Factors Affecting Parental Involvement in Pupils’ Learning in Primary Schools at Bariadi Town Council in Simiyu Region.

This study aimed at assessing the factors affecting parental involvement in pupils’ learning in primary schools at Bariadi Town Council. The study was guided by the following specific objectives; to identify the factors which influence the parental involvement in pupil’s learning in primary schools at Bariadi Town Council, to determine parents’ perceptions on the importance of parental involvement in pupils’ learning in primary schools and to explore the ways to improve parental involvement in pupils’ learning in primary schools. The study involved a sample of 252 parents from four wards of Bariadi town council. The study employed sequential mixed research design whereby, both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used. The Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler model of parental involvement was adopted to guide study and the questionnaires developed from the model were used to collect data from the parents. It was found that parents’ actual involvement correlates more with teacher’s invitation than school invitation. It was concluded that parental involvement has positive contribution to academic development of pupils but still it is poor in primary schools due to parents being illiterate, possess low income, school welcoming environment, self-efficacy as well as great number of children. also, parents use most of their time to engage in activities such as searching for food and shelter for their children. Thus, making it difficult for parents to engage effectively in education matters of their children. The study recommends that school teachers should create feasible activities which will consider the availability, skills and parent’s knowledge in Bariadi. Establish parent-teachers associations to smoothen parental involvement in pupils’ learning and pupils’ academic progress. Keywords: Parental Involvement, Pupils’ Lerning, Primary Schools, Bariadi Town Council