Parental involvement and academic achievement in schedule 'C' schools in Nairobi

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the hypothesis, supported in the West, that parents who encourage, are interested in, and generally involved with their child in his/her schoolwork and other areas of interest will have children who perform better in school and on national examinations. The sample for this study consisted of 106 children (11 years 6 months to 15+ years) from Schedule "C" schoo Isin the City of Nairobi (42 children from Muthaiga Primary School 64 from Westlands Primary School), taking their Certificate of Primary Education examination (C.P.E.) in December, 1973. Structured questionnaires were administered to all the children and some of their parents by the researcher. The obtained results indicated that although many of the parent behaviours do not occur as commonly in the Kenyan sample as in one from United Kingdom, there was an association between some aspects of parent participation in the child's life and his performance on the C.P.E., thus the hypothesis generally was confirmed. The results were discussed in terms of some steps the schools might take in fostering the most beneficial types ot parental involvement with the child.