PARENTAL PARTICIPATION IN IMPROVING LEARNING OUTCOMES IN UNIVERSAL PRIMAY SCHOOLS IN KALIRO DISTRICT, UGANDA

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the level of participation of parents in the learning activities of their children in

the primary schools in Kaliro District, Uganda. The present study involved 278 parents randomly sampled from

25 Universal Primary Schools in Kaliro District Uganda. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied

in the analysis of data. The result showed that there is limited involvement in all the three aspects namely;

participation in school activities, participation in school governance and participation at home. Also, there were

three major challenges in parental involvement namely: parents’ lack of financial and other resources to

support scholastic requirements of their children, schools do not invite parents to discuss children’s school

progress; and inadequate level of education of parental roles in promoting learning outcomes. It is

recommended that the policy holders should reflect on their decisions and consider putting up mechanisms that

will attract parents to participate and school personnel such as Principals and teachers to forge partnerships

with parents to improve the learning outcomes of their children in universal primary schools.