| dc.description.abstract | Education as a critical facet in human process plays a vital and dynamic function in
creating a basis for the success of learners. It inculcates in them the fundamental
attitudes and skills that enable the learners cope with life entanglements. The Kenya
Government in recognition of its significant role has continued to invest massively in
education of its citizen’s, girls included in order to maximize the contribution of
education in improving the lives of its citizens. However, an analysis of educational
outcomes shows that the girl-child still lags behind their male counterpart despite the
special emphasis given to their schooling. The purpose of this study was to determine
the effect of selected home-related factors on girl-child academic performance in co educational day secondary schools in Imenti South, Sub-County, Meru County.
Descriptive survey research design was adopted in this study. The study population was
6643 girls in form two and three in co-educational institutions and 82 class teachers. A
sample of 378 participants was randomly selected using stratified and simple random
sampling. Data collection was collected using students questionnaire and the interview
schedules for teachers. Prior to data collection, the instruments were validated by
experts in the Department of Education who examined the validity of the content used
in the questionnaire. Reliability of the instruments was established based on Cronbach’s
Alpha from data obtained from pilot study to undertaken among 80 girls and their class
teachers drawn from two co-educational schools. Data collected was analyzed
descriptively and inferentially with the aid of Statistics Packages for the Social Sciences
(SPSS) version 25 computer software and results presented in table forms. Quantitative
data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentages or
mean and standard deviation. Hypothesis was tested at 95% level of confidence.
Findings illustrated that homebased factors including parents’ level of education,
involvement in household chores, involvement in socio-cultural practices and
involvement in socio-economic activities significantly affects girl-child academic
performance in co-educational public day secondary schools. It is therefore
recommended that parents should take a keen interest in their daughters’ education by
encouraging them to work hard in order to excel, parents should foster a balance
between involvement in household chores, socio-cultural activities and socio-economic
activities to ensure that the girl-child also gets time to study and therefore excel
academically. This is particularly important for girls in public secondary day schools. | en_US |
