| dc.description.abstract | Parental involvement contributes significantly in students’ academic success in national
examinations. This has forced secondary school administrators to involve parents while
preparing students for Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). Parental
involvement influence student’s natural talent, improves behavior, increase classroom
attendance and promotes classroom compliance which affects the student`s academic
performance. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of parent-
student, parent- teacher and parent-school involvement on academic performance of their
children in public day secondary school in Thika West and Gatundu North Sub-Counties,
Kenya. The study was guided by the Ecological Systems Theory with the use of
descriptive research design. Teachers and students in the public secondary schools in
Thika West and Gatundu North Sub-Counties were targeted. Questionnaires were used to
collect data. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics, tables and linear
regression to determine the relationship between dependent and independent variables.
Ethical issues were adhered to during the study. The study revealed that effective parent-
teacher communication, providing necessary learning resources to students, providing a
conducive learning environment at home and paying school fees in time by the parents is
a prerequisite for high academic performance. The study also revealed that parent`s
failure to provide adequate basic needs to their children affected their performance
negatively. This study will be useful to the administrators of public day schools in their
policy formulation in relation to parent involvement in school activities. The study
recommends that to enhance parents commitment in school activities, school
administration should involve parents in preparation of calendar of events defining the
role of parents in their children’s academic performance, link up with organizations
which can offer bursaries and scholarships in order to finance those students whose
parents have financial challenges in paying school fees and make efforts to have open
forums for parents, teachers and students in order to be able to interact with each other
and communicate schools` expectations to parents and parents to be given a chance to
express their views. Further research can be done in boarding schools for comparison
purposes | en_US |
