Influence of Parental Socio-Economic Characteristics on Academic Performance among Secondary School Students in Kenya: A Case of Garissa County
- August 19, 2020
- Posted by: RSIS
- Category: IJRISS
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume IV, Issue VII, July 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186
Yassin Isse Wardere, Dr. Peter Koome*, Dr George C.O Maroko
*Mount Kenya University, Kenya
Abstract: The study aimed at understanding how parental socio-economic factors influenced academic performance of children in Kenya.The study used Garissa County as a case to draw a conclusion. The study had the following specific objectives: to assess the role of household economic status on academic performance of children in selected secondary schools in Garissa County; to establish the nature of the relationships between social factors as measured by education level of parents on academic performance of children; to determine the influence of parenting style on academic performance of children; to evaluate the place of social safety nets on academic performance of the children. The study used qualitative and quantitative research methods. It adopted a descriptive research design.The target population was derived from the parents and teachers in Garissa County. A sample of 160 was used from the target population. Purposive and random sampling techniques were used to select participants in the study. Data was collected from a sample of 160 students currently attending secondary school in Garissa County. Data collection instruments included questionnaires, interviews and observation techniques. This quantitative data was complemented with qualitative data collected from key informants namely head teachers, deputy head teachers and local chiefs. Data was analyzed using frequency distributions, measures of central tendency and dispersion as well as cross-tabulations and the findings were presented using, graphs, diagrams, figures, reports and charts. Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis methods. The study was conducted in Garissa County. The findings were used to address the issues affecting the education system in Kenya. As hypothesized, economic status of the household as measured by ownership of a car was found to be statistically associated with academic achievement of children. In particular, children from well off families were more likely than other to emerge top of their class. Mother’s level of education was also found to be associated with better school performance but there was no statistically significant association between father’s education and academic performance of the sampled children. Social safety nets were found to be non-existence. Based on these findings, the study recommended policy change to give more focus on the unique barriers to educational attainment in Garissa County. Finally, more research was recommended to shed light on other factors besides parental characteristics that hinder educational achievement in arid and semi arid areas. The study focused on the period between.
Study Findings
i- The findings showed that majority of the students (63%) who came from households that own a car performed better in their academics they constituted only 12% of the total number of respondents. Acquiring symbols such as cars are thought to raise a family’s status. This supported (Huskin & Meij, 2013) and agrees with (Uvarov & Yastrebov, 2014) who by using hierarchical regression models found out that students with families from higher economic standing performed better. On Household social factors and academic performance , the study showed that there was a 95% significance of the mother’s level of education and how a student performed at school, in difference to the father’s level of education where there was no significance. Majority of top performers (51.9%) came from households that mother’s had secondary education and above. This is in contrast to 25% of top performers from a background of no maternal education. Indeed this supports claims by (Hernandez & Napierala, 2014) Additionally, according to (Rouse & Barrow, 2006) there is a connection between the mother’s educational attainment and that of the children. On Parenting style and academic performancethis study showed at 95% confidence level that the children from very supportive families achieved high educational levels. 42.6% of the top performers came from very supportive families, while 7.3% of the students from non-supportive families came top of their class. In relation to checking the performance of the students, 40.5% of the respondents performed best when their mothers checked up on their school work. Those who were never checked on, only 20.8% came top of their class and a whopping 50% were low performers. The study also revealed that there was no relation to performance of the student and the father’s involvement in the school work. This finding was supported by (Hill & Taylor, 2004) who agreed that as much as these variables have a long standing basis in research, it is important to look at the context in which the involvement of a parent takes place. With respect to school feeding programme as safety net, the study found that there was no specific programme that focused on feeding the students principally because the target schools were secondary school. Such programme, although many and very important in ASAL regions, target only primary schools. In this regard, secondary schools offer meals as part of the package for the student which is factored in the school fees paid by the parent.
