Influence of parental expectation and participation on implementation of universal primary education in public primary schools in Marigat Sub-County, Baringo County, Kenya

Abstract

Expectations largely influence the decision making process of an individual since it affects the internal appreciation of the state of affairs. The choice of a child’s education has been largely a parent’s or guardian’s decision. Parents also hold expectations for their children’s schooling and may communicate their expectations to their children. There are many reasons that parents may seem uninterested or don’t hold high expectations for their children’s achievements. This study investigates the influence of parental expectation and participation on the implementation of universal primary education in public primary schools in Marigat Sub-County, Baringo County, Kenya. It examined the parental expectation of UPE, established the effects of parental participation on implementation of UPE and finally assessed the implementation experiences and challenges faced in the implementation of UPE in selected public primary schools in Marigat Sub County, Baringo County. The study was based on the naturalistic and participant oriented evaluation approach. Descriptive survey design was used. The population of the study was 592 persons derived from the 28 public primary schools in the district comprising of 28 head teachers 204 teachers and approximately 360 parents of standard eight primary school pupils in Marigat Sub-County. The study used 30% of the total population. Simple random sampling was used to select eight schools, eight head teachers, seventy class teachers and 108 parents. The main research instruments used in this study were questionnaires. Validity of the instrument was determined through expert opinion by the university supervisors. In order to test the reliability of the instruments, piloting was done in two schools outside the study area. The Cronbach Alpha reliability test was performed on the piloted instruments which realized a 0.72 score on the alpha test .The data collected yielded both qualitative and quantitative data which was categorized, coded and analyzed. Responses on the Lickert scale were assigned numerical values to make quantitative analysis possible. Qualitative data obtained from the open ended items was analyzed thematically. Qualitative data was analyzed for descriptive statistics (percentages and frequencies). Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software version 21.0 was used for analysis. The study found that parents expected the government to shelve most of their previous responsibilities like payment of fees, buying of books, building and constructions fee, school activity fee, school medical fee, feeding programs, pupils transportation, and in some cases provision of school uniforms. Such expectations were found to affect parental participation in UPE implementation as some parents refuse to contribute. The study recommends adequate civic education and seminars or workshops by the government, schools and various stakeholders to clarify the meaning of UPE and communicate the roles of parents and teachers on its implementation.