Influence of parental socio-economic status on students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in tana river county, kenya.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of parental socioeconomic status on students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Tana River County, Kenya. The study sought to determine the influence of parents’ income, educational level, occupation and parental involvement in education on students’ academic performance. A descriptive survey design using a sample of 158 students, 17 teachers and 11 parents’ representatives was used to execute the study. Questionnaires were used to collect information from students and teachers while interview schedule was used to collect information from parents. Quantitative data from the questionnaires was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics using Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS). The qualitative data was managed through thematic techniques. Target population was parents’ representatives, teachers and students in Tana River County. The findings of the study were that parents income influences students’ academic performance, parents’ level of education influences students’ academic performance, parents’ occupation influences students’ academic performance and parental involvement in education influences students’ academic performance to a great extent. In order to improve students’ academic performance the study recommends that; schools should put in place systems to enhance parental involvement in education, the government should increase bursary allocation to students from poor families to retain them in school and parents should be highly sensitized about the benefits of parental involvement in education.