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regarded support from other people as valuable, especially because of their financial constraints. It was notable from the interview responses that receiving support from other people contributes to the participants’ ability to help their children, and this has not been thoroughly discussed in existing parental involvement literature. The participants cited receiving support from different sources which are organized into three subthemes: support from spouse, other family members, and fellow parents and friends.

3.1. Support from spouse. Some participants stated that having a supportive spouse enables them to help their children more. The responses showed that in some participants’ cases, the spouse complements the participant’s skills in responding to the child’s school requirements. For instance, Emie (A) said that even if she is the primary teacher of her daughter at home, when it comes to art projects that needed drawing, it is her husband who helps. Aurora (A) also relies on her husband’s drawing skills for her daughter’s projects, “Her dad helps her in drawing, no matter how late he gets home. If he can’t work on it tonight, he’ll make sure to finish it in the morning. He’d really finish it.” Alma (B) acknowledged her husband, saying “When my daughter gets home, I help her with her homework. If I can’t do it, my husband will help her because if I can’t do it, I get hotheaded easily, and then I’d shout at her. Her dad, on the other hand, is very patient. So

I let him do the teaching… rather than I hurting her.” Joyce (B) has a slightly different experience. Although her husband does not help in teaching their child, she said that their partnership works, “My husband wants me to focus on the kids since I’m just at home. So I’m in charge of the kids, he’s in charge of work... I can focus on taking care of our two children.”

3.2. Support from other family members. Majority of the participants reported living with their extended family, and that the presence of other adults aside from the parents, is beneficial for the child. A few participants also described reaching out to other family members living nearby so that they can help teach their children. For example, Joyce (B) narrated that since she has a lot of older nieces and nephews who live nearby, she would ask for their assistance in helping her daughter finish her assignments and they would oblige. When asked who else helps her daughter, Carmela (B) responded, “My older sister helps, because she knows more than I do. So if one of my children can’t understand what I’m teaching, I’d say, ‘Ask Auntie.’ And she’d help them.” Older siblings also help teach their younger siblings. Karen (C) said that if she doesn’t know what to teach her son, she would ask her older daughter to help her. Angie (B) shared, “Her older sister is a big help. If I can’t do it, she’s the one who teaches my youngest. But I’m still there, I look at what they’re doing.”

3.3. Support from fellow parents and friends. Several participants reported valuing their relationship with other parents in school as this enables them to reach out when they need help. Given that they have more or less similar school concerns, the participants said that they contact other parents to make sure that they or their children have the correct information. For example, Holly (C) said, sometimes I would ask the

mothers of my son’s classmates especially when my son didn’t finish copying his

homework from the blackboard. I will text the other mothers and tell them, ‘Sis, are there other assignments? My son forgot to write them.’ And then they will text me.” Alma (B) also shared her experience, “Sometimes my daughter would not remember where she wrote her homework so I’d really ask the other moms every day. Yeah, we have a group. When my daughter wrote the right thing, when she didn’t write anything, I’d ask just the same because in Section 1, it’s hard to get left behind.”

Some participants also acknowledged the advice and assistance they received from friends and neighbors. For instance, when asked why she teaches her child advanced lessons, Aurora (A) recalled, “Because one of my neighbors taught me that, that I should teach my child advanced lessons so that he will be ahead in class.” Christy (A) also shared how she asks her friends online to help her, “I’m still friends with my former classmates on Facebook. They have a good life now. So if I have a problem with math, I don’t know anything. I bug them because they’re engineers, they’re good! And my other friend is a teacher so she’s good in English, so I tell my daughter to ask her about English problems. Even if they’re abroad, they still respond to me through Facebook Messenger.”

Theme 4. School- and teacher-related factors. The school context plays a