TABLE OF CONTENT

DECLARATION .................................................................................................... ii

DEDICATION ....................................................................................................... iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..................................................................................... iv

TABLE OF CONTENT ...........................................................................................v

LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................... viii

LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATION ....................................................................................x

ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... xi

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study ....................................................................................1

1.2 Statement of problem .........................................................................................4

1.3 Purpose of the study ...........................................................................................6

1.4 Objectives of the study.......................................................................................6

1.5 Research questions .............................................................................................7

1.6 Significance of the study ....................................................................................7

1.7 Limitation of the study .......................................................................................8

1.8 Delimitation of the study ...................................................................................8

1.9 Assumptions of the study ...................................................................................9

1.10 Definition of significant terms .........................................................................9

1.11 Organization of the study ...............................................................................10

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................12

2.2 Influence of parents education level on academic performance of students ...12

2.3 The influence of parental attitude on the academic performance of students ..15

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2.4 Effect of parental economic status on the performance of students ................16

2.5 Influence of family type on students academic performance ..........................18

2.6 Theoretical framework .....................................................................................21

2.7 Conceptual framework .....................................................................................23

2.8 Summary of literature review ..........................................................................26

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................28

3.2 Research design ...............................................................................................28

3.3 Target population .............................................................................................29

3.4 Sample size and sampling procedures .............................................................29

3.5 Description of the research instruments ...........................................................30

3.6 Validity of research instruments ......................................................................31

3.7 Reliability of research instruments ..................................................................32

3.8 Data collection procedures ...............................................................................33

3.9 Data analysis techniques ..................................................................................34

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS

4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................36

4.2 Response Rate ..................................................................................................36

4.3 Demographic Information ................................................................................37

4.3 Influence of Parental Education Level on Academic Performance of Students43

4.4 Parent’s Attitude to Education and Performance of Students in Schools ........49

4.5 Influence of Parents’ Economic Status on Performance of Students in Schools55

4.6 Extent to Which Family Type Affect Academic Performance of the Students61

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CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................67

5.2 Summary of the study ......................................................................................67

5.3 Conclusions ......................................................................................................72

5.4 Recommendations ............................................................................................74

5.5 Recommendations for Further Study ...............................................................76

REFERENCES .....................................................................................................77

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I: LETTER OF INTRODUCTION ...................................................81

APPENDIX II: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS........................................82

APPENDIX III: INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR PRINCIPALS ................................86

APPENDIX IV: INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR PTA MEMBERS ...........................87

APPENDIX V: RESEARCH AUTHORIZATION LETTER ...............................88

APPENDIX VI: RESEARCH CLEARANCE PERMIT .......................................89

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: A summary of the sample size ..............................................................29

Table 4.1: Distribution of the Response Rate among the Respondents .................37

Table 4.2: Distribution of the Students by their Gender ........................................38

Table 4.3: A Summary of the Background Information of Principals ...................42

Table 4.4: Students’ Responses on the Parental Level of Education on their

Academic Performance ........................................................................45

Table 4.5: PTA Response on how Parental Education Level affect Students

Academic Performance ........................................................................47

Table 4.6: Students Response on Parent’s Attitude to Education ..........................50

Table 4.7: Distribution of PTA Members on the Influence of Parent’s Attitude to

Education on Performance of Students in Schools ..............................53

Table 4.8: Students Responses on Parents Economic Status .................................56

Table 4.9: PTAs’ Responses on the Influence of Parents’ Economic Status.........59

Table 4.10: Students Responses on the Effects of Family Structure on their

Academic Performance ........................................................................62

Table 4.11: Distribution of PTA Members on the Influence of Family Type on the

Academic Performance of the Students ...............................................65

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: Parental characteristics affecting academic performance of students .24

Figure 4.1: Distribution of the Students by their Age Bracket ..............................39

Figure 4.2: Distribution of the PTA Members by their Age ..................................40

Figure 4.3: Distribution of the Students by the Type of School ............................41

Figure 4.4: Distribution of the PTA members by their Marital Status ..................42

Figure 4.5: Distribution of Students on the Educational Levels of their Parents ..44

Figure 4.6: Students Responses on the Extent to which Parental Level of

Education Affects their Academic Performance ..................................46

Figure 4.7: Students Response Extent to which Parental Attitude affects their

Academic Performance ........................................................................52

