Influence of Parenting Behaviour on Student Academic Performance in Public Day Secondary Schools in Bumula Sub-County in Kenya

Abstract

Education is widely respected for personal as well as social returns. This forms the basis for spending on education and concern for failure by individuals, communities and globally. Factors that affect academic performance are a worldwide concern. Regular contact between day school students and the school and home setting may have an effect on their academic performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the influence of parenting behaviour on student academic performance in public day secondary schools in Bumula sub-County in Kenya. The study used ex-post facto research design. Simple random sampling was used to select 352 form four students from a sample of 13 public day secondary schools in Bumula sub-County. Data was collected using a closed-ended (Likert type scale 1-5) questionnaire. Validity of the questionnaire was ensured by my supervisors and expertise judgment from Kibabii University lecturers while reliability was determined by internal consistency and reliability coefficient of 0.812 was reported. The data was analyzed using percentages, weighted averages, means and one-way ANOVA. The study established that parenting behaviour play a significant role in influencing the academic performance of the students in public day secondary schools. Therefore, the study recommended that guidance and counselling departments in schools be strengthened so as to create mentorship programmes that can address students who may be affected by inappropriate parenting like permissive parents.