| Summary: | Submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Planning and
Administration at the University of Zululand, 1991. === The ever depreciating quality and quantity of matric results in black schools has called for the urgent attention for all educationists, decision-makers and parents, as well as pupils with the aim of joining hands to save and improve this appalling state of affairs. There has been much speculation ranging from the malfunctioning of the education system for the black community to the racially segregated education system.
This thesis presents the findings of a study which describes the role played by parents in the academic performance of pupils in Senior Secondary classes in the Nseleni and Ongoye Magisterial districts. The Study was conducted among 150 Standard 9 and 10 pupils, 12 subject teachers, six principals of schools and 50 parents. The questionnaire and interview tools of research were used in the collection of data. The data collected by means of both the questionnaire and research tools, were analysed quantitatively.
The analysis of results led to the emergence of numerous closely related factors which formed the basis of poor academic performance of pupils in Senior Secondary classes, especially standard 10. The findings indicated work time-tables, viz. shift work undertaken by parents, lack of parental support due to illiteracy, conditions of employment, lack of space and furniture conducive to study - due to unfavorable socio-economic factors prevailing within the family, absence of a well-structured personal study time-table for pupils, lack of regular contact between the school and parents, low occupational status of the parents, discrepancies in the staffing procedures and a high teacher-pupil ratio in schools are factors responsible, to a large extent, for the poor academic performance of pupils.
In the light of these findings, it is advisable that these factors should not be regarded as separate, units, but as complementary to one another, forming a complete whole.
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