Relationship between Parental Involvement and Academic Performance of Primary School Pupils in Kenya

Abstract

Developed and developing countries alike understand that providing basic education for all children is essential not only to their  future welfare but for the development of the country.. In Kenya the introduction of Free Primary Education in 2003 in the public schools by the Government of Kenya has increased the enrollment from 5.99 million to about 8.5 million children. The Government of Kenya has employed and posted trained teachers in all public schools but the pupils continue to post poor performance. This study sought to identify the influence of parental involvement to the academic performance of pupils in primary schools in Nyamira South Sub-County. The study targeted the 3543 standard eight pupils in 147 primary schools in Nyamira sub-county. Stratified sampling was used to get a sample of 355 pupils, 84 teachers and 15 head teachers .A mixed method design was adopted for this study that used qualitative and quantitative approaches in collecting and analyzing data concurrently.  Two questionnaires were used to collect data from the teachers and pupils while an interview schedule collected from head teachers. Quantitative data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistic was used to describe and summarize the data inform of frequencies and percentages. Statistical included t-test and Pearson correlation analysis which was used to establish the relationship between the independent and dependent variables with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).  Qualitative data from the interview was analyzed using thematic approach. Data was coded and themes analyzed as they emerged. Analyzed data were then merged for presentation and discussion. The study established that parental involvement had a major impact to academic performance of standard eight pupils. The study recommended that parents should participate more in academic activities of their children.  The results obtained may help the government and the community to make necessary changes and improvements so as to improve the education performance in the sub county.