Parents’ Participation in Improving Students’ Academic Performance in Sumbawanga Municipal Community Secondary Schools, Tanzania

The study explored parents’ Participation in improving students’ academic performance in community secondary schools in Tanzania. The objective was to assess parents’ participation in the education of their children, Examine the extent to which parents’ participation in the education of their children enhances students’ academic performance, Identify challenges parents face in participation to improve students’ academic performance. The study was conducted in Sumbawanga Municipal; three community secondary schools were involved with 97 respondents. Respondents include; heads of schools, students, teachers and parents. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were employed. Purposive and simple random sampling was employed to select participants by their gender. Data were collected through primary and secondary data. Data analysis was conducted using content analysis and descriptive statistics. The study revealed that there is minimal parents’ participation in the education of their children and therefore contributes to poor performance among students. The challenges facing parents in executing their initiatives to enhance performance to their children are poverty, poor communication between parents and teachers, lack of education, poor communication between parents and their children. It is recommended that Ministry of Education and Vocational Training through their concerned organs from nation, region, and district up to school level should provide more knowledge to the parents and community at large so that they know and participate fully for developing and improving their schools. Parents should involve directly in activities like encouraging their children to do their homework, monitoring their activities inside and outside their house, and providing coaching service for improving their learning in different subject