REQUIREMENTS for the AWARD of BACHELORS DEGREE in EARLY Cfflldhood and PRIMARY EEDUCATION

THE EFFECTS OF FAMILY POVERTY ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF PUPILS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN KAMWANGI DIVISION THIKA DISTRICT KENYA

FRANCIS KANYA MWANGI BED 13362/61/DF

A REPORT SUBMITED TO THE INSTITUTE OF OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING KAMPALA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELORS DEGREE IN EARLY CfflLDHOOD AND PRIMARY EEDUCATION

DECEMBER 2008 DECLARATION I Kanya Francis, do here by declare that the work contained in this report is original and my own and has never been presented to any learning institution for any award.

Si~ ~ Kanya Francis BED 13362/61/DF

Date APPROVAL This report on the Effects of Family Poverty on Academic Performance of Pupils in primary schools has been under my supervision and is now ready for examination of the institute of open and distance learning Kampala International University as a requirement of partial fulfillment of the award of Bachelor’s degree in early childhood and primary education.

Sign ~ SUPERVISOR: MISS ONEGO ROSELINE

Date !2~.../j.Qr.LQ~ DEDICATION

This report is dedicated to my family which has endured the loneliness while I was away for education.

111 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to extend my gratitude to all people who gave me financial, physical, emotional, educational and technical support during my entire course at Kampala international University in Uganda. This gratitude goes particularly to my supervisor Miss Onego, friends, and course mates that continuously gave me unconditional support. May the good Lord bless you.

iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration Approval ii Dedication Acknowledgement iv Table of contentsç V List of tables vii Acronyms Vifi Abstract ix

CHAPTER ONE1 INTRODUCTION1 1.1 Background to the study 1 1.2 Problem statement 3 1.3 Objectives of the study 3 1.3.2 General objective 3 1.3.3 Specific objectives 3 1.4 Research questions 4 1.5 Scope of the study 4 1.6 Significance of the Study 4

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction 5 2.1 Family Poverty among Different Households 5 2.2 Academic Performance between Government and Private Primary Schools 7 2.3 Relationship between academic performance and family poverty 8

CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY 3.0 Introduction 11 3.1 The study population 11 3.2 Sampling design 11 3.3 Sample size determination 11 3.4 Instruments of the Study 12 3.5 Data management 12 3.6 Data processing and Analysis 12

CHAPTER FOUR DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 4.1 Introduction 13 4.2 Quantitative analysis 13 4.3 Level of family poverty among different household in Thika District 17 4.4 Level of Academic Performance Among Government and Private Primary Schools in Kamwangi Division in Thika District 19

V 4.5 The Relationship between Family Poverty and Academic Performance of Different Primary School 21

CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.0 Introduction 23 5.1 Summary 23 5.2 Conclusions 24 5.3 Recommendations 24 REFERENCES 26

APPENDICES 27 APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD 27 APPENTMX B: QUESTIONNAIRES FOR TEAChERS AND HEAD TEACHERS 30 APPENDIX C: INTRODUCTION LETTER 32

vi ABSTRACT The study was designed to investigate the effect of family poverty on pupil’s performance in primary schools in Thika district with Kamwangi division as a case study. The purpose of the study was to assess the level of family poverty and its relationship with academic performance of primary school pupils. The specific objectives therefore ranged from assessing the level of family poverty among different households in Kamwangi division Thika District Kenya to examining the level of academic performance among government and private primary schools in Kamwangi division Thika District Kenya to finding out the relationship between family poverty and academic performance of different primary schools.

To collect data a structured and self administered questionnaire was adopted and issued to the heads of the households selected. Investigation was both quantitative and qualitative in nature as involved even interviewing key informants. Data were analyzed using SPSS, Chi square tests and cross tabulations done.

The study revealed that there is no relationship between family poverty and academic performance of primary school pupils in Kamwang division in Thika district Kenya, but it was revealed that there is need to employ more teachers and provide relevant academic materials to some schools and pupils so as to improve their performance.

ix CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Li Background to the study Since January 2003, since the new government in Kenya came into power major reforms to revamp the education sector are being implemented. The reforms cut across the major sub sectors in education, that is, early childhood education, primary education (formal or non formal), secondary education, TIVET (Technical, Industrial Vocational Entrepreneurship Education) and Tertially education (Development of Education in Kenya, August 2004). Over the past decades, the number of students enrolled has substantially increased. At the primary level, enrollment grew from 891,533 in 1963 to over 7.0 million in 2003 and7.2million in 2004 (Development of Education in Kenya, 2004).

Both the central government and local school committees play important roles in Kenyan primary school finance. The national Kenya Ministry of Education pays teacher salaries, while school committees raise funds locally for books, chalk, classrooms, and desks. Although the teacher salaries and benefits paid by the central government account for most primary school spending — over 90 percent of total primary school spending according to the author’s calculations — a reduction in local funding could have an important impact on educational outcomes if local inputs and teachers are complements in educational production (Gugerty and Miguel, 2000). However, since the introduction of Universal primary education in Kenya, the funding of public schools has been entirely by the central government. The central government now finances all scholastic materials like chalk, furniture, extra co-curricular materials, etc and teachers salaries as well. Universal primary education in Kenya has gradually increased the gap between the private and government sponsored primary schools in terms of academic performance due to the fact that govermnent schools are not adequately funded. For this reason, government schools are left to be the option of only poor Kenyans.

