| dc.description.abstract | The number of orphaned children is increasing across the world, creating a significant
problem for educational attainment. The need toiprovideiqualityieducationiforiallichildreniis
ioneiofitheiobjectivesiofithe Sustainable Development Goal number four on inclusive and
equitable quality education. However, the academic achievement of orphaned pupils has
been affected by several factors. Despite the measures the government is putting in place
to improve pupils' academic performance such as free primary education, the academic
performance of orphaned pupils in public primary schools has been persistently average
and low. The purpose iof ithe istudy iwas ito idetermine ithe iinfluence iof isocio-economic,
ipsychological iand iphysical ifactors ion iacademic iperformance iamong iorphaned ipupils iin
ipubliciprimaryischoolsiiniKapseretiSub-County. iTheispecificiobjectivesiwereito;iestablishithe
iinfluenceiofisocio-economicifactors, ipsychologicalifactorsiandiphysicalifactorsioniacademic
iperformanceiofiorphanedipupils. The study was based anchored on the ecological systems
theory by Bronfenbrenner. This study adopted the concurrent triangulation design to
investigate the research problem. The target population for this study was 447, comprising
of 371 orphan pupils in class 6, 7, and 8, 19 head teachers, 57 class teachers from 19 public
primary schools in Kapseret Sub-County. The sample size was 211 comprising of 175
orphaned pupils, 9 headteachers and 27 class teachers. Purposive and simple random
sampling were used to select respondents. Primary data was collected using the
questionnaire from the orphaned pupils, while interview schedules were used to collect
data from headteachers and class teachers. Secondary data used were from journals, books,
and research thesis. The study used both quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods.
Quantitative data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive and
inferential statistics, which included frequencies, percentages, means, and the standard
deviation. Inferentially data were analyzed using Pearson's correlations and regression
model tested at 0.05% level of significance. Qualitative data were analyzed using the
thematic method. Findings revealed that socio-economic, psychological and physical
factors negatively influenced orphaned pupils' academic performance. Study findings
revealed that socio-economic factor has a negative and significant influence on academic
performance (β1=-0.138, p<0.05). Socio-economic needs were prioritized over the
educational needs of orphaned pupils. The study results revealed that psychological factors
have a negative and significant influence on academic performance (β2=-0.130, p<0.05).
Orphaned pupils faced psychological challenges such as relatives' verbal abuse, lack of
affection and protection that influence their academic performance poorly. Further study
findings revealed that physical factors have a negative and significant influence on
academic performance (β3=-0.285, p<0.05). The study concluded that the academic
performance of orphaned children was negatively influenced by socio-economic,
psychological, and physical factors. Orphaned children were more affected by lack of
permanent shelter as they had to move from relatives to relatives for accommodation and
others opting to live in schools and the church. The study recommended that for
improvement of orphaned pupils’ academic performance, schools need to initiate
supportive programs to cater for the extra needs of orphaned children to ensure deficiency
in their foster homes do not affect their academic performance. Parents and institutions
taking care of orphaned children should be trained on a positive upbringing to reduce the
gap of the children feeling accepted and protected. | en_US |
