INFLUENCE OF PARENTS’ SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS ON ENROLMENT AND PARTICIPATION OF CHILDREN IN PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN BUSIA COUNTY, KENYA

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ABSTRACT

Enrolment and participation are key factors for pre-primary learners because it empowers children with adequate school readiness skills, enhance smooth transition, improves academic performance, reduces class repetition and school dropout and as well as promoting social and economic development. There are still many children of  pre-primary school age out of school irrespective of many policies and laws formulated by the government. The current study sought to establish the influence of parents‟ socio-economic status on enrolment and participation of children in pre-primary schools in Bunyala sub-county. The objectives of the study were: To establish children‟s enrolment and participation trend in pre- primary schools; To find out the influence of parents‟ level of education on children‟s enrolment and participation trend in pre-primary schools; To determine the influence of parents‟ occupation on children‟s enrolment and participation trend in pre-primary schools; To investigate the influence of parents‟ level of income on children‟s enrolment and participation trend in pre-primary schools and to explore strategies for promoting enrolment and participation of children in pre-primary schools in Bunyala  sub-county. The study used descriptive survey research design. The study population was 53 pre- primary schools, 53 head teachers, 159 teachers and 3890 parents. The study sample was 277 respondents including 195 parents, 20 head teachers, 60 teachers and 2 sub-county ECDE coordinators. The study used expert opinion to validate the instruments while the Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) for instrument reliability was 0.93. The study used interviews and questionnaires to collect data. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and presented using tables, figures and test. The study established that there were 52.6% of the children enrolled. It was also confirmed that the majority of children not enrolled were girls (47.2%) compared to boys (41.3%). The level of education of parents was found to influence children‟s enrolment such that literate parents had a higher probability of enrolling children to school than illiterate parents. Occupation of parents significantly influenced the ability of parents to pay school fees. The study recommends that government assistance through fee bursaries and capitation grants should be accessible to all children especially to those whose parents were economically disadvantaged. Provision of learning packages covering all subject areas, employment, and proper remuneration of pre-primary school teachers should be made a priority by the government and all the educational stakeholders in early childhood. Finally, intensified education awareness forums across the region should be undertaken to ensure that parents have cognizance of the importance of early childhood education. The study findings may enable parents to re-focus on their socio-economic activities by diversifying their sources of income and prioritize their expenditure to improve their children‟s education.

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT OF THE STUDY

            Introduction

The chapter presents the background of the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, research objectives, and research questions. It also includes significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, assumptions of the study, theoretical and conceptual framework. The terms used in the study have also been operationally defined.

            Background to the Study

Enrolment to school involves getting children of certain age to school and to be retained in school to complete the required level of education. According to Filmer, Hassan and Pritchett (2006) enrolment of children to pre-primary school gives opportunities to all children to acquire education regardless of their social class, gender, disabilities or even geographic settings. In recognition of the importance of children‟s enrolment to education, many global commitments that strive to ensure that all children receive education, an obligation ratified by most countries including Kenya (UNESCO, 2007) has been put in place.

Education is a fundamental right for all children. It enhances continued care, development of independence and autonomy. It also promotes intellectual ability, language, special talents and skill, development in sports, social and apprenticeship (Cobb, 2001). Children in school become creative as they support their sense of self-worth. Education is a means for reducing poverty,

inequalities and is a tool for promoting high standards of living in the nations of the world (Tilak, 2002). Education is known to offer knowledge, skills and attitudes in preparation for employment geared towards uplifting standards of living. Wadsworth, (1989) observed that education in the early years is essential for attainment of basic skills of literacy, numeracy, and discovery to children as well as for their future success in school and in life. Resa, (2007) observed that pre- primary school education empowers children with adequate school readiness skills, enhances smooth transition, improves academic performance, reduces class repetition and school dropout as well as promoting social and economic development.

According to Republic of Kenya (2006), children who attend pre-primary school gain opportunities of self-expression through play. This helps in development of self-control, co-operation and persistence in completing projects. Through this state, they develop skills of exploration, discovery, pre- writing and pre-reading that lead to full intellectualism, which in the long run reduces poverty in the society. Hannum and Buchmann (2005) posits that the society development is built on provision of education, care and development of young children while Munyiri (2010) asserts that it is a lifelong investment to allow children‟s enrolment and participation in pre-primary school.

Enrolment, attendance and participation are key factors for pre-primary learners. Enrolment is the act of registering children to attend classes. Some children are enrolled in schools but fail to attend and participate in school routines. It is a matriculation of learners. Many times some dues are paid in form of registration fee as a confirmation that the learner is a formal member

of the institution. UNICEF (2012) states that there is need for a rapid acceleration of progress to achieve universal primary education by the year 2015. This cannot be achieved unless emphasis is put on pre-primary by crusading for increased enrolment and participation of children worldwide.

A study on factors affecting enrolment and retention of students (Resa, 2007) found out that majority of children dropped out of school to complement parents‟ efforts in agricultural and household activities. Further, the study found out that there are higher dropout rates for girls than boys. According to Nair and Rekha, (2004) poverty has an impact on school readiness, environmental influence on child development, school development programmes and can lead to emergence of slums.

Different reasons keep children out of school in different parts of the world. In Nepal, Irwin, Siddiqi and Hertzman (2007) cited poverty, war, malnutrition and diseases as factors acting to reduce access to schooling while Ranabhat (2014) cited factors such as gender, parental education, annual income, and parental support as important to student participation and performance. The study also showed that there were both spatial and social disparities in enrolment making EFA achievement far from achievement by 2015. This study sought   to   establish   the   influence   of   parents‟   socio-economic   status   on enrolment and participation of children in pre-primary school.

According to the UNICEF (2012), statistical data, 91% of the world‟s children population has been enrolled in schools. This data is not applicable to all nations. Many children are still in homes or in areas not favorable to access education: warring states, refugee camps and hunger stricken areas. Global
Monitoring report on Education for All indicates that progress in reducing the number of children out of school has stalled; 61 million children are out of school out of which 31 million are in Sub Sahara Africa (SSA) (UNESCO, 2010). By 2008, children out of school in SSA were 29 million an indicator non-attendance is high. Some of these children may not have been enrolled or enrolled but do not attend due to some prevailing conditions. This not only denies millions of children the right to education but jeopardizes wider development agenda globally. The menace might affect pre-primary children greatly since little research is undertaken on their statistical data.