Influence Of Student’-Peer Interactions on Academic Delinquency Amongst Undergraduate Students in Public Universities in Kiambu and Nairobi Counties- Kenya

Abstract

Many public universities in the world including Kenya have been experiencing diverse social challenges that include academic delinquencies and moral deterioration. Hence, the purpose of this study was guided by the study objective which sought to analyse the influence of Student-Peer interactions on academic delinquency amongst undergraduate students in public universities in Kiambu and Nairobi Counties, Kenya. It adopted mixed-method research which enabled the researcher to use quantitative and qualitative methods. The target population for this study comprised 2 counsellors, 2 registrars, 2 exam coordinators, 12 Heads of Department, and 120,000 undergraduate students from Kenyatta University and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, public universities in Kiambu and Nairobi Counties. The schools were stratified sampled; 12 heads of departments were then randomly selected. The undergraduate students were also randomly selected, 192 (384/2) from each university. Further purposive sampling was used to select academic staff. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from students, whereas interview guides were used to collect data from academic staff. Piloting was conducted among 40 undergraduate students of mixed gender from the University of Nairobi to establish the validity, reliability, credibility, and dependability of research instruments. Reliability was determined using Cranach’s alpha method. Credibility was established through the triangulation of data from multiple instruments, whereas dependability was established through repeated trials. Analysis of data began by identifying common themes from the participants’ descriptions of their experiences guided by research objectives. Frequency counts and percentages of the responses were then obtained to generate information about the respondents and to illustrate the general trend of findings on the various variables that are under investigation. Qualitative data was analysed thematically guided by research objectives and presented in narrative form, whereas the quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics with the aid of Statistical Packages for Social science version 23. It was found that the students’ peer interactions influence academic delinquency amongst undergraduate students in public universities in Kiambu and Nairobi Counties-Kenya. Student-peer interaction influences students greatly on academic delinquency. Peers copy bad behaviours from each other including exam fraud. The study recommends the need to encourage the students to be themselves and not be influenced.