This study aimed at investigating the Effects of Parental Social Support on Students’ Academic Performance among Ward Secondary Schools in Dar es Salaam City Council. The objectives of the research were; to investigate the effects of parental social support on students’ academic performance among Ward Secondary Schools in Dar es Salaam City Council, to investigate how parental social support to students’ cognitive development can improve students’ academic performance and to assess the extent to which student parental social guidance can improve students’ academic performance. The study was guided by the Parental Involvement Theory which focuses on devotion of resources by the parents to the child within a given domain. It used a mixed approach combining both Quantitative and Qualitative approach. Data collection tools used were Questionnaire, Interview, Documentary Review and Observation. The sample included 179 respondents with the following distribution; 97 students, 52 parents, 10 Head teachers and 20 Teachers. Data presentation was by means of Tables, Charts and Figures. Analysis of quantitative data was done by SPSS whereas qualitative data were analysed through content analysis. The findings revealed that parental social support to students in terms of parental guidance, support to cognitive development and parental social support contributed to improved academic performance of students. However, parental social support could be ineffective due to the following constraints; time available for parents to interact with their children was too short; there were economic stressors on parents who could not support their children financially; there were language communication barriers with children; there was an acute lack of knowledge on modern parenting strategies and technological skills as well as growing societal pressures and expectations. Therefore, the study recommended to parents, to children and to the community as follows: Parents should devote more time to helping their children perform better in academics through all three types of guidance: personality development guidance, behavioural development guidance and support to cognitive development. Children should ensure that they take an active role in following the guidance provided by their parents. Particularly, children should be ready to communicate with their parents freely, reveal openly the challenges they face at school and discuss what the parents should do to address the challenges. Community members should see that the role of social support is not only limited to the parents who have school children in school but also is a responsibility of all the community members in various ways, given that it takes a village to raise a child (Clinton, H. R, 1996).