Parental characteristics influencing individual educational attainment in Nairobi

Abstract

In recent times education has been given a priority role in its ability to offer or with hold the chance of one rising in the socio-economic hierarchy. This can be seen by the efforts the Government of Kenya makes in trying to make education available for all Kenyans. As at independence in 1%3, the government of the day endeavored to have Africans running all the major operations of the country and thus the maior emphasis in education However in recent times there has been a steady decline in the standards of education, particularly access to secondary school education Moreover, evidence indicates a significant relationship between family structure during childhood and their outcomes later in life. However this relationship may vary from society to society. The purpose of the study was to assess the parental characteristics in influencing the risk of one reaching secondary school in Nairobi. A history of formal education in Kenya was reviewed that was used as a back drop of recent events in the education sector. Various scholars works were also analysed with several asserting that indeed there was an empirical association between children's educational attainment and family background. However these studies were conducted in rural areas thus prompting the researcher to undertake a similar study in an urban area The study employed three theoretical perspectives that is; Socialisation theory, Modernisation theory and the Achievement Motive theory. The study was based on biographical data obtained from Nairobi Urban Integration Project. A ~ sample of 1065 males and females from across three generations were analysed These were all resident in Nairobi at the time of the survey. Survival Analysis or Event History analysis where the main interest is measuring time until an event occurs (reaching secondary school) was employed for this study. Using Cox Proportional Hazards model, we estimated the effect of parents' characteristics such as religion,parental education in the chance of one entering secondary school. The study established that there were no differentials in the risk of entering secondary school for different ethnic groups, different migration status, sex and religion. However the findings revealed that the educational level of parents was found to significantly increase the chance of one reaching secondary school. Moreover, the generations showed differentials in the likelihood of one entering secondary school. Given the findings of this study it is clear that the cost of education should be subsidized so as to cater for the needs of the poor. This is because in view of Structural Adjustment Policies it is increasingly difficult for parents to shoulder the burden of educating their children. Given the limitation of the data, more conclusive evidence must await a more appropriately designed study on the factors that may influence the risk of reaching secondary school.