This paper uses a case study of Jamaica to examine the importance of parental involvement in children’s education as a way of improving education and child outcomes as well as of stemming the transmission of conditions of poverty and exclusion across generations. The paper argues that while the involvement of parents is widely acknowledged as critical to the education process, there are systemic and societal barriers which impinge on parents’ exercise of agency in their children’s upbringing.

For the most part, children who succeed in the educational system can attest to the role parental involvement has played in their success. While some families have reneged on their responsibility or have left it up to other units in society, it is an almost undeniable fact that families are the most important point of reference insofar as educating children is concerned. In this regard, Andrea M.