The aim of the research was to examine the influence of parenting styles on academic performance of students in Aowin Municipality in the Western North Region of Ghana. Descriptive survey design was employed to collect quantitative data from the respondents. The study targeted all final year public junior high school students in the Aowin Municipality. A multi-stage sampling technique which involved the use of probability sampling techniques was employed to select 252 respondents with 142 boys and 110 girls. The main data collection instrument was questionnaire with 46 items. Document analysis was also performed on the pupils’ end of term examination results. Means, standard deviation, multiple regression, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation and Chi-square were employed to analyse the data. The results revealed that authoritative parenting style dominates in parents of the JHS students in the municipality. The study concluded that, Authoritative parenting style predominates in JHS students in the Aowin municipality. There was a correlation between the parenting style of parents and the academic performance of JHS students. It was seen that, student coming from the authoritative parenting style had high performance than those coming from the authoritarian, permissive and neglectful parenting style. Students from neglectful parenting homes demonstrated low performance in school. It is recommended that policies should be developed by Ministry of Education to encourage parents to adopt appropriate parenting styles like the authoritative parenting style which has been revealed by this study as related to good academic performance. Management of various schools should collaborate with Parent-Teacher Association to organize seminars and workshops to educate parents on the influences of the various parenting styles on their children academic performance. This will enlighten parents on employing effective parenting style like authoritative parenting style that has been revealed by this study to correlates with high academic performance.

It is the family that builds the personality traits, social competence and psychological, emotional, physical and educational development of children [1]. The primary foundation that serves as the basis for this development is the type of parenting style parents adopt. Additionally, studies shown that parents through their parenting style create a formidable basis towards the development and achievement of every aspect of the child’s life [2, 3]. Parenting style is the overall climate of the parent-child relationship. Parenting style affects children in different ways. According to the developmental psychologist, parenting is classified into four styles: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive and uninvolved all of which contribute differently to a child’s schooling experience. Baumrind explained the various parenting styles in the following ways:

One of the parenting styles from Baumrind’s classification is the authoritative parenting style. This parenting style is high among all of the typologies identified by Baumrind [5]. Authoritative parenting is a set of parental characteristics that includes social support, high expectations, adequate maturity, and simple, bidirectional contact, has been shown to aid children and adolescents in developing instrumental competence, defined as the ability to balance community and individual needs and obligations [4]. Responsible freedom, interaction with adults and colleagues, psychosocial stability, and academic performance are all markers of instrumental skill. In this parenting style, parents control the activities of the children in a rational and reasonable manner [6]. Parents who are authoritative are demanding and accepting; they also encourage verbal communication and make it a priority to explain their policy and standing to their children as well as solicit for their children’s objection when they disagree to conform [7, 8]

In authoritative parenting style, parents set rules and regulations for their children to follow; however, it maintains some level of democracy in this parent-child relationship [9]. This democratic approach adopted by the authoritative parents recognizes and reinforce the need for the individuality of the child without compromising on discipline [10]. This implies that parents who adopt this parenting styles are responsive to their children and have a high volition to listen to questions posed by their children.

Essentially, in authoritative parenting style, the parents are assertive, but not invasive and restrictive, as well as tend to be supportive rather than castigatory [4]. This is supported by extant studies that show that parents who use this style of parenting monitor conduct and use non-punitive methods; they also create an environment of warmth, love and mutual understanding between themselves and their children in order to promote stable children behaviour and stability [5, 11]. Studies have shown that democratic parenting styles such as in the case of authoritative parenting styles have produce positive child outcomes [12, 13]. For example, the results of a study conducted by a researcher indicate that democratic parenting styles (like the authoritative parenting style) are significantly related with mental health of children [13]. This is probably due to the fact that authoritative parents make a conscious effort to understand their children, empower them to be able to be independent and problem solving, hence, making them more likely to perform better in school [14].

