Parental socio-economic status, parental marital status and pupil academic performance among pupils in Kawempe Division, Kampala district.

Abstract

The study sought to investigate the influence of socioeconomic and marital status on the academic performance of children in primary school and the relationship between marital and socioeconomic status on the performance in schools in Nama sub county Mukono district The study was guided by the following research objectives; to find out whether parental socio economic status affects the academic performance of pupils in primary schools, to investigate whether parental marital status is an influencing factor of academic performance in pupils of primary schools and to assess the relationship between parental marital status, socio economic status as influencing factors of academic performance in pupils. The study employed descriptive survey research design. The study targeted all the over 200 primary candidates from four schools in Nama sub county Mukono district. However, the sample size included 160 pupils; random sampling was applied in choosing participants. A set of questionnaire were used to collect data, Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20, ANOVA were used in data analysis. Tables and figures were used to present the analyzed data. The findings of the study revealed that socioeconomic highly affects academic performance of pupils. Secondly, marital status proved no direct effect on children’s academic progress and finally it was established that there is a significant relationship between marital and social economic status which significantly influenced performance of children in school. Finally, the study recommended School Management Committees and Parent Teacher Associations PTA should pick interest in encouraging male parent or guardian, Government should allocate more funds to UPE schools, parents should be sensitized on the effect of some socioeconomic status and the values of marriage to the education progress of their children, and the need for a systematic strategy to strengthen sensitization and mobilization of the local community the need for their direct involvement in their children academic affairs.