The Individual Youth-related Factors Influencing the Extent of Youth Engagement in Development Interventions in Western Kenya

Abstract

This paper discusses the factors affecting how much the youth are engaged in development programmes. Despite development interventions that the government and its partners have embarked on to promote youth development in Kenya, there is room for improvement in youth engagement. The study utilized a pragmatism research philosophy, incorporating qualitative and quantitative research methods within a mixed-methods research framework and concurrent triangulation research design. Using simple random sampling procedure, 329 youths were selected for the quantitative component, while 18 participants were selected purposively for the qualitative component. Quantitative data was collected through the survey method using interviewer-administered questionnaires, while qualitative data was gathered through key informant and in-depth interviews. Quantitative data were analysed statistically, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. Results show the highest proportion of respondents (41.7%) had low extent of engagement in development interventions. Individual youth factors such as the level of education (p=.0120), age cohort (p=.027), and locality (p=.010), and level of independence (p=.05) influenced the extent of youth engagement in development interventions. However, the gender of the youth, marital status, parental economic status, parental occupation and parental/guardians’ level of education had no statistically significant relationship with the extent of youth engagement. Tailoring youth development interventions to the unique characteristics of all youths is recommended based on this paper's conclusion that low youth engagement was attributed to individual youth-related factors. Additionally, programme managers should encourage genuine youth involvement in all stages of interventions’ development to ensure that they own interventions that target them.