Influence of Social-Economic Factors on Retention of Boys in Public Secondary Schools in Marsabit County, Kenya

Abstract

Secondary schools provide a four-year platform that promotes equipping students on various subjects. The students should undergo the four-year learning without disruption and with adequate resources and support from the concerned parties. However, there have been high cases of school drop-out rates among students in public secondary schools in Kenya. The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of social-economic factors on the retention of boys in public secondary schools in Marsabit County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following specific objectives: Examine the influence of household income level on retention of boys in public secondary schools in Marsabit County; Investigate the influence of social support on retention of boys in public secondary schools in Marsabit County, Kenya; Explore the influence of guardian’s education level on retention of boys in public secondary schools in Marsabit County, Kenya; and establish the influence of employment opportunities on retention of boys in public secondary schools in Marsabit County, Kenya. The study was further guided by two theories which were the theory of educational productivity and the student retention theory. In this study, the research design used was descriptive research design because there was an application of both quantitative and qualitative methods when collecting data. The study was located in Marsabit County, Kenya. The target population was 8 secondary schools in Marsabit County that had boys students in them. That is both boys’ secondary schools and mixed secondary schools. The respondents were 56 class teachers, 4,559 boys’ students, and 48 parents present at the Board of Management. Class teachers and parents were selected using a simple random sampling method with an application of the Krejcie & Morgan table or formula to obtain 48 and 42 class teachers and parents respectively. The sampling technique that was used on students was determined using a Kothari statistical method to obtain a sample of 94. Class teachers and parents were interviewed while the students answered the questionnaires. The pre-test study was conducted in two public secondary schools in Isiolo, which were Isiolo boys’ secondary school and Garbatula mixed day secondary school whose respondents comprised 5 class teachers, 10 students, and 4 parents at BOM. Reliability was measured using Cronbach Alpha while face, content, and criterion types of validity were also measured. The findings were presented using descriptive tables, figures, and narratives for ease of understanding of the results. Besides, the qualitative results were useful in supplementing the quantitative results. The conclusion made was that a lot of boys failed to remain in school since they lacked motivation from the people surrounding them. That is, most of the boys’ peers, teachers, and parents did not adequately portray a clear need on why they should remain in school. The recommendation is that the school management should have sensitization programs for teachers, parents, and boys’ students on the relevant of education in improving their future. The schools should capitalize more on motivational speakers, successful alumni, and corporate heads who come and motivate the boys to work hard towards improving their academic performances so as to have success in their latter lives. The school students should come up with proposed groups and clubs through which they could travel in various corporates that helps the boys get a clearer picture of what it means to have employment anchored by educational background.