Influence of Parental Logistical Support on Education of Teenage Mothers in Public Junior Schools in Bumula Sub-County, Bungoma County, Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53819/81018102t4418Abstract
This study investigated the influence of parental logistical support on the education of teenage mothers in public junior schools in Bumula Sub-County, Bungoma County, Kenya. The study was guided by one research question and one null hypothesis tested at the .05 level of significance. Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory provided the theoretical lens, and a concurrent mixed methods design combining a cross-sectional survey with a phenomenological qualitative strand was employed. From a target population of 100 public junior schools, 145 respondents participated, including 70 re-admitted teenage mothers, 52 teachers, 10 heads of institutions, 11 religious leaders, 20 parents and guardians, and the Sub-County Director of Education. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, Pearson correlation, simple linear regression and multiple linear regression; qualitative data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Descriptively, parental logistical support was the lowest-reported dimension (M = 3.14, SD = 0.37), with 82.9% of girls agreeing that financial difficulties interfered with their academic performance and 90% of heads of institutions reporting that parents do not provide required stationery. On analysis of variance, the null hypothesis concerning logistical support was rejected, F(1, 68) = 17.59, p < .001, η² = .206, accounting for 20.6% of the variance in educational outcomes. In a multiple regression model containing all four dimensions of parental support, logistical support was the only predictor to retain a statistically significant unique contribution (β = .39, p = .001). The finding held under three alternative scoring rules. Qualitatively, childcare was identified as the decisive component within logistical support, supplied without payment by ageing grandmothers and aunts, one of whom was born in 1954 and identified her own poor health as her principal difficulty. The study concludes that parental logistical support is the decisive dimension influencing the education of teenage mothers in this rural day-school setting, and recommends a targeted bursary and materials instrument, school-linked childcare provision, a named teacher-mentor for every re-admitted girl, mandatory quarterly returns of re-admitted learners, and community sensitisation that engages grandmothers, fathers and male elders.
Keywords: Parental logistical support, Teenage mothers, Public junior schools, School re-entry, childcare, Competency Based Curriculum, Bumula Sub-County, Kenya
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