PARENTAL OCCUPATION AS A PREDICTOR OF STUDENT’S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, IN KENYA CERTIFICATE OF SECONDARY EDUCATION IN PUBLIC MIXED DAY SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NYAMIRA NORTH SUB-COUNTY, KENYA.

This study examined the influence of parental occupation on academic performance in Public Mixed Day Secondary Schools in Nyamira North Sub-County, Kenya. Performance of the sub-county in KCSE has been dismal over time. The study was carried out amongst 857 parents of KCSE candidates and 22 head teachers of Public Mixed Day Secondary Schools in Nyamira North sub-county. The objective of the study was: To establish how parental occupation influences students’ academic performance in selected public mixed day secondary schools in Nyamira North Sub-County. The study adopted ex- post facto research design. Validity was established during piloting and through expert’s opinion, while reliability was obtained through test-retest methodology and cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.753 obtained.  A randomly selected sample made up of 265 parents and 21 head teachers of Mixed Day Public Secondary Schools was used. Primary data were collected by use of questionnaires and interview schedules. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and non- parametric tests to establish relationships between variables. The analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20. The study findings revealed that parental occupation did not affect performance in KCSE examination in 2010. Notwithstanding these finding, the study revealed that most parents were involved in manual low paying occupations which attracted low payments and thence limiting parental participation and input in the education of children. From these findings, the study recommends that: the Government of Kenya to consider coming up with policies that lead to the uplifting of the living standards of the parents; for instance creation of job opportunities, and   capacity building. Parents should be involved in decision making in issues affecting their children. Finally, the findings may form a basis for policy formulation.