Relationship Between Family Structure, Attitude Towards School And Academic Performance In Core Subjects Among Public Secondary School Students In Dagoretti South Sub-County In Nairobi

Abstract

Not only is the home environment a basic socializing agent but it is also where a student’s interest in school and aspirations for the future are influenced. The family from which a student comes from has a great influence on their overall developmental state. The purpose of this study was to establish whether there is any relationship between family structure, attitude towards school and academic performance in core subjects among Dagoretti South Sub-County public secondary school students in Nairobi County. The following objectives guided the study; To determine the extent to which family structure has relationship with students’ attitude towards school, investigate whether family structure influences students’ academic performance in core subjects and to find out whether attitude towards school correlates with academic performance in the core subjects among students from different family structures. The study was premised on the Ecological Systems Theory as proposed by Urie Bronfenbrenner and the Theory of Reasoned Action that was developed by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen. This was a case study that sampled the whole target population of 255 students and 12 core subjects’ teachers to execute the study. They were drawn from the only 2 public mixed day secondary schools in Dagoretti Sub-County. The research instruments were the students’ questionnaire and the core subjects’ teachers’ interview schedule. The quantitative data from the questionnaires was analyzed using STATA version 14.0 while the qualitative data was managed through thematic techniques. Data was analyzed objective by objective; Three-way Chi-square test, Cramer’s V, Multinomial Regression and Pearson Correlation of Coefficient inferential statistics were used. For descriptive analysis, frequency distribution, central tendency and dispersion were also used for analysis. Logical regression was also used to establish the cause effect relationships between the three variables. The single and divorced family structures were found to have a negative effect on the ambivalent attitude (β=-.3317, z=-0.47, p=.638), and (β=-.2776, z=-.25, p=.806) respectively at the 5% level of significance compared to the two-parent family structure. Family structure was found to have statistically significant influence on overall performance in core subjects and in English (χ2=16.6287, p=0.034, Фc=0.2265), and (χ2=26.7389, p=0.001, Фc=0.2864) respectively at the 5% level of significance. Family structure was found not to have significant influence on performance in Kiswahili and Mathematics as individual subjects (χ2=8.3667, p=0.398, Фc=0.1607), and (χ2=5.1380, p=0.743, Фc=0.1255) respectively. Attitude had statistically significant influence on overall performance, and performance in individual core subjects (Kiswahili, English, and Mathematics) as indicated by (χ2=11.66, p=0.067 Фc=0.1915), (χ2=12.95, p=0.014, Фc=0.2012), (χ2=12.340, p=0.037, Фc=0.1958), and (χ2=7.51, p=0.083, Фc=0.1522) for overall performance, performance in Kiswahili, English, and Mathematics respectively. The study concludes that family structure and attitude play a very important role in shaping academic performance in core subjects. The family is the first socialization unit where attitude towards school begins. Parents therefore need to not only be involved in their children’s education but also spend quality time with their children on activities that impart values, aspirations and motivation needed to succeed in school.