Connection between family background and academic achievement among Government sponsored High Schools: Dagoretti South in Nairobi County

Abstract

The type of a family a student comes from has a great influence on their psychological, emotional, social and mental state. There is alarming evidence that many students perform poorly at the high school level and those in Dagoretti South are on the decline. The purpose of this study was to establish whether there is any connection between family background and academic achievement among Dagoretti South Sub-County public secondary school students in Nairobi County. The research was designed as a case study that set out to sample the whole target population of 815 students. The sample size of 192 students was drawn from 3 public secondary schools through purposive sampling. The research instruments utilized were the students’ questionnaire, principals’ and parents’ interview guides and the data extraction form from scores in the end term examinations for 3 terms. The quantitative data from the questionnaires was analyzed using SPSS version 21 software while the qualitative data was managed through thematic techniques. The study findings indicated that there was significant association between parent’s marital status and student academic achievement. It also found that there was a significant association between parental attitude to education and students’ academic achievement. Lastly, the findings showed that the size of the family has negative and significant connection with student’s academic achievement. The study concluded that the level of education of parents had an impact on their children’s academic achievement. The study also concluded that parental involvement in the student’s study has a positive impact on their academic achievement. Additionally, the study concluded that a large family deters the ability of students to excel. It recommended that families should be structured on a functionality level to avoid single parenthood if academic achievement has to be attained. It also recommended that guardians should endeavor to be academically sound if they have to influence their children’s academic achievement.