INFLUENCE OF PARENTAL LEVEL OF EDUCATION ON THE TRANSITION RATES OF PUPILS FROM PRIMARY TO SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MUKURWEINI SUBCOUNTY, NYERI COUNTY, KENYA.

Abstract

Parental level of education entails the extent to which parents acquired education. The objectives
of the study were; to determine the extent to which educated parents influence transition rates of
pupils from primary to secondary school in Mukurweini sub county; to determine the extent to
which semi-educated parents influenced transition rate of pupils from primary to secondary school
in Mukurweini sub county; To assess the extent to which uneducated parents influenced transition
rate of pupils from primary to secondary schools in Mukurweini sub county.The study was guided
by the Ecological Systems Theory and the Schlossberg’s (1998) transition theory. The study used
mixed methods approach. The target population for this study comprised of 65 head teachers and
65 class 8 class teachers. Using the Central Limit Theorem, 30 percent of 130 respondents were
selected to give a sample of 40 respondents, of whom 20 were head teachers and 20 class 8 class
teachers. Stratified sampling was applied to create 4 strata based on the number of educational
divisions in Mukurweini sub-county. The quantitative findings of the study were presented using
tables whereas qualitative findings were presented thematically and in narrative forms. The
findings of the study revealed that indeed parental level of education influence pupils’ transition
rates from primary to secondary school which shows that parent’s level of education had a lot of
impact on schooling of children because children from educated parents successfully transit to
secondary schools.
Key Words: Parent, Level of Education, Transition rate.