Parenting Styles and Their Influence on Children’s Academic Success in Uyole, Mbeya, Tanzania

Abstract

This study examined of parenting styles and their influence on children’s academic success in Uyole Ward, Mbeya, Tanzania, addressing two objectives: identifying the types of parenting styles frequently applied by parents in Uyole Ward and assessing the impact of these parenting styles on children’s academic success in the same setting. A qualitative approach guided by a phenomenological design was employed, using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) to collect data from 12 parents, 8 teachers and 10 students selected through purposive sampling. Data were analysed thematically following Braun and Clarke’s six-step approach, with findings presented through verbatim participant quotations. The findings revealed that all four parenting styles identified by Baumrind authoritative, authoritarian, permissive and neglectful were practised in Uyole Ward, with authoritative parenting being the most prevalent and the most consistently linked to positive academic outcomes, including higher motivation, stronger self-discipline and greater classroom engagement. In contrast, authoritarian, permissive and neglectful parenting were associated with academic difficulties such as examination anxiety, poor self-regulation and progressive disengagement from schoolwork, with neglectful parenting often rooted in structural pressures such as poverty and parental workload rather than indifference. The physical home study environment also emerged as an important factor shaping whether supportive parenting translated into academic benefit. The study concludes that parenting styles significantly determine children’s academic success in Uyole and recommends that schools, community organisations and policymakers invest in practical, Kiswahili-language parenting education that builds evidence-based skills while addressing the structural barriers constraining effective parenting in this peri-urban Tanzanian community.