An Examination of Effect of Parental Involvement in Child Education, on Pupil Academic Performance at Primary Schools in Kiambu County, Kenya

The main purpose of this research was to examine how parental involvement in pupil education influenced their academic achievement. The study was carried out in Ruiru Sub-County of Kiambu Kenya. A total of eight schools were sampled, 3 rural and 5 urban using stratified sampling. The sample size comprised of 124 respondents, including 48 teachers and 76 pupils. A pilot study was done in two schools on a sample of 12 teachers and 17 pupils to pre-test the research instruments. A descriptive research design was adopted in which questionnaire and document analyses were used for data collection and management. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-17.0) facilitated the analysis of data. The results were presented in the form of frequency tables and graphs The study found that parental involvement in children education had an influence on how they perform in school. The study further revealed that gifts constituted the highest form of incentives that majority of parents gave to their children in recognition of good performance. The study concluded that parents were the most important stakeholders in children’s education, apart from the teacher and schools could achieve better performance by capitalizing on this support. The study recommended that parents take a more active role in their children’s education especially at the primary level. Moreover, the government, through the Ministry of Education (MoE), should develop policies that encourage the development of school-family-community partnerships as an essential component of academic achievement of pupils.