The Relationship Between Parental Involvement and Academic Performance in Biology in Public Secondary Schools in Kilifi County, Kenya

Knowledge of Biology is important, not only for understanding our lives, but also for pursuing further studies in related disciplines like medicine and agriculture. Performance in the subject in Kenya public secondary schools has been low over the years and this has prompted studies into some of the predicting factors for this biology performance. The aim of this research was to determine the relationship between parental involvement and academic performance in biology in public secondary schools in Kilifi County, Kenya. Cognitive Theory of Development by Jean Piaget (1936) and the Framework of Parental involvement by Norman Epstein (2002) were used to inform the study. Descriptive and correlational designs were used where a sample of 322 participants were selected from a population of 1535 students and teachers. Stratified random, simple random, Purposive sampling was used to select Biology teachers, form three class as well as the 10 public secondary schools. A sample of 306 form three students and 16 Biology teachers was then selected from the target population. Data was collected from students and teachers using the parental involvement tool and a teacher questionnaire. The study incorporated content validity which was established through expert opinion. Instrument reliability was achieved using split half method where a Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of 0.7 was realized. Data from students Biology performance were obtained through document analysis. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0 was used. Descriptive statistics of frequencies, mean and standard deviation were used and inferential statistics of Pearson moment correlation analysis were used for data analysis. Parental involvement was found to be significantly correlated with academic performance in biology. There was need to maintain parental support to enhance student performance. Studies using other designs, contexts and general learner performance may shed more light into the subject.