This study used mixed methods to investigate the relationships between parental leave policy components and academic achievement measured by TIMSS and PIRLS. Qualitative document analysis was used to analyze the policy documents and available literature on all the parental leave policies that had been implemented early enough to potentially affect the children who were assessed by the TIMSS and PIRLS in the countries under study. Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) was then used to categorize countries based on the components of their parental leave policies, and to identify potential causal pathways to see whether and how these policy components contribute to academic achievement. Exploratory descriptive and correlational statistical analyses were then used to help evaluate the QCA results and investigate the quantitative relationships between the policy components and student achievement in reading, mathematics, and science. The study found that the potential causal pathways identified in the fsQCA differed for each of the three outcomes of interest, with stronger evidence of set relationships between the components of parental leave policies and achievement in science than for achievement in reading. The fsQCA failed to find evidence for a unique relationship between the policy components and achievement in mathematics. However, the results did reveal ways that certain policy components can contribute to mathematics achievement under certain contextual conditions, particularly when combined with high rates of female employment and a high-quality alternative to parental care in the early years. The results of the exploratory regression analyses found statistically significant relationships between maternity leave and the three academic outcomes. It also found smaller but statistically significant correlations between the other types leave and reading and science, but not for mathematics. Broadly speaking, the results of this study provide support for the assumption that paid parental leave policies can contribute to academic achievement in reading, mathematics, and science. However, the study did not provide support for the assumption that more paid leave is necessarily better, and may provide evidence that other contextual factors, such as female employment rates and a high-quality alternative to parental care, are just as important, if not more, for academic achievement. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]