Effect of parents’ socio-economic status on secondary school students’ academic achievement in hamisi sub-county, kenya

The joy of parents, teachers and students lies in high academic achievement attained by students in their national examinations. To the student this marks the beginning of lucrative careers studied at the universities. To the parents, such children are bound to change their socio-economic life once employed while the teachers might be assured of promotions. This study’s purpose was to address the problem of students posting lower test scores in secondary schools compared to their initial performance at the primary school’s KCPE. It focused on analyzing effect of parent’s socio-economic status on students’ academic achievement in secondary schools in Hamisi sub-county, Vihiga – Kenya with focus on students who score high grades in primary school’s KCPE vis-a-vis what they achieve at KCSE. The specific objective addressed was: To ascertain the socio-economic factors contributing to students’ academic achievement in public secondary schools in Hamisi Sub-county Vihiga county – Kenya. The study employed descriptive survey research design. The target population was 4,298 with 41 Principals, 428 teachers, 3826 students, 1 DEO and 2 AEOs. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the DEO. Simple random sampling was used to select the teachers, students and the AEO. The sample size was 525 respondents consisting of 12 principals, 128 teachers, 383 students, one DEO and one AEO. Data collection tools used were structured and unstructured questionnaires, interview schedules and document analysis. Instrument validity was done through content validity whereas the test and re-test technique was used to test the reliability of the tools comparing with a Pearson Correlation Coefficient of 0.5. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics hence Quantitative data were presented using frequency counts, means and percentages with the aid of the SPSS Version 16.0. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Triangulation strategy was used to merge findings from both qualitative and quantitative for presentation using for instance frequency distribution tables, bar graphs, pie charts and verbatim. It came to light that students receded academically at the secondary schooling level due to low parents’ socio-economic status. A few from well-endowed families attained favorable scores. It was recommended that the government should create an enabling environment for parents to be self-employed so that they cater for their children’s educational needs such as the subsidized school fees. It is hoped that this research’s findings will inform Hamisi sub-county Education Office and the Ministry of Education Science and Technology at large in their policy formulation and implementation in this era of Education For All (EFA). Article visualizations: