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The significant contribution of the family to students’ learning creates a requirement of research to illuminate the different ways through which family can create positive contributions. With that understanding, this study assessed the role of family atmosphere towards students’ learning achievement in public secondary schools in Tanzania. It focused on three specific objectives that focused on understanding the family factors that stimulate students’ efforts in learning achievement, the contribution of family income to students’ learning achievement and the difficulties experienced by students in family towards learning achievement.
The study was conducted in Uvinza District of Kigoma Region. Using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, the study generated data from 130 respondents who were sampled from five (5) public secondary schools. 100 students were reached through systematic sampling. Purposive sampling was used to select 15 parents, 10 teachers, and 5 Ward Education Officers. The data were collected through questionnaires, interviews and documentary reviews. The quantitative data were analysed descriptively with the help of SPSS (version 25) while the qualitative data were analysed thematically.
The study revealed umbrella components of family factors that affect students’ learning achievement. The first component is the parental aspects which consist of parent-teacher relationships, home learning supervision, availability of home learning materials, and parents’ level of education. The second component is social aspects which include peer group influences, home guidance, and counseling, and child’s rent room near school. And the third component is the economic aspect which is predominantly affected by family income. Family income was revealed to have an average mean score of 3.0 on the Likert scale of eight family income aspects. Further, lack of learning materials at home, family domestic chores, poor parent income, distance from home to school, and poor parents’ involvement in school matters were discovered to constrain students’ efforts toward learning achievement. It is recommended that practitioners such as families should provide a home atmosphere that stimulates the learning achievement for the children. The government should also build dormitories in public secondary schools to keep students from walking a long distance to school. |
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