Authoritarian parenting style as one of the keen parenting styles adopted by most parents [5]. Authoritarian parenting, which is linked to fearful, timid behaviour and behavioral conformity in European American children, is linked to assertiveness in African-American girls, according to [15]. Parents who adopt this parenting style can be described as conservative, conformist and norm abiding [14]. Parenting style follows a dictatorial or despotic approach which is characterized by high degree of control on children and very low levels of warmth [5]. In this parenting style, parents tend to have an absolute standard which is usually theologically motivated; they shape, control and regulate the attitudes and behaviours of children using these standards [8]. Thus, parents expect their children to follow strict rules and failure to conform to these rules will attract punishment. Also, the authoritarian parenting style can be described as a restrictive punitive style [16].

A myriad of studies have demonstrated that parents who adopt the authoritarian parenting style expect strong obedience of the children and therefore exert punitive measures against all those that go contrary to the established rules and standards [5, 7]. A study found that parents who adopt this parenting style tend to exhibit highly restrictive and very demanding behaviours [7]. Also, some studies such as that of posit that the absence of any form of discussion between parents and their children in this parenting style places more pressure on the children compared to any other parenting style [11, 17]. Hence, it is high in control and maturity demands but very low in terms of nurturance and bi-directional parent-child communication [5].

The authoritarian parenting style is very great at controlling the behaviours and attitudes of the child but may have some dire outcomes. Owing to the parents’ high expectations of maturity and control from their children, such children from authoritarian homes usually end up being indecisive, extremely submissive or lacking innovativeness and spontaneity since they always expect to be told what to do at each time; in other situations, the children become reinforced in themselves and therefore become rebellion and consistently finding themselves in fights and quarrels [5].

The authoritarian parenting style has also been known to negatively impact on the psychological development of children. For instance, a study found that authoritarian parenting style produced negative psychological outcomes in children [12]. A research postulates that the authoritarian parenting style leads to high anxiety and withdrawal behaviours among children from such homes as well as result in timidity, low self-esteem, lack of self-reliance and intrinsic motivation. Socially, such children from authoritarian homes often lack good communication skills and usually develop anti-social behaviours or become prone to illicit drug use [5].

The third parenting style is the permissive parenting style. As the name implies, parents who adopt this parenting style permit their children to engage in whatever their heart desire. Hence, such parents are also known as indulgent parents since they make few demands from their children [9]. Permissive parents usually utilize reasoning and manipulation rather than overt power [8]. A parenting style is characterized by low expectation of maturity and control; hence, they aim for high levels of warmth in Baumrind’s typologies [5]. It is also important to note that unlike the authoritarian parenting style, the permissive parenting style rarely use punitive measures or punishment as disciplinary strategies, and children are granted more opportunities to make their own decisions concerning their lives [18]. This assertion is supported by a researcher that permissive parents usually adopt a casual approach when communicating with their children, thereby encouraging the child to open up and have bi-directional communication [19]. Again, this is consistent to the findings on a study that indulgent parents are generally nurturing and communicative with their children, often taking on the status of a friend more than that of a parent [14, 20].

The permissive parenting style again has several effects or implications, children from permissive households experience several drawbacks and mostly becomes delinquents [21]. In terms of personality traits, children from permissive homes have been found to be disobedient, non-compliant, domineering and bullies in their later years [5]. Also, due to the lack of punishment meted on children from permissive homes, they tend to lack self-control over their behaviours and are easily influenced by their peers. This is mainly because permissive parents in most cases might have had a rough childhood experience from authoritarian parents; therefore, they decide to be more permissive and indulgent with their children rather than disciplining the children when there is a need for it [22]. In addition, children from permissive home or have permissive parents are often innovative since they are not restricted by their parents, however, they are usually emotionally immature and have a greater tendency to be easily irritated [5]. The children from such homes grow up believing that they must always get what they desire, subsequently, the children themselves become highly demanding [22].

This is the last of the parenting styles following the modification of Baumrind’s typologies by [23]. The permissive parenting style is characterized by very low levels of warmth and control [5]. A study indicated that the name parenting style implies, parents are mostly unresponsive and therefore, they only become responsive to their children’s needs out of annoyance rather than out of compassion [10]. Therefore, there is a dearth of knowledge about this parenting style [17]. However, it can be inferred from the limited literature on neglectful parenting style that parents are apathetic towards their children and therefore, while they provide the basic needs of their children, the fundamental need of compassion, communication and attention is neglected [9].

