A study of the impact of parental Socio-economic status on performance in Mathematics among primary school pupils in Kenya: the case of Getembe Division of Kisii Central District

Abstract

This project was conducted for roughly eleven months from the time of proposal designing up to data analysis and presentation. It employed descriptive survey design which involved random sampling of the respondents. The objectives of the study were: to investigate whether parental socio-economic status contribute towards better performance in mathematics, to explore support services that can be offered to learners to raise achievement in mathematics and to suggest possible solutions to the problem of poor performance in mathematics among learners in primary schools.

The research was conducted in Kenya as a case of Getembe Division of Kisii District, Kisii County. This involved 151 respondents; 120 students of class seven, thirty head teachers of primary schools and one Area educational officer.Questionnaires and interview schedules were used as research instruments among the pupils, head teachers and the education officer for collection of data. Some of the major conclusions made were that low level of parents education affected the performance of their children in mathematics negatively, many children performed poorly in maths because they lacked most learning facilities, negative attitudes and lack of motivation towards the subject also contributed towards bad performance.

It therefore called for education and sensitization of parents on the importance of mathematics for future careers, Government intervention in providing more teaching/learning facilities for the subject and even employment of more teachers that are specialized in the subject among others.