Understanding the moderators of parental involvement in the early schooling of children in neoliberal and multicultural societies

It is widely acknowledged that early childhood education is vital to children's success in later years. However, there is a limited exploration of parental involvement in early school education. This study was conducted against contemporary societies' increasingly neoliberal and multicultural nature, which could influence parental involvement in their early education. Vygotsky's sociocultural learning theory was used as a guide to investigate the levels of parental involvement in children's schooling. First, parents' support at home correlated to parental school involvement. Second, language proficiency was posited to moderate parental involvement and school type. The participants comprised 498 parents of children attending primary schools across Abu Dhabi. Parents completed two newly developed parental involvement scales at school or home. The data were analysed using SPSS AMOS for confirmatory factor analysis, path and moderation analyses. The results showed a relationship between the two main domains, home and involvement in school-related activities. The paper finally discusses the study's contributions, limitations, and practical implications.