Influence of Parental Involvement on academic achievement of pupils in Public Primary Schools in Rachuonyo South sub-county, Kenya

Abstract

There is an increased demand for academic achievement in public primary schools in the world today. The demand has made all stakeholders explore areas that can contribute to academic achievement to enhance pupils‟ development in the society. Pupils in public primary schools are often faced with unique challenges that hinder them from meeting their parents‟ expectations, yet there has been limited information about parental involvement in their children‟s academic achievement in schools. The situation is worrying because, only a few; 09% in 2012, 08% in 2014 and 08% in 2017 parents had interest in their children‟s academic achievement in schools. The purpose of the study was to establish the influence of parental involvement on academic achievement of pupils in public primary schools. Objectives of the study were to establish: The influence of home-school communication on academic achievement; influence of parents‟ provision of school requirements on academic achievement; the extent to which parents‟ supervision of homework influences academic achievement and whether parents‟ participation in education activities at school has influence on academic achievement. The study was based on Bronfenbrenner (1979) Ecological System Theory of Development which outlines the influence of parental involvement at school and other surroundings on a child‟s development. The study was conceptualized on how various variables interrelate to affect academic achievement. The study design was sequential explanatory. The study population consisted of 300 teachers, 1210 parents, 75 head teachers and 1210 pupils drawn from 75 public primary schools. Stratified sampling technique was used to select 23 primary schools (30% of the study population). Simple random sampling technique was used to select 230 pupils and purposive sampling was used to select 50 parents, 23 head teachers and 90 teachers. To establish reliability of research instruments, a pilot study was carried out in 2 schools, 2 head teachers and 9 teachers (10% of the study population). Validity of instruments was established by presenting the instruments to experts for verification. Reliability coefficient of 0.7 and 0.8 was obtained for head teachers‟ and teachers‟ questionnaires respectively while Reliability test for interview schedules, focused group discussion guide was carried out by parallel-form reliability. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics in form of frequency count and percentages and inferential statistics using chi-square test of dependence. Qualitative data generated from open ended questions were organized, categorized and presented in narratives. Study instruments used were; questionnaires, interview schedule, focused group discussion guide and document analysis form. The study established that; home to school communication, Φ= .942, parents‟ provision of school requirement, Φ= .836, and parents‟ supervision of homework, Φ= .914, had very strong significant influence while parents‟ participation in education activities at school, Φ= .641, had a strong influence on academic achievement of standard eight pupils. The study recommended the following; there should be regular home-school communication, parents should be encouraged to provide extra school requirements, rules governing administration and conduct of homework should be put in place, school visits and school open days should be made regular in public primary schools.