The teachers’ emphasis on examination results, as an index of school efficiency, is an indication of the existing policy and philosophy gap in education. The emphasis reflects the reality of a situation, in which parents are indifferent to curriculum, but are concerned with the steps schools

1 and teachers take to improve children’s good performance in the KCPE. Similarly, the Ministry of Education and the politicians send direct or indirect signals to schools that children must pass this examination as a sign of a school’s efficiency or quality. This message is implicitly amplified by the mass media when they publish KCPE and highlight the schools which have performed well (Okwachi & Odipo, 1997, p. 15).

If achievement by students is low—as manifested in a school’s low test score in national examinations, for example—the school is purported to be of low quality and, therefore, inefficient. Such a school would also be considered as not increasing students’ ability to contribute to the overall development of their society, and hence not effective. Therefore, the author may pose a question as to whether family poverty could be having a significant impact on academic performance of pupils or not?

According to the research carried out by The Illinois State Board of Education research division in USA, Schools with high poverty concentrations can perform well, reinforcing the view that indeed all students can learn and also do well. Analyses of the school report card data show that certain school variables such as district community type, school size, and attendance rate are related to performance (High poverty- High performance Schools, June 2001).

Poverty is seen to be the most profound problem affecting the sub-Saharan countries of which Kenya is inclusive. Although there are many definitions of poverty over the world which differ from one country to another, majors indicators still exist in measuring this poverty. These indicators may include; social welfare, level of literacy, accessibility to health facilities, housing conditions, and income status, HIV prevalence. According to the Poverty Eradication Action Plan Report (2003,p. 25) for Uganda, the prestige of most household heads (the men and elders) has declined due their inability to provide adequately for their families and thus women and girl children resort turn to prostitution as a coping mechanism to raise money for their households. Further, the BBC website states that one of the definitions of poverty as follows; “The most commonly used way to measure poverty is based on incomes. A person is considered poor if his or her income level falls below some minimum level necessary to meet basic needs. This minimum level is usually called the “poverty line”. What is necessary to satisf~,r basic needs

2 varies across time and societies. Therefore, poverty lines vary in time and place, and each country uses lines which are appropriate to its level of development, societal norms and values.” The World Bank Organisation (www.bbc.co.uk/advanced studies / accessed on 23rd march 2008). It is on this stated definition that most African countries define poverty and this study as well. Further, some analysts include as poor those who are highly sensitive to shocks, or not resilient. Small-scale pastoralists exposed to the risk of drought are a common example: current income may be adequate, but vulnerability is high. Planning for these groups means understanding both short-term coping strategies, and also long-term adaptation to livelihood stress (Overseas development Institute Poverty Briefing, the meaning and measurement of poverty, retrieved from www.odi.co.uk, accessed on 23’~’ April 2008).

1.2 Problem statement In Kenya, rumour goes around that there is a significant disparity in performance between the private and government schools when we evaluate using the national examination results as an indicator. Since the private schools are alleged to be holding more pupils from well off families than government ones and still perform better than government schools; therefore, this research sought to examine the impact of family poverty on academic performance of pupils in primary schools in Kamwangi division Thika district Kenya.

1.3 Objectives of the study

1.3.2 General objective To find out the effect of family poverty on academic performance among pupils in primary schools in Kenya

1.3.3 Specific objectives I. Assess the level of family poverty among different households in Thika district inKenya.

II. To examine the level of academic performance among government and private primary schools in Kamwangi division in Thika district.

III. Find out the relationship between family poverty and academic performance of different primary schools.

3 1.4 Research questions o What is the level of family poverty in Thika district? • What is the difference in performance of government and private primary schools?

o Why is there a difference in performance amongst these schools?

1.5 Scope of the study The study will cover mainly the house holds in Kamwangi division in Thika District Kenya. It will focus mainly on academic performance of the respective households’ children in their National examinations in relation to the poverty status of the households.

1.6 Significance of the Study The study will help both the government and other stake holders such as parents, Non Governmental Organizations, teachers, Civil Society Organizations among others in improving children’s welfare in primary schools in a bid to improve their academic performance in Kenya. It is also believed that the study will have a significant impact on helping scholars who will be conducting related research. After making the analysis of the data, deductions will help the government in implementing the right policies in primary education by taking into consideration different people’s economic status. Parents will realize the difference in performance of the primary schools and hence make informed decisions on the choice of the children’s education. The study will give the researcher practical research skills and therefore improve personal skills in report writing, data analysis and data dissemination.

