Abstract:
Academic performance has become instrumental in determining a child’s future in this highly competitive world. All over the world, education is considered to be a benchmark over which economic development and economic growth of a country depends upon. This study stems from a practical view that there have been complaints that pupils’ academic performances have been fluctuating in Kamara Division. The purpose of the study was to examine parental factors influencing academic performance in Kamara Division. Specifically, the study sought to: identify whether parental level of education, involvement and expectations influence academic performance in Kamara Division. The study was informed by The Social-Ecological Theory which emphasizes the complex environmental system where people live and operate. The study was carried out in Kamara Division which has a total of 30 public primary schools. Three hundred and sixty parents who are members of school committees, 30 head teachers and one Education Officer in the Division formed the target population. Stratified sampling was used as schools were classified according to the zones. Simple random sampling was used to select the schools that were included in the sample. The study used a sample size of 108 parents. Questionnaires were used to collect primary data from parents while interview schedule was used to collect data from nine head teachers and one Education Officer. The researcher discussed the items in the instrument with the supervisors and experts from the department after which all the changes were made. On the other hand, the reliability of the instruments was determined by Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha method where a reliability index of 0.821 was obtained which is considered suitable for this study. Descriptive statistics was used in analyzing data. The study found that parents who are educated understand the importance of giving their children quality education; literate parents often visit their children at school to assess their progress; and literate parents respond to schools needs like payment of school fees more effectively than illiterate parents. Secondly, parents support their children by providing school basic needs and parental involvement influence academic performance. Finally, parents have a lot of expectations in their children to perform well; that the level of expectations they have on their children influence their academic performance; they perceive their children as capable and can perform better and they visit their children in school and encourage them to work hard. The study recommended that there is need for the school management to create awareness to these parents in order for them to realize and appreciate the importance of their participation and how it may influence their children’s academic performance.
