Relationship of Family Background on Learners’ Commitmment to Education and School Attendance in Public Day Secondary Schools, Kangundo Sub-County, Machakos County, Kenya

This study seeks to find the relationship of family background on learners’ commitment to education and school attendance in public secondary schools, Kangundo sub-County Machakos County, Kenya. Family background plays key role in ensuring their children get committed in educational endeavor and high level of school attendance. The process nurtures learners’ educational journey to make them economically productive, responsible, sociable and morally upright generation in society. Though the case, most families internationally and locally fail to fulfil this mandate. Kangundo is not exceptional. This study seeks to find the relationship of family background on leaners’ commitment to education and school attendance in public day secondary schools in Kangundo sub – County Machakos County Kenya. The objective of the study is: find the relationship of family background on learners, commitment to education and school attendance Epstein’s theory of School, Family and Community Partnerships (2003) guides the study. Engaging convergent mixed method design. The study uses questionnaire for Data collection with items containing structured and unstructured questions to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. The target population for the study consists of schools and class teachers. Twenty-three (23) schools and thirty (30) class teachers. The sampling techniques engaged for the study are stratified and purposive sampling for both schools and teachers. The study used Kothari’s proportional sample size to determine the sample for the study. Six (6) schools and twenty-two teachers were sampled for the study. Chi Squire was used to determine the prelateship of family background on learners’ commitment to education and school attendance. The findings of the study note that family background has statistically significant relationship on children’s commitment to education and school attendance. Most married partners in Kangundo are either separated or divorced. The findings further noted that children whose parents are separated or divorced as distracted from learning and that they attend school irregularly. Using chi Squire, test revealed: ((χ2 = 5.294, P = 0.049) level of significance of the separated or divorced partners on their children’s commitment to education. Encouragingly, the respondents observed that There are interventions that might be applied to make families function normally free from separation and divorce. The finding observed that children from dysfunctional families attain low scores and grades in academic performance further, the study indicated that that there is need for civic education amongst married partners on parenting skills. The study concluded that family background statistically relates to learner’s commitment to education and school attendance. However, in Kangundo, most married partners are either separated or divorced or separated and therefore children are distracted from learning, attend school irregularly leading to the attainment of low academic scores and grades. The study recommends on a study focusing on effectiveness of intervention measures that address strong family unity and co-existence. Further, a study on sustaining family unity and co-existence of married parters in Kenya needs to conducted.