4 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction This chapter discusses the already published and unpublished literature that relates to the subject understudy in detail. This gave this study a strong foundation base on which results would be justified. The UN convention on the rights of the child acknowledges education as an unquestionable right for all children. In Kenya, few classrooms for the lower grades have desks, so most pupils sit on the dirt floor; pupil textbooks are rare and chalk is in short supply; and classes are sometimes held outside due to a lack of permanent classroom structures. In Kenya, like most African countries, while over 90% of recurrent expenditure goes to teachers’ salaries, resources spent in instructional materials, such as textbooks, are minimal. Besides, pupil-teacher ratios show great inefficiency because low pupil-teacher ratios imply that more teachers are used to service relatively few pupils. Studies have shown that low income countries could save resources and improve learning by increasing pupil-teacher ratios. They would thereby use fewer teachers and employ the saved resources to buy inputs, such as text-books, that improve achievement (Wolff, 1984). However, the number of teachers in most African countries has increased by 24% between 1985 and 1990, while the enrolment ratio declined by 3% (Donors to African Education, 1994).

2.1 Family Poverty among Different Households From the Kenyan Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, 2005, it is estimated that the proportion of the population living in poverty has risen from about 48.8 percent in 1990 to 55.4 percent in 2001. The proportion is estimated to have risen to more than 56 percent in 2003. Poverty increased sharply during the early 1990s, declined during the mid-1990s, and rose steadily since 1997. Thus, an additional 2.7 million people were living below the poverty line in 2001 than were in 1997 (from 14.4 million in 1997 to 17.1 million in 2001). Regionally, there are pockets of very high poverty that exceed the national average, calling for deliberate intervention in such regions. Further, the key determinants of poverty in Kenya include location (rural/urban); household size; level of education of head of household, gender (male versus female headed households); agricultural output (cash crop farmers or subsistence farmers); access to land; and

5 ownership of livestock and of selected durable farm tools. Factors highlighted in participatory poverty studies as affecting household consumption include having low agricultural productivity and poor access to markets; being unemployed or earning low wages; living in areas with poor infrastructure (especially roads), and with limited availability of affordable basic services; living with HIV/AIDS or with a disability; being a member of a minority or other group that is discriminated against; and living in an area with a poor and degrading environment. The poor also attribute their poverty to natural calamities, and traditions and cultural beliefs that deny women access to productive assets. The government recognizes that much is still to be done to understand the causes of poverty and to identify interventions that can effectively and rapidly reduce poverty.

Currently, Geographical variations in the distribution of poverty are large. The WMS indicate that three quarters of the poor live in rural areas while the majority of the urban poor live in slum and peri-urban settlements. The 1994 WMS revealed that North Eastern Province had the highest proportion of people living in absolute poverty (58 percent), the highest in Kenya, followed by Eastern Province (57 percent) and Coast Province (55 percent). In 1997, Nyariza had the greatest proportion of its population living in poverty (63 percent) followed by Coast (62 percent).

Moreover, more than 50 percent of the population in all other provinces except for Central (31 percent) was living in poverty. In urban areas, Kisumu town recorded the highest prevalence of poverty (63 percent), followed by Nairobi with 50 percent. Results of poverty mapping in Kenya indicate similar patterns in levels of poverty at the provincial levels, but depict large differentials at the sub-district level. For instance, rural poverty rates within Central province (least poor province in Kenya -31 percent) ranges from 10 per cent to 56 percent across its 171 locations. In Coast, about 61 per cent of the rural people are poor, and poverty ranges from 13 per cent to 90 per cent across the 140 rural locations. As in the rural areas, the urban areas similarly exhibit considerable heterogeneity with sub location measures showing high variability in the incidence poverty. In Nairobi, for instance, overall poverty rate is 50 percent, but at the sub-location level (110 sub-locations) poverty ranges between 6 and 78 percent. The poor in urban areas are concentrated in small areas (slums) where living conditions are pathetic. In all provinces except North Eastern, poverty levels show significant variations between locations in the same division

6 and similarly for divisions within the same district. The Poverty mapping estimates also show that people in relatively less poor districts, divisions and locations depict much smaller poverty gaps (consumption shortfalls). Poverty gaps in such areas are typically around 5 percent of the poverty line, whereas in the poorest areas, poverty gaps are in the range of 30 to 50 percent (Kenya: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, January 2005).

In 2000, 189 UN member countries, including the United States, pledged to achieve eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, in order to achieve “a more prosperous and just world.” Of these goals goal 2 is to provide universal education to all children (Save the Children: Millennium development goals benefits to children, 2005)

In Kenya and other African countries one of the major challenges is continued rapid population growth. The number of people in need of health, education, economic, and other services is

large and increasing, which, in turn, means that the amount of resources, personnel , an d infrastructure required to meet the MDGs is also increasing. In light of this fact, development efforts in support of t he MDGs should not overlook the importance and benefits of slowing population growth (http://www.healthpolicyinitiative.com; http://ghiqc.usaid.gov accessed on 24th April 2008).

2.2 Academic Performance between Government and Private Primary Schools Since most private schools are run for commercial purposes, the teacher pupil ratio is considered with each teacher attending only a few pupils. Because of the high cost only pupils from the well off families who are able to access the private schools education. The performance is normally very good and attracting. This is because the parents are able to fund for the purchase of books, toys, sports equipment, and computers, pay to attend major trips, pay for feeding programmes in schools and other learning resources like reference books that can aid success. (middleton and Asworth, 1997), while children from poor background may not afford to pay for all these.