Figure 4.8: Distribution of Students on the Source of Parents/Guardians Income 55

Figure 4.9: Distribution of Students on the Extent to which Parents Economic

Status Affect Students Academic Performance ...................................58

Figure 4.10: Distribution of the Students by their Family Structures ....................61

Figure 4.11: Distribution of Students on the Extent to which their Family

Structure Affected their Academic Performance .................................64

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LIST OF ABBREVIATION

ELS Educational Longitudinal Study

KCSE Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education

PTA Parents Teacher Association

SEL Social Emotional Learning

SES Socio Economic Status

SPSS Statistical Package of Social Sciences

SRL Self Regulated Learning

UNESCO United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

USA United State of America

UK United Kingdom

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ABSTRACT

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the parental characteristics

influencing students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Isinya

District, Kenya. The study was further guided by the following research

objectives: to determine how the education level of parents influences the

academic performance of students in public secondary schools, to examine the

influence of parent’s attitude to education on the academic performance of

students in public secondary schools, to determine how parents’ economic status

affects the performance of students in public secondary and to establish the extent

to which family type affect the academic performance of the students in public

secondary schools in Isinya District, Kajiado County. A descriptive survey

research design was adopted in this study. The sample of this study included;42

PTA members, 150 students and 4 principals in public secondary schools in

Isinya District. In total, the sample size was 189. Questionnaires and interview

guides were used as the main instruments of data collection. The data was

analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Quantitative data

analysis was used to analyze the data collected from the questionnaires, which

were coded into the computer with the help of the Statistical Package for Social

Sciences (SPSS). Data was presented in tables and graphs. Qualitative approach

was used to analyze the data retrieved from the interview guides. From the

analysis the following key findings were made: positive attitude encourages as

well as enables the students to know the role of education in their future.

Additionally, parental attitude encouraged students to love their studies and

perform well in school. Slightly less than a third of the students indicated that

parental level of education affected their academic performance to some extent.

The educational level of parents encourages the students to work harder and

achieve their goals whereas others indicated that it helped the students to aim

higher in their educational circles. Parents who were economically stable were in

a position to provide resources and materials and enroll students to the schools of

their choice. However, this was not the case among most of the parents who were

not economically stable. Family structure did affect the academic performance of

students either to some extent or to a greater extent. The following

recommendation was given: The Ministry of Education, school administrators and

the local authorities need to come up with frequent community based forums that

are specifically structured towards enhancing parental participation in their

children’s education. During these forums, the parents may be highlighted on the

importance of education not only in the child development but also community

growth. There is also need for policy formulation and implementation that

encourage parents who have never attained any formal education to get the

opportunity. These policies need to be introduced in the rural areas such as Isinya

District and parents encouraged to enroll.

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1.11 Organization of the study

Chapter one of this study contains the background to the problem, statement of

the problem, objective of the study, research questions, significance of the study,

limitations of the study, delimitations of the study, definition of significant terms,

and organization of the study. Chapter two covers the literature review of the

related areas under study. The chapter is presented based on the following

sections: influence of family type on students’ academic performance, effect of

parental economic status on the performance of students, the influence of parental

attitude to education on the academic performance of students, influence of

parents’ education level on academic performance of students, theoretical,

conceptual framework and summary of literature review. Chapter three contains

the research methodology. It comprises of research design, target population,

sample size and sampling procedures, description of instruments, validity and

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reliability of research instruments, data collection and data analysis procedures.

Chapter four comprises data analysis, presentation and discussion of the findings.

The chapter is presented based on the following subsections: introduction,

background information of the respondents, influence of parental level of

education on students academic performance, influence of parent’s attitude to

education on performance of students in schools, influence of parents’ economic

status on performance of students in schools and the extent to which family type

affect academic performance of the students. Chapter five which is the last

chapter in this study presents the summary of the study, conclusions and

recommendations of this study and suggestions for further study.

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1.7 Limitation of the study

One of the limitations that was encountered in this study was lack of cooperation

among the respondents. Some of the respondents feared to disclose some critical

information concerning the performance of their schools and especially those

which were not doing well. As such, to counter this limitation, the researcher

explained to the respondents that the research was mainly for academic purpose

and that their names or those of their schools would remain anonymous.

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