INFLUENCE OF HOME ENVIRONMENT THROUGH PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT ON PUPILS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN AINABKOI SUB-COUNTY KENYA

Are poor results in Kenyan public schools a result of lack of parental support and poor learning environment at home? What impact would parental involvement in their children's schoolwork have on their academic performance? These are the key questions that this paper seeks to address. Focusing on public primary schools in Ainabkoi Sub County, Kenya, the authors sought to determine the influence of home environment through parental involvement on the academic performance of their children. The study was guided by Joyce Epstein’s framework of six types of parental involvement and adopted ex-post facto research design. The target population comprised 2404 Class 8 pupils and 61 class teachers in public primary schools in Ainabkoi Sub County. Stratified and simple random sampling methods were used to select 331 class eight pupils who participated in the study. Census approach was employed in which all the class teachers were involved in the study. Questionnaire and interview schedule were used as data collection instruments. Validity of the instruments was ensured through a pilot study while test-retest technique was employed to check the reliability of the questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics were analyzed in form of percentages, frequencies and means, and then presented using pie charts and tables. Chi-square was used to test the hypotheses of the study which established that there was a positive and significant relationship between home environment as indicated by (x2=7.325; p=.001) and pupils’ academic performance in Ainakboi sub County. The study concluded that home environment had a statistically significant influence on pupils’ academic performance in public primary schools. The study recommends that parents should provide their children with the required learning materials at home such as basic needs to create a conducive home environment that will improve their academic performance