In public schools where the teacher pupil ratio is not a worry especially afler the introduction of free primary education where a teacher can handle a class of up to a hundred pupils mostly from

7 poor family background who ate hungry and malnourished and who can not afford equal educational opportunity as their counterparts in private schools.

The classes in government schools are mostly not cemented like in the private ones. This may affect learning as children are affected by the dust and jiggers. The thatched government classrooms are constantly leaking especially during rainy season with others studying under trees where they are affected by weather and have to close down the school when it is raining, Parsons (1999) has revealed that childhood poverty and educational experiences are very powerful influences on an individuals life course.

In government primary schools, they lack transparency and the head teachers who are charged with the responsibility of managing the school funds are mostly corrupt and end up misappropriating the funds meant for school development thus affecting the performance of the school as compared to the private schools where the proprietor is focused on performance hence avails anything that would bring positive change in his or her school. The role that the school management plays towards overall school progress and educational attainment is deemed very vital OFSTED (2001).

Rutter (1977) pointed to the importance of leadership, ethos and organization and pointed out that poor school management could pose potential constraint to educational.

2.3 Relationship between academic performance and family poverty

Poverty is considered in the light of Townsend (1993) idea of poverty - ‘the lack of resources to obtain access to conditions of life that allows people to do as members of society’. The inability to participate in key socio-economic activities arising from constraint rather than choice reflects the extent to which people are disadvantaged by poverty and deprivation. Parsons (1999) has revealed that childhood poverty and educational experiences are very powerful influences on an individual’s life course. Poverty is in itself a barrier to equal educational opportunity- a hungry or malnourished child is unlikely to be good at concentrating on work at school; limited finances may affect a child’s school attainment since parents may not be able to afford the toys, books, sports equipment, home computers, and other learning resources like reference books that can

8 aid success (Middleton and Asworth, 1997); and children from poor background may not afford to pay to attend major trips and other enrichment activities.

Much research provides evidence on the effect of poverty on education attainment and shows that concentrated poverty tends to aggravate poor performance. Gewirtz (1998); Clark et al. (l999);Educational attainment could be improved through employment of good teachers, but this may not come easily, and may be particularly difficult in schools in unfavorable market situations where it is difficult to recruit experienced staff (Prof. Bramley & Dr .Kofi, march 2005).

In the mid 1 980s Hanushek (1986) concluded that there is no strong and consistent relationship between school resources and performance. However, after reanalysis of the same sample, Hedges et al. (1994) shows consistent and positive relationship between resources and educational attainment. A recent study by Bramley et al. (2004) also shows positive relationship between educational spending per pupil and attainment level at local educational authority level in England. Bramley et al. (2005) presents a picture of where school resources are going and what is being achieved. This study shows that between 1996 and 2001 there was an increase in spending in most deprived wards compared to most prosperous wards and improvement in attainment levels during the same period increased more in the most deprived wards in the than most prosperous wards.

Gibson and Asthana (1998) observed that the more socially disadvantaged the community served by a school, the ve~i much more likely that the school under achieves. Lupton (2004) reached the same conclusion after comparing attainment levels between institutionally stable and well regarded schools and schools with poor reputation. The role that school management plays towards overall school progress and educational attainment is deemed very vital. OFSTED (2001) report in England, suggests that deprived socio-economjc context does not in itself determine school failure, and that an important (sometimes dominant) explanation for poor quality of schools in disadvantage areas has been internal problems, mainly accounted for by poor management and professional practice. This

9 naturally reflects the orientation of the inspectorjal service, but also builds on earlier work such as Rutter (1979), which pointed to the importance of leadership, ethos and organization However, while poor school management could pose potential constraint to educational attainment, deprivation and lack of fmance can make schools harder to manage.

Howard and Glennerster (2002) provide a list of key non—school factors that influence educational attainment; pupils’ characteristics such as prior attainment and gender; socio economic position of parents such as employment and housing condition; parents educational attainment; family structure; ethnicity; and other parental interest. Thomas and Smees (1997) established that among non-school factors, prior attainment explains the greatest proportion of variance in educational attainment at pupil level and indicated a high correlation between socio economic variables and prior attainment. We now assess impact of poverty and exclusion on children’s educational attainment and the role of tenure and neighborhood condition on children’s education.

As poverty increases and the level of investment in education declines, policy makers and planners are looking for innovative and viable strategies for improving the operation of the education system and making education promote national development.

10 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction This chapter explains the various methods that were used in the execution of this study. These included; the study population, sampling design, sample size determination, instruments of the study, data management and data processing and analysis.

3.1 The study population The study targeted the households that have had children who have completed primary school level since the introduction of universal primary education. This was achieved by first asking pupils at schools whether they have had a person who has completed primary level in the specified period above. After specifying this group pupils were required to take the questionnaires at home for the heads of house holds to fill for self administration. Also key questions were asked and the heads of schools were responsible in answering them. This was part of the entire questionnaire.

