The Influence of Teacher-parent Collaborative Monitoring of School Attendance on Pupils’ Academic Performance in Nyahururu Sub-county Kenya

Abstract

Teacher-parent collaboration has been highly encouraged because of its strong associations with educational success. However, it has not been verified whether it influences pupils’ academic performance in the early years of education, hence continues to be a significant issue. The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of teacher-parent collaboration in monitoring school attendance on pupils’ academic performance in public pre-primary schools in Nyahururu Sub-County, Laikipia County. The study was anchored on Epstein’s theory of parental involvement and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. The study approach was quantitative and therefore a descriptive survey research design was adopted. The accessible population of the study was 351 teachers and parents of the 8088 pupils in the176 public pre-primary schools. The sample was 69 teachers and 72 parents. Cluster random sampling, simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to obtain the study sample. Likert scale questionnaires were used for data collection. Piloting was done in five pre-primary schools to ascertain reliability of the instruments where split-half method was used. Experts from the university scrutinized the instruments to ensure validity. Data collected was coded and analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 25. Results were presented using frequencies, ratings and mean scores in data tables. Research ethics was duly observed. The study found that teacher-parent collaboration in monitoring school attendance influenced pupils’ academic performance to a great extent. The significance of the study was to enlighten all the early years’ education stakeholders on the importance of teacher-parent collaboration on monitoring of school attendance. Teachers and parents should establish effective collaboration in monitoring school attendance to ensure consistence in attending school thus improving pupils’ academic performance.