Influence of Selected Parental and School Location Factors on Learners’ Academic Achievement in Public Day Secondary Schools in Trans - Nzoia and West Pokot Counties, Kenya

Abstract

Globally, parental and school location factors are perceived to influence learners’ academic achievement as indicated by on-going Curriculum Implementation debate in the Twenty First Century. The debate has led national as well as local scholars to focus on improvement of academic achievement among learners in different categories of schools. The study sought to establish the influence of parental socio-economic and school location factors on learners’ academic achievement. The target population comprises 2,830 respondents from which a sample size of 384 learners, 109 teachers were selected. Ex-post facto and co-relational designs were employed. Questionnaires for learners and teachers, an interview schedule for head teachers, and a document analysis guide were used to collect data. Instruments’ reliability was established through the split-half technique, yielding reliability coefficients of 0.8 and 0.75 for learners’ and teachers’ questionnaire instruments respectively. The validity of the questionnaire instrument was established through a pre-test. Descriptive and inferential statistics using Chi-Square interactive were used to analyse data. The study findings revealed that learners whose parents had higher education were likely to provide adequate academic support service to their children unlike those who were less educated. There was a positive correlation between parental socio- economic status and day school learners’ academic achievement. The study recommended that parents be sensitized on their role in providing adequate facilitation for learners while at home through provision of relevant learning resources, revision materials and by providing transport for learners in day secondary schools.

Keywords: Parental and School Location Factors, Academic Achievement

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-21-05

Publication date:June 30^th 2022