Influence Of Parental Roles On Secondary School Dropout Among Girls In Kirinyaga West Sub-County, Kenya.

ABSTRACT

Most studies have focused on the institutional and societal factors that influence school dropout rates among students. However, few studies have analysed the influence of parental roles in school dropout particularly among girls students. The purpose of the current study was to establish parental roles in influencing secondary school dropout among girls in Kirinyaga West Sub-County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following objectives, to: establish how parental attitudes influence secondary school girls dropout, determine how parental involvement influences secondary school girls dropout, find out how parental social-status influences secondary school girls dropout and recommend intervention strategies to reduce girls’ dropout rate in secondary schools. The study was guided by Albert Banduras Social Cognitive Theory. The study adopted a triangulation mixed research design. In such a design, the researcher generated both qualitative and quantitative data to measure the relationship between the study variables. The study used 28 schools with a total enrolment of 7288 in form one to form four. The number of female students in public secondary schools was 4625. Simple random sampling was used to select the respondents in the mixed secondary schools. Other respondents were 10 principals and 2 teachers from each of the sampled schools and 47 parents of girls who had dropped out of school. The study applies the questionnaire as the main study instrument. Data was descriptively analysed with the assistance of SPSS version 19. Data was presented in form of charts, figures and tables. The study showed that majority of teachers (71.4%) and parents (88.9%) perceive highly that parental attitude had influence on school dropout. Data showed that shows that majority of parents (94.4%), indicated that parental involvement influenced the students motivation to drop out of school, 11.1% indicated that it influenced their concentration. The study established that parental involvement changed the girl students’ motivation and concentration in education Analysis also showed that 9.8% and 20% of the teachers indicated that girls from poor background almost always and frequently dropped from school. The findings show that majority of girls from poor backgrounds are likely to drop out from school and were also likely to be absent from school during the peak seasons. The study established that parents offer motivation to learners as well as guidance and counseling to their girl learners in a bid to reduce girls’ dropout rate. Parents offered psychological support to learners to ensure that they stayed in school. The study concluded that the parental status influenced the girls’ dropout rate in the region. The study concluded that majority of girls from poor backgrounds are likely to drop out from school and were also likely to be absent from school during the peak seasons. Schools should enhance guidance and counseling to address girls dropout rate. This would ensure that the guidance and counseling department carries out extensive guidance and counseling to girls to avoid them dropping out of school. The Ministry of Education should increase the bursaries given to girls in order to reduce girls dropout rate due to lack of fees.