3.2 Sampling design The study used simple random sampling using a list of all pupils in a primary school chosen and then house holds were identified by asking pupils whether one of the members of the family has completed primary level since the introduction of universal primary education or not. Only house holds that conform to this requirement were chosen until the required sample size was attained. Also key informants were chosen and these included the school stake holders like head teachers and teachers with in the chosen school. Here the school headmaster were interviewed and two more teachers.

3.3 Sample size determination Let n be the sample size to be determined and p the proportion of house holds with a family member who has finished primary school in the specified period. Q~l-p e- Level of precision e=O.ll

11 pqz~,27 “~ e2 05*05*1962 0.112 8Orespondents

a = 0.05levelofsign~fIcance

3.5 Instruments of the Study A questionnaire was designed and reviewed for any inaccuracies. This questionnaire was administered to the head of household who had satisfied the selection criterion as discussed before. After collecting the questionnaires to the respective schools, different teachers and head teachers were required to answer the key informant questions qualitatively.

3.6 Data management At the end of each day, questionnaires were collected and reviewed to see if there is any anomaly. Then the answers to the questions were coded and input in a questionnaire file that was designed in SPSS.

3.7 Data processing and Analysis The data collected by the research instruments was edited, coded, and reviewed for accuracy, consistence and completeness and entered into the computer using SPSS. Tables, charts were used in summarizing the data. Data analysis included summaries drawn from tables from which conclusion were drawn. Many methods of data modeling were used so as to achieve the objectives of the study.

12 CHAPTER FOUR DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AN]) INTERPRETATION

4.1 Introduction This chapter presents the findings of the study, how they were analyzed and establish the relationships between variables in relation to the study objectives as stated herein.

4.2 Quantitative analysis Table 1: Respondents Profile.

Sex Frequency Percent Female 12 30 Male 28 70 marital status Single 8 20 Married 28 70 Widowed 2 5 Separated 2 5

The findings from field data shows the respondents were males with 70% and this is due to the fact most of the family heads are normally males and who controls most of the family income as Kamwangi in rural settings where like in any other rural area men are charged with the role of controlling the family finances. Females came last with 30% and hence culturally not hold the role of family heads.

Also, most of the respondents interviewed were married taking 70% followed by single ones with 20% and those widowed and separated shared the last position within 5% each. This is because the married ones are better off economically as financial burdens are shared among both

13 parents, hence are able to take care of their children as providing their needs. The single, separated and widowed are mostly a affected by their fmancial status since most of them are not employed and takes the burden of family up bringing alone and hence most of them does not see their children through class 8.

Table 2: Number of People in a House Hold and Occupation

Number of people in a house hold Frequency Percent

1 to 5 people 28 70 5to8 people 8 20 9 to 12 people 3 7.5 more than 12 1 2.5 Occupation public servant 10 25 Casual laborer 7 17.5 Self employed 14 35 Peasant 6 15 Employed in a private enterprise 3 7.5

The findings from the primary source revealed that most of the households sampled composed of 1-5 members as indicated by the highest percentage of 70% followed by those of 5 to 8 with 20% and those with more than 12 member coming last with about 3%. This is because those with 1-5 members are able to take their children through the education system since the few member a family has, the better opportunities for one to safe for education purposes. The higher the number

14 for example more than 12 members, the fewer the chances of having educated their children as they can not cater for their education and their up keep at the same time.

Considering the occupation of the respondent majority were self employed with 35%, the ones working for the government can second with 25%, casual labourers came third with about 18% peasants fourth with 15% and those privately employed last with approximately 8%.

This has been attributed by the fact that those self employed and working for the government are able to get at least enough money to send their children to school and provide for their needs with little income like the privately employed and payments are earning too little to give education preference hence few of their children completes their class 8 and can not also afford to take their children to private schools or buy them enough learning materials to support their education.

Table 3: Income Earned in a Month and Level of Education

Income earned in a month Percent Frequency

1 to 3000 28.2 11 300lto 5000 25.6 10 5001 to 10000 12.8 6 Greater than 10000 13 Level of Education

University 27.5 11 0 level 18 A level 12.5 5

15 Tertiary 4 10 Primaiy 2 5

It was revealed from field that majority of the respondents earn more than 10000 Kenya shillings with about 33%, those who earn between 1 to 3000 Kenya shillings were second with about 28%, 3001 to 5000 were third with approximately 26% and those who earn between 5001 to 10000 were last with about 13%. It can also be observed from the table that most of the respondents were 0-level leavers taking 45% and primary leavers were last with 5%.

The reason why most of respondents were those who earned more than 10,000 Kshs is that most well off families are able to send their children to schools especially to privately managed ones. Those who earned less are not able to finance their children;s basic education as the limited finances they have are used in clothing and feeding their children and most f them who send their children to school send them to government ones.

The level of education of the parents also matters a lot. Those who have attained the 0 level of education aid above majority. This is because the more one is learned gets the value of education and hence gets motivated to send his or her children to school and more so to a better schools. Also, the more educated one is, the better the job and salary one gets compared to the less educated who are mostly casual labourers or peasants who can not afford to finance their children’s education.

16 4.3 Level of family poverty among different household in Thika District

Table 4: Type of floor, roof and whether the respondents normally take breakfast.

