FAMILY-LEVEL CULTURAL CAPITAL AND PUPILS’ PREPAREDNESS FOR UPPER PRIMARY IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA

Pupils’ masterly of lower primary curriculum is a critical determinant of their academic achievement in upper primary and consequently their performance in the final examination at the primary cycle of education. Pupils’ cumulative performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exit examination averaged at 250.4 marks out of the possible maximum of 500 marks from 2012 to 2016. Pupils’ performance during the same period in Nakuru County where the study was conducted averaged at 244.6 marks. The noted low performance in the County could be linked to inadequate masterly of lower primary curriculum which forms the foundation for learning the relatively challenging curriculum in upper primary. Although pupils’ masterly of lower primary curriculum is dependent on many factors, the study addressed itself to family cultural capital for it was construed to be one of the critical home- level correlates of academic achievement in lower primary. Using an ex-post facto research design, data were collected from 254 class three teachers in Nakuru County through a personally delivered questionnaire and analysed using simple regression statistic at 0.05 alpha level. The results revealed a significant linear relationship (F= 3.491; df= 253; P< .05) between family cultural capital and pupils’ preparedness for upper primary. The study further showed that the beta value (β= .111) positive and statistically significant (t= 1.770; P< .05). These findings indicated that the selected aspects of family cultural capital were not only impacting positively on pupils’ preparedness for upper primary but the impact was also statistically significant. The adjusted R2 value (R2= .481) further revealed that the selected aspects of family cultural capital accounted for 47% of total variation in pupils’ preparedness for upper primary. The study offers useful insights on how families can build cultural capital in their children which they will build on as they progress through lower primary. This will go a long way in increasing their level of preparedness for upper primary, and consequently raise their academic achievement in the KCPE examination.  Article visualizations