The neglectful parenting style has a higher possibility of resulting in negative child outcomes that transcend beyond the realms of education. For instance, it was revealed from a study that depressed females who had neglectful parents had a greater likelihood of committing or attempting suicide. At least once in their life [24]. This may plausibly be explained by the fact that this parenting style does not provide emotional support and attachment for the child [5]. Consequently, children oriented within the neglectful parenting style are prone to internalize issues that bother them and resort to negative coping mechanism that can be detrimental to their educational development and total wellbeing. Interestingly, study had shown that this style of parenting is predominant in the case of high school aged males since their parents perceive that males who are in high school are old enough and can therefore take care of their own needs [25]. Also, due to the high levels of un-involvement of parents in the affairs of their children in this parenting style, the children have greater propensity to become delinquent. This is because the parents contribute very little to preparing the children for good social interactions outside the home, hence exposing the children to difficulties in observing self-discipline [22, 26].

The researcher, therefore, anticipates that difference in locality and different cultural background with different disciplinary strategies, nurturance, communication styles and maturity and control will shape the life style of students. Parents play a critical role in complementing the efforts of government in achieving a holistic education for the child. The home or the family serves as the first point of contact for the child and it is the primary socializing agent of children within every society. It is within the family that the personality traits, social competence, psychological, emotional, physical and educational development of children take place as a result of the parenting styles the parents adopt and use in bringing them up [1]. It is in the light of this, the study sought to examine parenting styles on the junior high school students in the Aowin municipality in helping them to become relevant citizens. The purpose of the study was to examine the dominant parenting styles of parents in the Aowin municipality. The study was guided by this research question - What is the dominant parenting style of parents in the Aowin municipality?

The quantitative research approach was employed for the study. Descriptive survey design was used to obtain information concerning the current status of a phenomenon and to describe “what exists” with respect to variables or conditions in a situation. The population for the study included all Public Junior High Schools pupils in the Aowin Municipality. The targeted population therefore was all final year public JHS students in the schools within the Aowin Municipality in the Western North Region, Ghana. The total number of pupils in the public Junior High Schools is around 2520 students. However, for the purpose of this study, 252 students in JHS 3 who had successfully completed JHS 1 and 2 constituted the accessible population.

A multistage sampling technique which involved the use of probability sampling was employed to select 252 respondents representing 10% of the total population. The choice of 252 study respondents’ representing 10% of the study population was based on Krecjie and Morgan’s assertion that at least 10% of a study population gives a proportional representation [26]. The use of multistage sampling technique enabled the researcher to combine different strategies/techniques such as simple random (lottery method) and proportionate sampling to select the schools and students for the study.

Firstly, a simple random technique, specifically the lottery method was employed to select 5 public schools in the Aowin Municipality. This technique gave an equal chance to every public basic school in the municipality to be selected for the study. With this sampling technique, the researcher wrote the words “YES” and “NO” on pieces of papers. The pieces of papers were then folded and put into a bowl/container, shuffle and reshuffle them. Student from each school representing the school were called to pick the pieces of papers. Schools that picked ‘YES’ were selected for the study.

Secondly, proportionate sampling technique was employed to select specific proportion from each selected school to ensure representative sample (Amoah & Eshun, 2015). Proportionate sampling technique enabled the researcher to distribute the respondents based on the selected schools (School A, B, C, D, E). 60% of the total JHS 3 students from each school were selected for the study. To get equal proportion of respondents from each school, this formula was used to determine the sample size for each school [27].

Where S is the sample to be selected from each school

(n) is the population of students in each school

N is the total population of students of the selected schools

K is the sample size derived from the Krejcie and Morgan table

This was summarized in the table below;

Lastly, simple random sampling technique was once again used select the various proportions from each schools selected. “YES” and “NO” were written on pieces of papers. The pieces of papers were then folded and put into a bowl/container, shuffle and reshuffle them. Students were allowed to pick from the container the pieces of papers. Students’ who picked ‘YES’ were selected for the study. This gave an equal chance for every student to take part in the study.

