The relationship between parental participation in school activities and enrolment of children in primary school in Samburu County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to discover the connection between parental participation in school activities and the enrolment of children in primary school in Samburu County, Kenya. The study got its data from secondary and primary avenues. The secondary sources were literature materials from local libraries and records/reports in education offices and schools in the Samburu District. Primary sources were based on interviews and direct observations. An interview schedule with 9 main areas was used. Proportional Stratified sampling was used to divide the area into three clusters. The study adopted the Survey Research method. This method of data collection was used because it is the most appropriate for generating data and describing a population too large to observe directly. Direct observations were used to assess the nature of the regions studied and capture relevant ‘off-the-cuff’ remarks of the respondents. In this study, the analysis of the data was done using both descriptive and inferential statistical tools. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used to aid data analysis, organisation, interpretation and presentation. The specific tools used were frequencies, cross-tabulations, contingency tables, chi-square, multiple regression, correlation, and qualitative presentation in the form of quotations. The chi-square analysis revealed that participation in school activities is significantly associated with access to basic formal education, but the relationship was weak, as indicated by the value of the contingency coefficient (0.36). This study concludes that the deliberate involvement of people in school activities may boost the school enrolment of children.