Teachers’ Perceptions on School Based Factors Influencing Boy-Child Drop-Out Rates and Intervention Strategies in Secondary Schools in Kenya

Abstract

The Government of Kenya has introduced Free Primary Education (FPE) and Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE), many school going age boys have been dropping out of school. School drop-out for boys is a very serious issue not only in Kenya but in the whole world over. Although many studies have been carried out in other parts of Kenya, none has investigated the school based factors behind the increased dropout of the boy child in secondary education particularly in Kericho County. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the teachers perception on the influence of school-based factors on boy child dropouts, The objectives of the study were; to examine teachers’ perceptions on the influence of school-based factors on boy child dropout and to find out the intervention strategies put in place to curb the increasing boy child drop-out in public mixed day secondary schools in Kericho County. The study used the descriptive survey research design.. The study was guided by the Bronfenbrenner’s Biosystems Theory. The target population comprised 176 principals of public mixed day secondary schools and 210 form four class teachers totaling to 386. Multistage sampling was used during sampling whereby 121 schools were sampled to participate in the study. A sample of 121 principals and 136 form four class teachers were selected purposively. Data was collected using teacher questionnaires, interviews and document analysis. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically and reported in narrations. Quantitative data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. The results of the study indicated that the school-based factors such as poor performance, teachers’ hostility, inadequate teaching and learning resources (F = 5.105, p < .05) influenced boy-child drop-out and the perceived interventions were confirmed. A regression analysis revealed that School based factors contributed 35.0% (R2 = .350) of the boys drop-out rates. The findings of the study can be used to provide useful information to the ministry of education policy makers on the implementation of workable strategies that can promote boys’ education. The results are significant to the teachers, parents and other stakeholders in addressing the factors that influence education retention among boys and ways of curbing the drop-out problem.