The Effect of Parents’ Income on Students’ Achievement in Nakaloke Town Council Secondary Schools Mbale District May 2015.

Abstract

This study established the effect of the stability/regularity of parents’ income of students’ achievement at school in Nakaloke Town Council. The Specific Objectives were to determine the effect of the stability/regularity of parents’ economic on: students’ academic achievement, students’ achievement in co-curricular, and students discipline achievement in Nakaloke Town Council secondary schools. The researcher categorized the regularity or stability of family income into irregular income, fairly regular income, and highly regular income. This study used a crosssectional survey design using the sample of 359 using questionnaire to determine the regularity of parents’ income and students’ achievement questionnaire (PELSSPQ) for students, teachers and head teachers, PTA executives as representatives of parents. The data was analyzed by testing the 3 research hypotheses whose results revealed that the stability of parents’ income significantly affects students’ academic achievement; the stability of parents’ income does not significantly affect students’ achievement in co-curricular, and that the stability of parents’ income significantly affects students’ discipline in Nakaloke Town Council Secondary Schools. The study therefore concludes that the regularity of the flow of family income has a significant effect on students’ school academic and discipline achievement and but not co-curricular activities at school in Nakaloke Town Council. The study therefore recommends that parents and school managers forge a close working relationship so as to improve students’ achievement at school. Secondly, the study recommends that education policy makers put in place an environment that will provide equal opportunity of quality educational service to all children, especially children from families, whose income flow is not regular/stable.