Parental Involvement in Education: Public Day Secondary Schools in Moyale Sub-County, Marsabit County, Kenya

Abstract

Several obstacles have been proposed as potential roadblocks to parental involvement in schooling. Parents who feel they are not entitled to get involved, feelings of inadequacy, language barriers and a lack of understanding between school staff and parents about what parental involvement is, teachers running the family, and accusations that parents feel useless are just a few examples. Other factors include job responsibilities, demands from other children, parenting challenges, and lack of time. Therefore, this study investigated parental involvement in education: Public day secondary schools in Moyale Sub-County, Marsabit County, Kenya. The specific objectives were; to establish the effect of parental education level, parental occupation, parental income, and parental gender on parental participation in education at public secondary schools in Moyale District. The research refers to ecosystem theory, planned behavior theory and human capital theory. This study used a descriptive cross-sectional design. All public secondary schools in Moyale district were targeted, especially the students, principals and parents. In Moyale Sub-County, there are ten public day schools with a total enrollment of 1861 students. The sample size was 329 students, who were selected using simple random sampling. The principals and parents were chosen purposively. Interview schedules and questionnaires were used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. Pilot testing was done by checking the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. In particular, content, face, and construct validity were conducted. Additionally, a reliability test with Cronbach's alpha was conducted. Using descriptive statistics like frequencies and percentages, the research variables were described. Inferential statistics like correlation and regression were employed to establish the link between the research variables. The qualitative data were examined using thematic analysis. The findings demonstrated a favorable and significant relationship between parents' commitment to education and their occupation and income. The findings also revealed that parental involvement in education was unaffected significantly by the parents' educational attainment and gender. The study came to the conclusion that parental employment and money played a significant role in determining parental involvement in education. This study suggests that school administrators should educate parents about how their careers affect their children's education. The ability to manage work and participate in the education of their children is a requirement for parents. The report also advises school administrators to educate and inspire students that academic success does not depend on their parents' educational attainment. The study also recommends that parents continue to support their children's education. Parents should use part of their income to provide their children with a proper education. Finally, the study recommends that school leaders encourage both parents to participate equally and support their children's education. Support from both parents is important.