, 57, 309-314.
- Hill, N. E., Witherspoon, D. P., & Bartz, D. (2018). Parental involvement in education during middle school: Perspectives of ethnically diverse parents, teachers, and students. The Journal of Educational Research, 111(1), 12-27.
- Jenjić, S., & Mihailovic, T. (2020). Students’ homework in the educational context of contemporary teaching. Science and Teaching in Educational Context, 165-180. https://doi.org/10.46793/STEC20.165J
- Jeynes, W. H. (2007). The relationship between parental involvement and urban secondary school student academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Urban education, 42(1), 82-110.
- Jeynes, W. H. (2010). The salience of the subtle aspects of parental involvement and encouraging that involvement: Implications for school-based programs. Teachers College Record, 112(3), 747-774.
- Khatri, K. K. (2020). Research paradigm: A philosophy of educational research. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 5(5), 1435-1440.
- Khumalo, S. S. (2025). From apartheid to democracy: Evolution and inefficiencies of the South African education system through Nancy Fraser’s social justice framework. Acta Educationis Generalis, 15(2), 83-96. https://doi.org/10.2478/atd-2025-0023
- Landsberg, E., Kruger, D., & Nel, N. (2005). Addressing Barriers to Learning. A South African Perspective. Pretoria, South Africa: Van Schaik.
- Makgato, M. J. (2018). The implementation of Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement at the Foundation Phase: A case of Koloti Circuit the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province. (Masters thesis). Thohoyandou: University of Venda.
- Manilal, R., & Jairam, V. (2023). Experiences of parental involvement in privileged and underprivileged schools. South African Journal of Education, 43(3), 1-10.
- Maqoqa, T., Molepo, M. J., & Kariyana, I. (2023). Parenting and learner support in rural South African schools: Home involvement as a conduit for strengthening home-school partnership. E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (EHASS), 4(13), 1440-1452.
- Masha, B. M. (2017). The Role of School Management Teams and Parents in Learner Achievement (Doctoral dissertation). Pretoria: University of Pretoria.
- Mavuso, F. T. N. (2022). Barriers to parents supporting children’s learning in Volksrust Circuit, Gert Sibande District in Mpumalanga Province (Masters thesis). Polokwane: University of Limpopo.
- Mekgwe, T., & Maseko, N. (2023). Parental involvement in supporting academic performance of intermediate phase learners in a low socio-economic context. Studies in Learning and Teaching, 5(2), 309-321.
- Moreeng, B., Mbatha, S., Ntsala, S. A., & Motsoeneng, T. J. (2024). Parental involvement as a convergence of understanding by teachers and parents. Interdisciplinary Journal of Sociality Studies, 4, 1-11.
- Moses, C., Nghipandulwa, L. L., & Abed, K. O. (2024). Exploring curriculum implementation challenges in the teaching of subsidiary mathematics in Oshakati Circuit, Oshana region: A phenomenological study. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 12, 604-622.
- Motshusi, M. C., Ngobeni, E. T., & Sepeng, P. (2024). Lack of parental involvement in the education of their children in the foundation phase: Case of selected schools in the Thabazimbi Circuit. Research in Educational Policy and Management, 6(2), 21-41.
- Mudzielwana, N. P., & Mulovhedzi, S.A. (2020). Parental support in the teaching and learning of mathematics in grade 3. Gender and Behaviour, 18(3), 16042-16054.
- Munje, P. N., & Mncube, V. (2018). The lack of parent involvement as hindrance in selected public primary schools in South Africa: The voices of educators. Perspectives in Education, 36(1), 80-93.
- Musengamana, I. (2023). A systematic review of literature on parental involvement and its impact on children learning outcomes. Open Access Library Journal, 10, e10755.
- Mutangira, D. T., Tandika, P. B., & Edward, G. (2024). Early grade pupils’ development of Mathematics skills: Perceived challenges and culturally relevant strategies for parental involvement. Educational Dimension, 11, 220-243. https://doi.org/10.55056/ed.721
- Ndebele, M., (2018). Homework in the foundation phase: Perceptions of principals of eight public primary schools in Johannesburg. South African Journal of Education, 38(2), 1-12.
- Ndwandwe, N. D. (2023). Parental involvement and academic achievement: Voices of role-players in secondary schools in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Research in Social Sciences and Technology, 8(4), 237-256.
