Relationship between parental involvement and academic resilience among public secondary school students of Turkana county, Kenya

Abstract

Introduction: Although, Turkana County is one of the most marginalized county in Kenya, some students from this locality persist to pursue an education from one level to another, surmounting the challenges at each level. The parental involvement factors bolstering their academic resilience formed the basis of inquiry of this study. Purpose: This study was an investigation of the relationship between parental involvement factors and academic resilience of public secondary school students in Turkana County. Methodology: This study employed a mixed methods approach using the concurrent triangulation design analysis. The data collection tools were questionnaires and interview schedules. The sample size consisted of 382 students who responded to questionnaires, and 10 teachers and 10 students for the interview schedules. The internal consistency test of reliability was established through computation of the Cronbach Alpha Coefficient whose overall output was .775.The content, construct and criterion-related validity were also established. Similarly, the trustworthiness and authenticity of the qualitative data was established. Results: The study found that parental involvement academically, physically, socially, emotionally, financially and parental communication of expectations yielded high academic resilience among students, with parental involvement socially being the strongest predictor of academic resilience. Recommendations: The study recommended that parents should be involved in their children’s lives academically, physically, socially, emotionally, financially as well as communicate their expectations to their children. Further, parents should especially involve their children in the social aspects of their lives in order to promote academic resilience.