Effects of the Home Environment on Students' Learning at Eastleigh High School Nairobi

Abstract

This research focused on the Effects of the Home Environment on Students' Learning at Eastleigh High School. The following research objectives guided the study: 1. To examine how conducive home environment creates effective learning. 2. To suggest ways parents, teachers and administrators can collaborate and support their children's learning. The study used survey designs. The sample groups were students, teachers, head teachers and deputy head teacher. There were one hundred arid twenty three respondents, which included ninety-nine students and twenty-four teachers. The instruments used to elicit information were questionnaires and interview guides. The findings revealed that payment of school fees is a big problem. A lot of students are constantly sent home; as a result of this they tend to miss classes, which has great impact in their studies. Thus their performance is affected. Most of the students parents are poor as such are not able to meet with their children's need. Students also lack support and assistance with their schoolwork at home. Majority of the students' parents are not educated. Students are left alone to battle with their schoolwork. This means that there is no follow up with what teachers do in school, which in turn affects the students' performance. Students lack facilities for study at home. Most students do not have reading space at home as they leave in the slums with crowded rooms. Most of them do not have electricity and textbook& This makes learning so difficult and thus affects students' performance. In order to improve academic performance of Fastleigh High School there is need for the Government to provide bursary. This will go a long way to help students with financial problems concentrate in their studies. And hence, enhance learning and improve performance. Boarding facilities should be provided to take care of the problems students face at home that prevent them from achieving the best in their academic performance. For example, it will take care of lack of reading space, noisy environment and lack of electricity and assistance with their schoolwork. There is also a great need for frequent meeting between the school administration, teachers and parents. This will help them to deliberate and find ways and means of addressing and solving some of the challenges students face that affect their performance academically. The home environment has a huge effect on students' learning and performance at Eastleigh High School. Financial problem is a set back to students' learning, this prevent them from achieving the best in their studies. This problem needs urgent help from the government, parents and teachers to find ways of helping students so as to improve in their studies. Government needs to provide bursary that will help to ease this problems both for the students, parents and their teachers so that effective teaching and learning can take place.