Abstract: The purpose of this study was to establish effectiveness of parental involvement in management of primary schools in Kyerwa District, Tanzania. The study adopted Epstein conceptual framework to guide the conceptualization process and formulation of study objective. In addition, a mixed approach involving descriptive research design was used to carry out the study. The target population of the study was parents whose children attend primary education and have been elected to serve in the school management committee. The study population was 730 parents who are members of the school management committee. Data for the study was collected from 146 primary schools which are found in the district and from a sample of 82 parents. The study used probability and non-probability sampling specifically proportionate and purposive sampling, which provided the best data to achieve the objective of the study, questionnaire and structured interviews were used as instruments for data collection. The study concludes that parents were not effectively involved in management of primary schools. They were not always involved in decision making in running of the school. In light of the findings, the study recommends that primary schools headmasters should actively involve parents who are members of school management committee in decision making. This will enable school leaders to incorporate parents’ interests in daily running of the school and hence create a better teaching/learning environment, thus contribute to achieving quality primary education.

Abstract: Parents are key component in dealing with students’ discipline. Once parents get encompassed in student’s matters, students tend to have positive effects on their development, including discipline issues. However, their involvement is still low, which results into the increase of disciplinary cases in most community secondary schools. Thus, the study sought to assess the effectiveness of parental activities in students’ discipline management in community secondary schools in Misungwi district, Tanzania. The study used a mixed research approach and convergent parallel design. Data was obtained using questionnaires together with interview guides. The sample size of the study involved 101 respondents including teachers, parents, education quality assurance, ward education officers, students and students discipline leaders. Content and face validity were checked to establish the validity of research instruments. The questionnaires achieved a correlation coefficient of 0.81, which indicated high reliability of research instruments. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics with the help of (SPSS) version 20 and the qualitative data were analyzed through thematic analysis. The results revealed that parents played little role in providing guidance and counseling and teaching good moral rather than communicating with teachers. The study recommended that government under MoEST should provide education to parents on their roles so that they can voluntarily engage in students’ discipline management.

Abstract: A transition from pre-school to primary school for children is not just a change which has immediate effects but effects on the rate at which children change. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of parental involvement on learners’ transition rate from public preschools to public primary school in Kapseret Sub County, Uasin Gishu County. The study was guided by Jean Piaget’s constructivist theory. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The target population for the study included 102 preschool teachers, 153 Grade one, two, and three teachers and 51 headteachers, giving a total of 306 target population. The researcher sampled 171 respondents, including 85 Grade one, two and three teachers, 57 preschool teachers, and 29 headteachers. The study research instruments used were questionnaires. Data from questionnaires were analyzed using both quantitatively and qualitatively using SPSS version 26. Quantitative method involved descriptive analysis and presented in form of tables. Qualitative data from interview schedules were analyzed thematically and presented in prose form. The study findings showed that parental involvement has significant influence on learners transition. Parental and family support plays a key role in transition, learners’ parents share information frequently on progress of their children. The study recommends that preschool children should be well cared for by their parents by checking their education progress and instilling values.

Received October 30, 2020; Revised November 28, 2020; Accepted December 1, 2020

Abstract: Whilst there has been a lot of research on learners with physical, hearing and visual disabilities in Kenya, not much research has focused on learners with intellectual disabilities. The research from which this paper is drawn ventured into a relatively less researched area, namely, parental involvement in the education of learners with intellectual disabilities in Kenya. This paper presents partial findings of an in-depth phenomenological investigation into the state of parental involvement in the education of learners with intellectual disabilities in Kenya. The study was guided by Parental Involvement theory as postulated by Jane Epstein. Cluster, purposive and snowball sampling techniques were utilized to select 24 parents. Data were collected through face to face semi-structured interviews and analysed with the help of ATLAS ti software package. The findings revealed that parents of learners with intellectual disabilities provided a safe home environment, transported their children to school, managed their children’s behaviour and provided, albeit to a given extent, learning resources and subsistence. However, weighed against Jane Epstein’s components of Parental Involvement the involvement fellshort of expectations, and even more so as concerns learners with intellectual disabilities. From the findings, parents did not get involved in their children’s school activities, did not expose them to educational environments, they did not volunteer at school or provide sufficient learning resources/subsistence, they did not enlist as members of school committees and associations, and they did not engage in communication with the school to enquire about their children’s academic progress and wellbeing.