At the level of secondary school, student's self-concept about their academic capabilities plays an important role. The aims of the study were to examine the relationship between academic self-concept and academic achievement of secondary students and to compare the academic self-concept of male and female secondary students. Sample of the study were 615 secondary school students of both genders (Male 317, Female 298, aged 14-17 years). The sample was drawn from 15 secondary schools affiliated with CBSE board, session 2016-17 of Varanasi city, India. Academic achievement was measured by self-reported Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of the previous year. Academic self-concept was measured using Kample and Naik (2013) Academic Self Concept Scale (ASCS), which was composed of 57 items, distributed in 8 subscales namely Academic Ability, Academic Interests, Study, Examination, Academic Interaction, Academic Efforts, Curriculum, and Academic Future. The result of the study revealed that there was a positive relationship between academic self-concept and academic achievement and this relationship was stronger for female students (r = .28) than that of male students (r = .17). Moreover, gender differences in the academic self-concept of the students were also found. Female students had significantly higher academic self-concept than male students.

Several researches showed that students with educated parents and high family social capital perform better in their career. The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of parental education on parental academic involvement at the secondary school level. The participants of the study were 615 secondary school students (Male 317, Female 298, aged 14-17 years) drawn from 15 secondary schools affiliated with CBSE board, session 2016-17 of Varanasi city, India. Parental academic involvement was measured by students self-reported Perception of Parental Academic Involvement Scale (PPAIS) developed by investigator himself. PPAIS is consisted of 9 items and cronbach"s alpha estimate of reliability for the scale is 0.70 which is good and acceptable in the social science research situation. Univariate analysis of variance showed that mothers" education has more positive influence on parental academic involvement than that of fathers" education. Furthermore, this study did not find any gender effect with respect to mothers" education as well as with fathers" education.

Parental involvement in the education of their children is a key function of child total functioning as well as their academic success. This paper review the research literature on the relationship among parenting practices such as parenting style, parents’ expectations, parental home and school involvement activities and students’ academic performance with the focus on elementary and middle school level. To conduct a comprehensive review on above relationship, researchers have used JSTOR data base and Google Scholar. The reviews of empirical researches indicate that different constructs of parental involvement play an important role in various ways. Several studies however indicate a decline in parental involvement during the middle or above school levels. Furthermore, the review indicates that authoritative parenting style is positively associated academic performance across all school level, although this finding is not consistent across ethnicity, culture and socioeconomic status. Parental home based and school based involvements have also been positively related to academic performance with some inconsistency. One the other hand parental expectations for their child educational attainment have the strongest impact on academic performance compared with other types of parental involvement constructs such as participation in school events, parent-child communication, and help in homework.

Background: The prevalence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is increasing continuously worldwide and in recent years it is emerging as a major public health challenge in India. GDM is a common complication during pregnancy that can fatally affect the outcome of pregnancy, hence early diagnosis and appropriate measures are essential. The present study was conducted to estimate the prevalence and associated risk factors affecting GDM in rural, Uttar Pradesh, India. Methods: A cross-sectional community based study was conducted among 605 pregnant women registered at Primary Health Center (PHC) of Harhua block of Varanasi district Uttar Pradesh. Following DIPSI Guideline, One step OGTT with two hours after taking 75 gm oral glucose irrespective of last meal was used and screen by Glucometer. The plasma glucose level of ≥140 mg/dL was taken as cutoff for confirm the GDM in pregnant women. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 20 Software. Results: The mean age of pregnant women was found to be 24.39 ± 3.17, ranging between 17 and 36 years. 46 out of 605 pregnant women (7.6%) were diagnosed as having GDM. The age (X 2 =42.42; P<.01), educational status (X 2 =16.72; P<.01) and BMI (X 2 = 53.58; p<.01) of pregnant women were significantly associated with prevalence of GDM. Moreover higher age (AOR= 9.33, 95% CI: 3.20-27.19; p<.01) and obesity (AOR= 17.96, p<.01) were seen as significant and strong predictor of GDM. Conclusions: This study has shown the prevalence of GDM in all socio-demographic categories, especially in pregnant women with high age and high BMI. GDM can lead to type-2 diabetes in pregnant women later on after delivery. Proper awareness about antenatal care and use of mobile medical units in the screening and diagnosis of GDM can play an important role in ensuring better maternal and fetal health.

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