Parents' influence on the performance of pre-school children in Miriga Meru West Division of Imenti North District

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to discover parents’ influence on the performance of pre-school children in Miriga Mieru West Division of Imenti North District. The objective of the study included finding out the common child-rearing practices during early childhood by parents, economic status of parents of early childhood learners, home environment for early childhood learners in public pre-schools and, finally, early childhood development parents’ level of education in the area. The accessible population of the study was 40 schools, 40 head teachers, 1,070 pupils and 1,060 parents. The procedure of data collection was through sampling and questionnaires. The data was edited and analysed using descriptive statistical tools, such as frequencies and percentages. The findings revealed that the family structure had a significant influence on children’s education performance and affects education achievement at all educational levels. This is because the family structure affects the range of children’s behaviour positively and negatively, which in turn influences performance. It was recommended that teachers, educationist and leaders should enlighten parents on how performance can be influenced by the home environment, common rearing practices during early childhood, parents’ economic status and their level of education.