This study examines the relationship between four dimensions(i.e., participation in school activities,
interaction with parents of child's friend, learning activities at home, and home supervision) of
parental involvement and student achievement in South Korea, using representative data for junior
high school students from the 2005 Korean Education Longitudinal Study(KELS). Special attention is
given to an analysis of a differential effect of parental involvement on student achievement by family
background. The authors found that higher SES parents are more likely involved in their children's
education than are low SES parents. However, the relationship between parental SES and involvement
is limited. The authors also found that a specific dimension of involvement(i.e., learning activities at
home) has greater effects for those children from families with higher SES, in particular with respect
to English achievement. The findings suggest that parental involvement itself may play a role in
increasing achievement gaps between children from higher SES families and those from low SES
families.