The study sought to discover the dominant parenting style of JHS students in the Aowin municipality. To achieve this purpose, the students were given 20 items to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement on a five-point Likert scale questionnaire with 1-strongly disagree, 2- disagree, 3-Uncertain, 4- Agree and 5-Strongly Agree. The data was analysed with means and standard deviation. A mean value above 3.5 indicates that the majority of the respondents agreed to the statement while a mean value below 3.5 indicates respondents' level of disagreement. The outcome of the analysis of their responses is shown in Table 2.

From the Table 2 above, the JHS students were positive that they were aware of the type of parenting style adopted at their various homes. Most of the students agreed to all the items under the authoritative parenting style construct and so had high mean scores with the lowest mean score being 4.06. The majority of the JHS students responded that their parents adopted the authoritative parenting style at home. On authoritarian parenting, most of the students disagreed with the statements on the construct with the highest mean score being 2.91. This shows that most of the JHS students did not come from authoritarian homes but only a few numbers come from such homes. The table also revealed that, most of the students disagreed with the statements on the permissive and neglectful parenting style construct with the highest mean score being 2.93 and 2.79 respectively. This presupposes that only a small number of the students agreed to the items on these two constructs. The summary of the mean scores and standard deviations of the various parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive and neglectful) has been presented in Table 3.

From the table 3, it can be seen that, the majority of the JHS students (Mean=4.20, SD=0.9589) perceive their parents to be authoritative. Students from this type of parenting style believe that, their parents exhibit behaviours such as encouraging children to talk about their problems, guiding them by reasoning and giving praise when children behaved well. This was followed by the authoritarian parenting style (Mean = 2.97, SD=0.7272). Most of the students did not see their parents as authoritarian probably because the parents did not usually exhibit behaviours such as setting strict rules for the children to follow, punishing them when they disobey rules and not offering an explanation for punishing the children. Only a few of them perceived their parents to be permissive (Mean=2.18, SD=0.7076) followed by neglectful parenting style (Mean=2.03, SD=0.5742). Parents who are described as such do not see the reason to set strict rules for their kids. They sometimes become adamant about the needs of their wards.

The aim of research question was to explore the dominant parenting style among JHS students in the Aowin municipality. The study revealed that the four different parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive and neglectful) were reflective among the parents of students the municipality with authoritative parenting style dominating (Table 3). This, therefore, is in line with a similar study that different parents in different socio-economic, cultural and geospatial contexts influence and perform their role distinctively from one another and use different parenting styles to nurture their children [28]. There are several types of parenting styles employed by parents in different geographical areas. This was confirmed by a researcher that, parents in Ghana employ all four different types of parenting styles. Another similar research supported the current study that the majority of parents portrayed or exhibited the four identified parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive and neglectful) [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22].

From table 3, authoritative parenting style (Mean=4.20, SD= 0.9589) dominates among JHS Pupil in the Aowin Municipality. This finding is in agreement with a plethora of studies [29, 30]. For instance, a study to explore the dominant parenting style among parents in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana revealed that most of the parents of students employed the authoritative parenting styles in the upbringing of their children. Authoritative parenting style predominates in parents in the study area [29, 30]. It can, therefore, be inferred that, parents from the municipality control the activities of the children rationally and reasonably [30]. This assertion confirms a previous study that authoritative parenting style is not irrational but deal with situations in a more reasonable manner. Parents who employ authoritative parenting style although have high demands for their children are also accommodating and accepting. There is effective communication between parents and their children. Most of the students indicated that although their parents wish they follow their directions, they were always willing to listen to their concerns and discuss issues with them [] adds that parents who employ authoritative parenting style solicit for their children’s views on issues and explain their stands to them [7]. Such parents always create an environment of warmth, love and mutual understanding between themselves and their children in order to promote stable children's behaviour and further increase their performance in school [5, 17].

