The study explored the effects of parenting styles on the educational development of secondary school students in Ethiope East L.G.A of Delta State. Parenting style is a pattern of behaviors, attitudes, and approaches that a parent uses when interacting with and raising their children. Two research questions were raised and two null hypotheses were formulated in the study. The study is a correlational survey using ex-post facto design. The sample for the study consists of 200 parents and 50 teachers selected from the study area. The sampling procedure used was the stratified random sampling technique. Questionnaire titled “Parenting Styles and Students’ Educational Development Questionnaire – PSSEDQ” was used as the instrument to collect data from participants. The researcher administered a total of 275 questionnaire to randomly selected participants in the study area. Simple percentage, mean scores, standard deviation and coefficient of determination using 2.50 as benchmark to provide answers to the research questions. Pearson Product Moment Statistics was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. In conclusion, the effect of parenting styles on a child’s academic achievement is undeniable.
Keywords: Nigeria, Parenting Styles, Students, educational development