Parental Involvement and Its Role in Reducing Out-of-School Children in Emohua Local Government Area, Rivers State, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63561/jabs.v3i1.1173Keywords:
Role of Parental Involvement, Reducing the Number of Out-of-School ChildrenAbstract
The study assessed the role of parental involvement in reducing the number of out-of-school children in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprised 2,480 parents. A sample size of 344 respondents was determined using the Taro Yamane formula. The study employed a stratified random sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled “Parental Involvement and Out-of-School Reduction Questionnaire (PIOSRQ)”. The instrument was administered personally by the researchers with the help of trained research assistants who visited the respondents. Three experts in Test and Measurement validated the instrument. Cronbach Alpha method yielded a coefficient of 0.86. Out of 344 copies of the instruments administered, 335 copies were retrieved. Multiple regression associated with t-test answered research questions and also tested hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The study found that active parental engagement, especially supervision and provision of learning materials, is crucial in minimizing the number of out-of-school children, parents with higher educational exposure and awareness are more effective in sustaining their children’s school enrollment and stable income, employment, and favorable living conditions enhance parents’ ability to sustain their children’s education and prevent dropouts. The study recommended among others that government agencies should create employment opportunities and improve living standards to help parents maintain stable income and sustain their children’s education, thereby preventing school dropouts.
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