Parenting Styles and Student Retention in Secondary School in Rubirizi District Southwestern Uganda

Abstract

The study was about the relationship between parenting styles and student retention in secondary schools in Rubirizi District, Southwestern Uganda. It was guided by the following objectives: Examine prevalent parenting styles among parents in Rubirizi District, to assess student retention rates in Rubirizi District and to determine the relationship between parenting styles and students retention rates in secondary. A total sample of 7 schools (four private secondary schools and three government aided secondary schools) .10 head teachers were selected using purposive sampling. Hundred, (100) parents and hundred (100) teachers were selected using simple random sampling. The researcher used questionnaires and interview methods of datacollection. Quantitative data from the field was processed and analyzed using Statistical package for Social Scientists ( SPSS) Qualitative data from interview was analyzed descriptively and information presented in the narrative form. The study findings found that uninvolved parenting style was high at a percentage of 47.0%. The study found that the correlation coefficient was 0.729 which indicate which indicates that there is a positive relationship between parenting style and student retention in many secondary schools in Rubirizi District. The p value 0.000 shows that there is statistically significant relationship between parenting styles and student retention in secondary schools of Rubirizi District. However, the study found that some schools in Rubirizi district don’t allow parents in schools when it is not a visitation day. It was also concluded that there is a high level of parents uninvolvement where parent don’t take fully charge in upbringing of their students in Rubirizi District and this has made a good number of students drop out of school looking for money at an early age and this is done through bricklaying, fishing and hunting. It was also concluded the due to student dropping out of school has affected the rate of student retention in secondary schools Rubirizi District this implies that if the situation continues like this there will be a high number of indiscipline ,use of drugs, theft and redundancy in Rubirizi District. It was further concluded that there was a statistically significant relationship between parenting styles and student retention in secondary schools in Rubirizi District. Therefore change in parenting styles are associated with change in student retention. It was recommended that government should put a provision of a parent’s day in schools once in a term majorly to address about the different parenting styles in secondary schools. This will enhance the adoption of proper student retention in schools.