Type of floor Frequency Percent

Cement 23 57.5 Mud 16 40 Tiles 1 2.5 Type of roof Tiles 3 7.5 fron sheet 36 90 Banana fibres 1 2.5

Breakfast Yes 32 80 No 8 20

It was revealed from the field data that majority of the respondents stay in houses whose floors are cemented with the highest percentage of about 58% followed by those who stay in mud floored houses with 40 % and for tiles coming last with approximately 3%. For the case of roof of the house majority stay in iron roofed houses with 90% and banana coming last with about 3%.table 1 also shows that majority take breakfast daily as shown by the highest percentage of 80% therefore from above one can easily conclude that most of the households in Thika district of Kenya are relatively poor. Same as Howard and Glennerster (2002) provide a list of key non- school factors that influence educational attainment: pupils’ characteristics such as prior attainment and gender; socio-economic position of parents such as employment and housing condition; parent’s educational attainment; family structure; ethnicity; and other parental interest.

Since Kamwangi Division is in the rural settings, most housing belong to an average person are cemented an iron roofed. But those which are banana thatched portray abject poverty and hence very few parents from these households are able to send their children to school. Majority of children who take breakfast are able to go through the education system compared to the few who don’t take breakfast showing the impact of family poverty on children’s education.

17 Table 5:Household Budget.

Meals taken per day Frequency percent One 1 2.5 2 to 3 meals 36 90

More than3 3 7.5

Number of times a house eats meat in a week

None 10 25.6 once 21 53.8 more than 2 times 9 20.5

Whether each member has a pair of shoes Yes 34 85 No 6 15

It was revealed from the primary source that majority of the households in Thika district of Kenya take 2 to 3 meals a day as evidenced by the highest percentage of 90% with those taking it more than three times coming second with about 8%. The table also reveals that most of the households eat meat once in a week (54%) followed by those who don’t take meat with 26% and those with more than 2 times coming last with about 21% and lastly the table reveals that majority of members of the households have a pair of shoes with 85% also from the above indicators one can easily conclude that majority of the households of Thika district of Kenya are well off.

According to the findings, those who can afford at least 2-3 meals with at least meat once in a week are majority and also have a pair of shoes-showing how family poverty among different households can affect academic performance pupils.

18 4.4 Level of Academic Performance among Government and Private Primary Schools in Kamwangi Division In Thika District

Table 6 : The Level of Performance among Private and Government Schools.

Performance of schools in the national examinations Total p-value

Very good Good Fair Poor Nature of primary school 0.081 private 2 11 2 14

Government 9 14 1 24 total 2 20 16 1 39

It was revealed from field data that Private schools in Kamwangi-Thika District perform well with private having two (2) in every good compared to government schools with none. This can be attributed by the fact that private schools have better facilities which are availed by their financiers-parents who are ready to cooperate. Though in an overall government schools have more students indicated by the frequency of 24 compared to 14 for private. This is because most of the families can not afford the expensive private schools but opt to join the government free primary education. But since P-value generated is greater than 0.005, we can be able to conclude that nature of the type of school (private or government does not influence academic performance of most of the pupils).

19 Table 7: Relationship between Type of Floor, Roof and Academic Performance of Different Primary Schools. Type of floor Schools academic performance at the national level p-value

Very good Good Fair Poor Total

Cement 1 14 8 23 0.646

Mud 1 6 7 1 15

Tiles 1 1

Total 2 20 16 1 39

Type of roof

Tiles 2 1 3 Iron sheet 2 18 14 1 35 0.929 Banana fibres 1 1

Total 2 20 16 1 39

It was revealed from field data that most of the students who indicated that their houses floor was made of cement performed well with 14 which is higher than any other and this as an indicator of well off families’ shows that poverty is directly proportional to academic performance. Also on the type of roof of the respondent’s house most of the students who performed well (18) were from families who had iron roofed houses and this also shows that to perform better one has to be from a well of family in that one can access all the necessities.

20 4.5 The Relationship between Family Poverty and Academic Performance of Different Primary School.

Table 8 : Relationship between Number of Meals Taken and Academic Performance.

Meals taken in a day Level of academic performance p-value

Very good Good Fair Poor Total

One 1 1

2 to 3 meals 2 18 14 1 35

0.929 Morethan3 2 1 3

Total 2 20 16 1 39 Number of times one eats meat in a week

None 4 5 1 10

once 2 9 9 20 0.355

more than 2 times 6 2 8

Total 2 19 16 1 38

It was revealed from field data that pupils from homes which took 2 to 3 meals a day performed well as indicated by the highest frequency of 18 compared to the rest and this can be attributed to the fact that one gets the required nutrients that leads to good performance. For the case of number of times house holds take meat meals in a week vis-à-vis academic performance results indicate that those who afforded once performed better than any one else as indicated by the highest frequency of 20 overall all this shows that schools with pupils from well to do families

21 frequency of 20 overall all this shows that schools with pupils from well to do families performed well. Parsons (1999) has revealed that childhood poverty and educational experiences are very powerful influences on an individual’s life course. Poverty is in itself a barrier to equal educational opportunity- a hungry or malnourished child is unlikely to be good at concentrating on work at school; limited finances may affect a child’s school attainment since parents may not be able to afford the toys, books, sports equipment, home computers, and other learning resources like reference books that can aid success.

