Parental Financing and Their Influence on Academic Performance of Secondary Schools in Mbita Sub County, Kenya

Abstract

The study examined the influence of parent’s participation in financing of school activities on students’ performance in public day secondary schools in Mbita Sub-County. The study was motivated by persistent reports of low performance in national examinations which fluctuated between mean score of 5.621 in 2011 to 5.160 in 2015 in comparison to other Sub Counties in Homabay County. The role of parents was seen as the missing link in achievement of desirable performance as the government fulfilled her mandate of providing free education through the Free Day Secondary Education funds. The study population included 20 principals, 184 teachers, 776 parents and 776 students. The respondents who were sampled through purposive, incidental and random sampling method included principals, parents, teachers and form four students. The Study shows that there was a significant relationship between parental financing of school activities and academic performance (R = .627; p < .001).Parental financing of school activities explained 39.4% of the variance in students’ academic performance (R2 =.394, F (1, 171) = 155.228, p<.001). It was found that parental financing of school activities significantly predicted students’ academic performance (B = .355; p<.001). The equation Y=25.927+0.355X3+έ.This shows that enhanced parental financing of school activities leads to increased and improved students’ academic performance. In light of these findings, the study recommends that the government should formulate policies aimed at involving parents actively in planning, decision making and financing day secondary schools.