Beyond the Classroom: How Socioeconomic Status, Parental Involvement and Home Environment Impact on Students' Science Academic Performance at Secondary Schools

Science education is crucial for students as it fosters critical thinking, problem-solving skills and a deeper understanding of the natural world. The present study explored factors beyond the classroom that impact students' science academic performance (SSAP) at secondary schools. Based on research questions and literature, three hypotheses were formulated using factors beyond the classroom such as socioeconomic status (SES), parents' involvement (PI) and home environment (HE) that impact SSAP at secondary schools. A quantitative survey approach was employed. Data were collected from 430 participants who were science teachers and currently teaching science courses at secondary schools in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The data collection process included using a survey questionnaire to collect data on SES, PI, HE and SSAP. In order to analyse the given data, two statistical software were used, namely SPSS and AMOS 24. Several statistical methods were used to analyse the collected data, such as exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to uncover the underlying structure of a relatively large set of variables and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test whether the data fit a hypothesised measurement model. Moreover, correlation analysis was conducted to discover the relationship among variables, while regression analysis was conducted to determine the impact of independent variables on the dependent variable. The findings revealed factors beyond the classroom (SES, PI and HE) statistically positive impact SSAP. Based on the results, the study recommends that schools organise workshops and training sessions for parents to support their children's science learning, offer flexible parental involvement opportunities and provide educational resources like books and kits to help the academic environment at home. Policymakers and other stakeholders should ensure equitable resource distribution across schools, mainly targeting low-SES areas and providing additional funding for science programmes and extracurricular activities.