ABSTRACT
The purpose of the study was to investigate the extent to which parental factors influence the pre-school children’s academic performance in Dagoretti constituency. The study focused on the following objectives: the extent to which parental socio-economic status, parent-child socio-interaction and the child’s family size influence pre-school children’s academic performance. Dagoretti Constituency, Nairobi County, Kenya was the locale in which the study was conducted. Since children are reared within a families by their, rearing practices including how basic needs are met determine how well they adjust and cope with learning experiences at school. In this regard, the researcher selected the Maslow’s Motivational Theory to guide the descriptive study, using the survey design. A pilot study was conducted in two pre-schools using 12 children from each school together with their parents. A population of 50 pre-schools attached to primary schools both private and private were targeted for the study in which 15 (30%) of the schools, 12 learners per school alongside their parents were sampled. Questionnaires for parents and observation checklists for children were used to collect data. Content validity of the research tools was ascertained by strictly adhering to the study objectives while reliability was established by use of the split half technique at 0.7 co-efficient. Data analysis involved both qualitative and quantitative methods. Specifically, qualitative data were analysed thematically and quantitative data descriptively using means, frequencies and percentages. For inferential data, T test was used to determine whether there were differences between the parental factors and children’s academic performance. It was evident that there is a relationship between the parental factors studied and pre-school children’s academic performance and the three study hypotheses were therefore rejected. It is hoped that the information from this study will be used to bridge the gaps towards optimizing pre-school children’s academic performance. Parents to better understand deficits in their children’s academic performance may also use the study findings. This applies especially in relation to their home environments and therefore assists parents as well as families to embrace robust approaches in rearing their children. This will make parents to identify more closely with their children’s social needs thus give them the necessary support to enhance their academic performance. Additionally, they will possibly come up with innovations in dealing with their children’s socio-emotional behaviour and learning performance.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT OF THE STUDY
Introduction
This chapter presents background to the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study and objectives. In addition, general hypotheses, significance of the study, limitations and delimitations of the study have been included. Finally, assumptions of the study, theoretical as well as conceptual framework and operational definition of terms are presented.
Background to the Study
Parents have a significant influence in shaping their children’s academic performance. Together with the immediate family, parents play a significant role in socializing their children. Indeed, Foote (200) affirmed that the family is a primary agent of socialization. Families mould the child socially and provide role models for them. It is therefore important that parents are present wholly to support the overall development of their children. The support offered determines children’s growth and development in many areas including academic performance, self-esteem and confidence (Goncu, 1999).
Leckman, Panter-Brick & Salah (2014) opined that the development of personal and social identity in children is an important process that offers insight to the child on positive establishment of himself and how different he or she is from others that would in turn contribute towards the child’s academic growth. The connection between the identity of a child and the social contexts plays a great deal in moulding their cognitive skills in
building their academic skills. Evidently, the main socialization agents are important in determining children’s academic performance.
To some extent, parents too find themselves in certain circumstances in which they are almost sure that their children’s welfare is at stake. Poor environments are responsible for low levels of cognitive and psychosocial developments that in turn have a huge bearing on the child’s academic performance. Investment in the early years of life has dramatic effects on socio-emotional status of children and their economic standing in later years of life as UNESCO (2005). In this study, it was evident that such parents were looking for pre-school centres that would bridge gaps. The pre-school institutions are an intervention where children’s socio-emotional needs undergo preliminary development in such a manner that their academic regime is structured in a desirable and effective manner.
In essence, an early years’ learning centre covers or provides most of the deficits emanating from parental factors. These may include parental absence thus unmet stimulation needs; the staff at the centre may create opportunities for meaningful learning gains.
A 2005 UN report on total environment from family to the national and international level on impacts of nurturing development of early childhood reveals that, the early years of a child is the most powerful investment a family or a country can make. Childhood care and education is an effective strategy towards reducing poverty and social inequalities. It addresses their causes at the crucial formative stage of development. In addition it is possible to offer effective intervention if anomalies are identified early in life than later when the child is an adult. This is so because it has the highest returns vis-
à-vis the initial investment Hertzman co-authors (2007). It then follows that, failure to take precautions in the formative years of life would cost families and nations a great cost in trying to undo the harm. In most cases, the harm is irreversible. Early childhood care and experiences are intimately connected to the child’s academic growth and development and are thus readily identifiable in terms of family to relational, community, regional and national and then global environments.
In Africa, issues of childhood care in respect to socio-economic circumstances are also complex due to the rural and urban nature of the economy. World Bank Development Indicators (2004) reveal that predominantly, 65% of the total population live in rural areas. In another study conducted by Njenga and Kabiru (2001) opined that weather changes and other circumstances is a trigger for rural to urban migration. Due to the urban migratory population influx, unemployment, poverty and overcrowding have become characteristics of such living areas. (Swedener, Kabiru and Njenga, 2000). A survey conducted locally revealed that children in many poverty-stricken homes suffer a myriad of problems which affect their ability to perform academically as well as in other social parameters. According to Chawla (2002), among other domains of growth and development, psychosocial development correlates to poverty as an attribute behaviour on observation.
Tuyisenge (2015) conducted a study which majorly focussed on whether parents’ socio- economic status as well as level of education influenced their involvement in their children’s learning and also explored teachers’ perceptions on parents’ involvement in their pre-school children’s education. Earlier on, Ghati (2014) conducted a study in
Kajiado County, Kenya, which targeted parents’ involvement in pre-school children’s socio-emotional development. However, the current study specifically investigated not only the influence of parents’ socio-economic status but also what their socio-interactions and the child’s family size may contribute to the pre-school children’s academic performance.
Dagoretti Constituency in Nairobi County is a densely populated area owing to its proximity to the Nairobi – Central Business District. The region is highly heterogeneous in terms of communities with its residents either in large or small informal employment whilst others are in formal employment. The livelihoods in this location vary from low to high social economic classes. This implies that population cuts across the different socio- economic groups of families thus giving a resourceful area in terms of the data that this study required. Parental influences are assessed on whether the parents are present enough to support their children’s learning regime. The aspects of growth and development are highly interrelated in such a manner that deficits in one will negatively affect the rest. It was therefore interesting to find out how attributes of the different parents from the varied population sampled for study influenced their children’s academic performance.