Most of the students agreed that their parents gave reasons for their actions especially when punished. They also added that there is an effective dialogue between parents and their children. This is in agreement with earlier research which indicated that there is some level of democracy in an authoritative home [9]. A study supports the findings of the current study which unveiled that parent who used democratic parenting styles (like the authoritative parenting style) had children with good mental health [13]. This is probably due to the fact that authoritative parents make a conscious effort to understand their children, empower them to be able to be independent and problems solving, hence, making them more likely to perform better in school [14]. The results of the study also show that although rules are set at an authoritative parenting home, it maintains some level of democracy in this parent-child relationship [9]. This democratic approach employed by the authoritative parents recognizes and reinforces the need for the individuality of the child without compromising on discipline [10]. Authoritative parents are assertive but not invasive, supportive but not castigatory [31].

Authoritarian parenting style was the second predominant parenting style in the Aowin municipality (Mean=2.97, n=63, 25%). The study revealed that, children who come from authoritarian homes perceive their parents to adopt strict rules and regulations as the only way to control their children. Therefore, children are supposed to obey the rules and regulations in the house and failure to obey the rule set attracts sanctions. This study is in consonance with a study an earlier study which states that parents who adopt this parenting style can be described as conservative, conformist and norm abiding [14]. Another previous study supports the findings of the study that this parenting style follows a dictatorial or despotic approach which is characterized by a high degree of control on children and very low levels of warmth [5]. Other studies support this study that parent who adopt the authoritarian parenting style expect strong obedience of the children and therefore exert punitive measures against all those that go contrary to the established rules and standards [5, 7].

The few students (n=63, 25%) from authoritarian parenting style agreed that, force is the only means of ensuring compliance with their rules, unlike the authoritative parenting style who do not subscribe to this assertion. The pupils agreed that, their parents do not allow them to question their decisions. These results were in line with similar findings that parenting style is liken to a military regime since it operates on the principle that rules must not be explained or questioned but simply obeyed. Hence, it imposes strict limits and controls on the child and encourages little verbal communication. Students from authoritarian homes also agreed that their parents want them to follow their expectations at all costs but this is unlikely with the authoritative parents [32]. This is in agreement with the earlier studies which posit that there is the absence of any form of a discussion between parents and their children. There is more pressure on the children in the authoritarian parenting style compared to any other parenting style. Hence, it is high in control and maturity demands but very low in terms of nurturance and bi-directional parent-child communication [5, 11].

The third most dominant parenting style in Aowin municipality is the permissive parenting style (Mean= 2.18, n=50, 19.8%). A researcher believes that the permissive parenting style dominates apart from the authoritative and authoritarian parenting style. In his description, the permissive parenting style is non-directional and very lenient to their children. Parents who employ permissive parenting do not require mature behaviour and allow considerable self-regulation. They avoid confrontations with their children at home [33]. This is mainly because permissive parents in most cases might have had a rough childhood experience from authoritarian parents; therefore, they decide to be more permissive and indulgent with their children rather than disciplining the children when there is a need for it [22]. The children from such homes grow up believing that they must always get what they desire, subsequently, the children themselves become highly demanding [22].

JHS students coming from permissive parenting homes agreed that, their parents do not set any rules and regulations for them. They also added that, their parents do not care much about what they do in life. It can be explained that, parents who adopt this parenting style permit their children to engage in whatever their heart desire. Children are not coerced to perform their activities. This study is in line with a study that, children from permissive parental homes have total freedom and operates without any form of regulations [31]. A researcher adds that permissive parents usually utilize reasoning and manipulation rather than overt power [8]. On the other hand, JHS students disagreed with the assertion that their parents pamper them. This assertion disagrees with a study that, children from permissive parenting homes are mostly pampered [34]. The JHS students in the municipality also added that parents do not set any standards for them to follow. According to a researcher this parenting style is characterized by the low expectation of maturity and control; hence, they aim for high levels of warmth in Baumrind’s typologies [5]. Researchers believe that, unlike the authoritarian parenting style, the permissive parenting style rarely uses punitive measures or punishment as disciplinary strategies, and children are granted more opportunities to make their own decisions concerning their lives [18]. Therefore, most of the decisions are made by the children without direct involvement by the parents. This total freedom given by children comes with its problems, children from permissive households experience several drawbacks and mostly become delinquents in facets of their life [21].