Some of the views got from head teachers and teachers on the effect offamily poverty on pupils performance in the schools of Thika district in Kenya.

Most of the pupils from poor families lack school fees which lead to frequent absenteeism. There is also lack of learning materials like books which lead to ineffective teaching. lack of basic needs like food and there fore the child has poor concentration pupils spend most of their time at home as they are sent to go and collect unpaid school fees.

What the government should do in order to improve schools performance.

The government should employ more teachers; buy more relevant academic materials such as books and give the pupils accommodation. Regulate the amount of fees charged by the private entrepreneurs so as to stop commercialization of education. Increase the level of funding by giving extra money in form of free primary education funds to the badly hit schools The government should also include private primary schools in their scheme for providing stationery to pupils and feeding programs since the pupils in those schools are children of Kenya and have equal rights same as those studying in public schools who are under free primary education. The government should provide support to private schools like providing text books or posting a few teachers to the schools.

22 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0 Introduction.

This chapter covers the summary of findings, conclusions and recommendations as tested in chapter four.

5.1 Summary

The study indicated that majority of the respondents stay in houses whose floors are cemented with the highest percentage of about 58%. For the case of roof of the house majority stay in iron roofed houses with 90% and banana coming last with about 3%. More results reveal also showed that majority take breakfast daily as shown by the highest percentage of 80%.

Further results revealed that majority of the households in Thika district of Kenya take 2 to 3 meals a day as evidenced by the highest percentage of 90% with those taking it more than three times coming second with about 8%. The table also revealed that most of the households eat meat once in a week (54%), majority of members of the households have a pair of shoes with 85%.

Results indicated that relatively private schools in Thika district of Kenya perform well with private having two (2) in very good compared to government with none though in overall government schools have more students who performed well indicated by the highest frequency of 24 compared to 14 for private. The research results revealed that most of the respondents who indicated that their houses floor was made of cement performed well with a frequency of 14 which is higher than any other. Also on the type of roof of the respondent’s house most of the students who performed well (18) were from families who had iron roofed houses and this shows that to perform better one has to be from a well off family in that one can access all the necessities. More results revealed that pupils from homes which took 2 to 3 meals a day

23 performed well as indicated by the highest frequency of 18 compared to the rest and this can be attributed to the fact that one gets the required nutrients that leads to good performance.

5.2 Conclusions

From the results obtained from the study one can conclude that most of the house holds in Thilca district of Kenya are not poor since most of them are able to get all the basic necessities like having clothes and food and decent housing. However, for the case of academic performance among private and government primary schools it was revealed that there was no sufficient information to conclude that government schools perform differently from private schools though it was revealed that family poverty has an effect on pupils academic performance as revealed by the results from the study which showed that pupils from well of f families performed well. As a result of the cost-sharing policy, parents and communities have assumed large responsibilities for their children’s education.

However, the level of poverty in the country constrains parents and communities from effectively sharing costs of education. A review of budgetary constraints suggests possible Cost-recovery measures, which would provide education to those who did not previously have access to it. Bearing in mind the policy and institutional problems facing primary education, we consider some cost-recovery policy options which would improve efficiency of primary education:

5.3 Recommendations

1. Since it was found out that pupils from well off families perform well then there is need for the government to provide basic necessities to those pupils who are from families which are relatively poor so that they can also feel comfortable like others and hence improve on their level of academic performance. 2. There is need for the government to give subsidies to private schools so as to lower the costs incurred while running the schools and this would lead to lowering of school dues and

24 hence making it accessible and this would also make the poor ones to join them and this would lead to good grades. 3. There is need for the government to employ more teachers and buy more relevant academic materials such as books 4. there is need for the government to regulate the amount of fees charged by private entrepreneurs so as to stop commercialization of education. 5. There is need for the government to include private primary schools in their scheme for providing stationery and text books to pupils since children from private schools are also Kenyan with equal rights to those in public schools. 6. There is need for the government, local councils, NGO’s and the local community to assist in providing funds for feeding programs and accommodation to badly hit schools. 7. There is need for the government to take stem measures to the head teachers who are found corrupt and misappropriating school funds meant for free education. 8. There need for the government to conduct regular and un expected audit and inspections to school accounts so as to ensure accountability.