- Ndwandwe, N. D. (2024). Stepping into the shoes of absent parents to provide educational support: voices of house parents at a Children’s Home, South Africa. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science, 13(2), 294-304.
- Noyes, J., Booth, A., Moore, G., Flemming, K., Tunçalp, Ö., & Shakibazadeh, E. (2019). Synthesising quantitative and qualitative evidence to inform guidelines on complex interventions: Clarifying the purposes, and designs outlining some methods. BMJ Global Health, 4
- O’Keeffe, L., Clarke, C., McDonald, S., & Comber, B. (2023). Mathematics homework and the potential compounding of educational disadvantage. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 44(7), 1144-1160.
- Paun, N. (2024). The parental impact on education: Understanding the correlation between the parental involvement and academic results. Acta Educationis Generalis, 14(2), 16-26. https://doi.org/10.2478/atd-2024-0009.
- Ribeiro, L. M., Cunha, R. S., Silva, M. C. A. E., Carvalho, M., & Vital, M. L. (2021). Parental involvement during pandemic times: Challenges and opportunities. Education Sciences, 11(6), 1-17.
- Rizzuto, K. C., Steiner, L. M., & Zambak, V. S. (2024). Using literacy strategies to assist parents with common core mathematical practices. Research on Preschool and Primary Education, 2(1), 53-68.
- Sao, L. Y. (2008). Barriers to learning mathematics in rural secondary schools (Doctoral dissertation). Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University.
- Şengönül, T. (2022). A review of the relationship between parental involvement and children’s academic achievement and the role of family socioeconomic status in this relationship. Pegem Journal of Education and Instruction, 12(2), 32-57.
- Sibanda, R. (2021). “I’m not a teacher”: A case of (dys) functional parent-teacher partnerships in a South African township. South African Journal of Education, 41(3), 1-13.
- Silinskas, G., & Kikas, E. (2019). Parental involvement in math homework: Links to children’s performance and motivation. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 63(1), 17-37.
- Simweleba, N. H., & Serpell, R. (2020), ‘Parental involvement and learners’ performance in rural basic schools of Zambia’. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 10(1).
- Sreekanth, Y. (2023). Parents’ involvement in the education of their children: Indicators of level of involvement. International Journal about Parents in Education, 5(1), 36-45.
- Vale, P., & Graven M. (2023). Strategies implemented by South African teachers to ensure continuing mathematics education during COVID-19. ZDM - Mathematics Education, 55(1), 163-76.
- Vale, P., & Graven, M. (2022). Teacher views of parent roles in continued mathematics home learning. Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 514-521.
- Visser, M. M., Hannan, S. M., & Juan, A. L. (2019). Early learning experiences, school entry skills, and later mathematics achievement in South Africa. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 9(1), 1-9.
- Waller, P. P., & Maxwell, K. L. (2017). Mathematics teachers’ perceptions of resources and curriculum availability in post-apartheid schooling. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 15(4), 741-757.
- Wang, Y., & Li, L. M. W. (2024). Relationships between parental involvement in homework and learning outcomes among elementary school students: The moderating role of societal collectivism-individualism. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 881-896.
- Western Cape Education Department. (2005). Provincial Guidelines for the Management of Homework in Public Ordinary Schools: Guidelines to Assist Schools in Developing a School Homework Policy (0045/2005). Western Cape Education Department.
- Wilder, S. (2014). Effects of parental involvement on academic achievement: A meta-synthesis. Educational Review, 66(3), 377-397.
- Williams, H., & Williams, K. (2022). Parental contributions and assessment for learning as a component of mathematics homework. Education 3-13, 50(2), 211-224.
- Wilson Fadiji, A., & Reddy, V. (2023). Well-being and mathematics achievement: What is the role of gender, instructional clarity, and parental involvement? Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1-13.
- Winthrop, R., Ershadi, M., & Harrington, G. (2021). Family Engagement in Education Network Technical Report: Perspectives from Parents in South Africa. Center for Universal Education at Brookings. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Perspectives-from-parents-in-South-Africa_FINAL_031621.pdf
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/atd-2026-0013 | Journal eISSN: 2585-7444
Language: English
Page range: 57 - 75
Submitted on: Jun 19, 2025
Accepted on: Oct 16, 2025
Published on: Jun 13, 2026
Published by: DTI University
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 3 issues per year
Related subjects:
© 2026 France Khutso Lavhelani Kgobe, published by DTI University
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.