In terms of communication, permissive parents usually adopt a casual approach when communicating with their children, thereby encouraging the child to open up and have bi-directional communication [19]. Permissive parents are generally nurturing and communicative with their children, often taking on the status of a friend more than that of a parent [14, 20]. Although there are some forms of communication in permissive parenting, parents do not interfere in the decisions of their children. This is not in consonance with that the permissive parenting style, on the other hand, has high levels of warmth but low levels of communication [33].

The study revealed that, neglectful parenting style was the least adopted parenting style by parents in the Aowin municipality (Mean=2.03, n=49, 19.4%). This is in consonance with previous studies which indicate that the neglectful parenting style is the last type of parenting style employed by parents following the modification of Baumrind’s typologies [23]. JHS students in the municipality agreed that, their parents felt they should know better and are not responsible to decide for them. This is one of the characteristics stated on parents who employ the neglectful parenting style [5]. He believes that parents who employ a neglectful parenting style are characterized by a low level of warmth and control. He further adds that, parents believe their children should know better in terms of their likes and dislikes. Those JHS students agreed that, their parents hardly provide their needs and care less about their welfare. Some parents are mostly unresponsive and therefore, they only become responsive to their children’s needs out of annoyance rather than out of compassion [10]. This presupposes that, parents who employ neglectful parenting are mostly insensitive to the needs of their children. Parents who provide some basic needs for their children, the fundamental need of compassion, communication and attention are neglected [9]. A researcher opines that neglectful parents are generally uninvolving in their parenting responsibilities [35]. Due to the high levels of non-involvement of parents in the affairs of their children in this parenting style, the children have a greater propensity to become delinquent [22]. This is because the parents contribute very little to preparing the children for good social interactions outside the home, hence exposing the children to difficulties in observing self-discipline [22, 36].

The study also revealed that, in the homes where parenting style is used, there is a total absence of standards or expectations in neglectful parenting homes. Parents never asked children to conform to any form of standards or expectations. This study is in line with a previous study disclosed that, parents in Ghana who employ neglectful parenting style do not set any standard for their children [5]. Students are only motivated by what they see around their community. The students asserted that, their parents did not involve them in any form of decisions. This study is also in line with a similar study which revealed that parents who employ neglectful parenting style did not discuss their decisions with their children. Children are also allowed to make their own decisions in the home. This free will in decisions comes with its problems [23]. Children from neglectful homes mostly become depressed and there is a likelihood of committing suicide when their plans do not fall into place [24].

The study concluded that, Authoritative parenting style predominates in JHS students in the Aowin municipality. There was a correlation between the parenting style of parents and the academic performance of JHS students. It was seen that, student coming from the authoritative parenting style had high performance than those coming from the authoritarian, permissive and neglectful parenting style. Students from neglectful parenting homes demonstrated low performance in school.

It is recommended that policies should be developed by Ministry of Education to encourage parents to adopt appropriate parenting styles like the authoritative parenting style which has been revealed by this study as related to good academic performance. Management of various schools should collaborate with Parent-Teacher Association to organize seminars and workshops to educate parents on the influences of the various parenting styles on their children academic performance. This will enlighten parents on employing effective parenting style like authoritative parenting style that has been revealed by this study to correlates with high academic performance.

Author Contribution: Conceptualization; methodology, validation, formal analysis; investigation; resources; data curation, writing—original draft preparation; writing—review and editing; visualization; supervision; project administration; the author has read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding: “This research received no external funding”

Data Availability Statement: Data is available on request from the corresponding author.

Acknowledgments: we acknowledge the Dr. Anthony Bordoh for his input and suggestions.

Conflicts of Interest: “The authors declare no conflict of interest.” “No funders had any role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results”.