25 REFERENCES Bramley, G. (1989) ‘A model of educational outcomes at local level with implications for local expenditure needs’, Environment & Planning C: Government and Policy, 7, 37-58. Bramley, G. et al. (2005) ‘Mainstream services and Neighborhood Deprivation’ Neighborhood Renewal Unit. www.neighbourhoods.gov.uk Hanushek, E. (1986) ‘The Economics of Schooling, Production and Efficiency in Public Schools’, Journal ofEconomic Literature, 24: 114-117. Hedges, L.V., Lame, R.D., and Greenwald, R. (1994) ‘Does Money Matter? A Metaanalyses of Studies of the Effects of Differential School Inputs on Student Outcomes’, Educational Researcher 23/3: 5-14. Hawarth, C. (2002) ‘So you’re from Brixton?’: The struggle for recognition and esteem in a stigmatized community’, Ethnicities2(2): 23 1-254. Thomas, S. and Smees, R. (1997) ‘Dimensions of school Effectiveness: Comparative Analyses Across Regions’, Paper presented at the 10th International Congress for school Effectiveness. Gibson, A. and 5, Asthana (1998) ‘School Performance, School Effectiveness and the 1997 White Paper’, Oxford Review ofEducation 24 92): 195-210. OFSTED (2000) Improving City Schools. London OFSTED. Parsons, C. (1999) Education, Exclusion and Citizenship, London: Routledge. Lupton, R (2004) ‘Schools in Disadvantaged Areas: Recognising context and raising quality’. CASE Paper 76, ESRC research Centre Report: London. Middleton, S. and Asworth, K. (1997) Small Fortunes: Spending on Children, Poverty and Parental Sacrifice. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Townsend, P. (1993) the InternationalAnalysis ofPoverty. Milton Keynes: Harvester Wheatsheaf

26 APPENDICES APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD Dear respondent I’m Francis Kanya and am carrying out my academic research on “Effects of Family Poverty on Academic Performance of Pupils in Primary Schools, A Case Study of Kamwangi Division Thika District Kenya”. I kindly request you to help me with the information requested. The information given will be used for academic purposes only and treated with high level of confidentiality. Thank you for co-operation

Question Question Answer option Skip Number to Al. Name A2. Age A3. Sex 1. Female. 2. Male A4. Marital Status 1. Single 2. Married 3 widowed 4. Divorced 5 separated 6. Never married AS. Number of people in a 1. 1-5 2 5-8 household 3 9-12 4 greater than 13 A6. Occupation 1 public servant 2 casual laborer 3 self employed 4 peasant 5 employed in private enterprises 6 others (specif~’) A7 How much income have 1. 1 to 3000 2. 3001 to 5000 you earned in the last one 3. 5001 to 10000 4. Greater than 10000 months(K. shs) A8 Highest level of education 1. Primary 2. 0-level attained 3. A level 4 tertiary/diploma 5. Universal SECTION B: STATUS OF HOUSEHOLD

B9. Type of roof of your house 1 Tiles 2 Iron sheet 3 Banana fibres/grass 4 Polythene papers 5 Others (specif~’) BlO. Type of floor of your 1. Cement 2. Mud 3. Tiles house

27 house B 11. Type of wall of your 1 cement 2 painted 3 mud house B12. Means of transport to 1 Public 2. Private 3. Bodaboda work/market/church/ 4 Walking school. B13. Type of fuel used for 1. Electricity 2. Gas/kerosene cooking. 3 Charcoal 4. Firewood B14. Source of water for the 1. Tap 2. Spring home 3 Well 4. Rain collected 4 Others (specify) B15. Do you have breakfast 1. Yes 2. No daily in your home? Bl6. How many meals does 1 one 2. 2 to 3 meals 3. More than 3 your family have daily? B17. How many times did you 1. None 2. Once 3. >2 times eat meat last week? B 18 Does each member of the 1 Yes 2 No household have a pair of clothes B19 Does each member of the 1 Yes 2 No household have a pair of shoes? B20 What medium of I Radio 2 TV 3 Phone communication do you Others (specify) have in your house B2l. Do you sleep under a I Yes 2 No mosquito net? B22. Is there any hospital/health 1. Yes 2 No center/clinic in the vicinity B23 What is the distance to the 1 <1 km 2 between 1 to 3 kms nearest school? 3 >3kms B24 What kind of toiletllatrine 1. Private 2. Pubic does your home use? Section C: Academic(For Student)

28 C25 What kind of primary school did 1. Private 2. Government you complete your education from? C26 What grade did you attain in the National examinations? C27 Did your school provide meals to 1. Yes 2. No If pupils? No Go to 29 C28 If yes, how many meals did the 1 one 2 Two times school provide? 3 3 or more times C29. How much money did you pay as school fees per term C30. How do you rate your schools 1. Very good 2. Good performance in the national 3 fair 4 poor examinations C3 1 What would you recommend your school authorities to do so as to improve performance

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COPERATION

29 APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRES FOR TEACHERS AND HEAD TEACHERS

Dear respondent I’m Francis Kanya and am carrying out my academic research on the “Effects of Family Poverty on Academic Performance of Pupils in Primary Schools, a Case Study of Kamwangi Division Thika District Kenya”. I kindly request you to help me with the information requested. The information given will be used for academic purposes only and treated with high level of confidentiality. Thank you for co-operation

1 How do you rate the performance of your primary school in the national examinations?

2 Excellent 2. Very good 3. Good 4. Fair 5. Poor

2 How many pupils did your school obtain in first grade in the national examination results last year9

3 What type of primary school are you permanently teaching in now?

1. Private 2. Government

4 What effect do you think family poverty has on pupils’ performance in you primary school (in your own words)?

5 What should the government do in order to improve your schools performance?

30 Thank you very much