Abstract
Despite substantial policy investment in Uganda's vocational education through the Skilling Uganda Strategic Plan (2012–2022), enrolment in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions remains persistently low. Parental involvement has been identified as a critical determinant of students' educational choices, yet limited empirical research examines its specific mechanisms in the Ugandan context. This study examined the level and nature of parental involvement in students' enrolment in vocational education and investigated the relationship between socioeconomic factors and parental engagement in selected vocational institutes in Kampala, Uganda. Using a descriptive cross-sectional design, data were collected from 321 students, 108 parents, and 99 teachers across three vocational institutions through structured questionnaires, yielding a 100% response rate. Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (1986) provided the theoretical framework, complemented by Epstein's (2018) overlapping spheres of influence model. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, multiple linear regression, and Pearson correlation. Findings revealed high parental involvement in financial support (89.9%), attendance at school events (95.9%), and awareness of vocational education benefits (88.5%). However, 77.5% of students reported feeling unsupported in selecting specific vocational skills. Employment type emerged as the only significant predictor of parental involvement (B = 0.966, β = 0.220, p = .033), while parental qualification showed a negative correlation with emotional and financial support (r = −.233, p = .015). Age positively correlated with attendance at meetings (r = .219, p = .022), and employment type demonstrated consistent positive correlations with multiple involvement dimensions. The regression model explained 9.7% of the variance in parental involvement (R² = .097, F (5, 103) = 2.257, p = .054), indicating that socioeconomic factors alone provide a partial explanation and that other unmeasured factors warrant investigation. Parental involvement significantly shapes vocational education enrolment, though a notable gap exists between general support and specific career guidance. Employment type and parental education shape engagement patterns, with implications for policy and practice. Recommendations include developing targeted sensitisation campaigns, strengthening parental engagement programmes, providing comprehensive career guidance services, and implementing community-based awareness initiatives.