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Abstract:
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The study explored the correlation of children’s perceptions of their
fathers’ parenting behaviors and the pupils’ academic performance in
Kenya. Survey method involving self report measures was used to
gather data on perceptions of fathers’ support, monitoring, availability
and involvement in school activities while official academic records
provided mean scores for English, maths, and science. The research
was guided by Urie Bronfenbrenner ecological theory and Baumrind
(1968) parenting model. The respondents comprised of class 7 pupils
selected by simple random sampling- of one district, 5 schools were
were selected and class in each stream, which led to 166 female and
198 male pupils in the study. Pearson and Spearman correlation
coefficient techniques were used to analyze data. Findings revealed
that fathers’ high monitoring, availability and provision of basic needs
are linked to pupils’ higher academic performance at p < .001.
However, fathers’ involvement in school activities was not linked to
their children’s academic performance at p < .001. This research has
both theoretical and practical implication; Parents and teachers can
gain insight as to how fathers’ behaviors relate with the academic
outcome of children. The findings added useful knowledge towards
enhancing fathers’ child care activities and improving academic
performance. The findings can be used to train fathers on involvement
in raising their children and to enhance family-school ecological
environment for children’s’ learning. |
