Faculty of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences

ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT AND JUNIOR SCHOOL LEARNERS’ ACHIEVEMENT OF COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION CORE COMPETENCIES IN LAIKIPIA COUNTY, KENYA

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT

ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT AND JUNIOR SCHOOL LEARNERS’ ACHIEVEMENT OF COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION CORE COMPETENCIES IN LAIKIPIA COUNTY, KENYA KITHAKA, GEOFFREY M Effective administrative management has been instrumental in advancing the successful implementation of the Competency-Based Education (CBE) in junior schools across Kenya. Despite several studies highlighting administrative challenges in Kenya’s education sector, barriers such as inadequate instructional resources, supervision by schools’ management, resource mobilization, workloads of teachers, and limited parental involvement continue to hinder the effective achievement of core competencies in the competency-based curriculum. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the influence of administrative management in junior schools on the achievement of core competencies in the competency-based curriculum in Laikipia County Kenya. The Contingency Theory developed by Fiedler, Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorsch, and the Situated Learning Theory by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger guided the study. The study utilized a descriptive survey design. A target population of 23067 from 242 junior schools comprising 242 headteachers, 21,425 junior school learners, 745 class representatives, 408 junior school teachers, and 5 sub-county directors was used in the study. A sample size of 302 respondents comprising 88 junior school teachers, 51 headteachers, and 160 junior school class representatives was proportionately and randomly sampled, while 3 sub-county directors were purposively sampled and used as respondents in the study. Questionnaires for headteachers, class representatives, and junior school teachers were used to collect data. An interview schedule was utilized to collect data from the Sub-County Directors. A pilot study was conducted in Samburu County, which shared characteristics like those of Laikipia County. Supervisors from the Department of Education at Tharaka University ascertained the instruments’ validity. An alpha coefficient value of 0.855 was established, denoting reliability for the research instruments. Quantitative data was analysed using regression analysis, while Qualitative data obtained from the interview schedule was analysed descriptively and reported thematically in line with the research objectives. The null hypothesis was tested at a 0.05 significance level. Regression analysis established statistically significant influence of instructional resources, parents-teacher collaboration, staffing and BoM on the achievement of CBE core competencies in junior school learners. The p values were: Provision of instructional resources 0.040, parents-teacher collaboration 0.040, staffing 0.029, and 0.034 for BoM, all less than the critical value of 0.05. The study concluded that administrative management in junior schools influenced the achievement of core competencies in the competency-based education in Laikipia County, Kenya. The study recommended that the Government should equip all schools with enough instructional resources, organize induction workshops to sensitize all teachers, head teachers, and parents on the importance of teachers-parents collaboration in shaping learners in real-life situations. The study further recommends that the Teachers Service Commission should ensure staffing is not biased in terms of gender, and equitable distribution of teachers in consideration of their specialized learning areas. The study will be important to policymakers develop policies on restructuring the training of teachers to comply with the needs of Competency-Based Education, develop more strategies for increasing parental involvement. The study's findings will assist the Teacher Service Commission in ensuring factors such as teachers’ competencies are considered in staffing and developing quality induction programs that will equip JS teachers and headteachers with the necessary skills and knowledge on the CBE. The study will be useful to the curriculum implementers by providing useful information to the management of schools to strengthen school management by BoM. The study provides a foundation for further studies

CRIMINOGENIC SITUATIONAL PREDICTORS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN NAIROBI AND MOMBASA COUNTIES, KENYA

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

CRIMINOGENIC SITUATIONAL PREDICTORS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN NAIROBI AND MOMBASA COUNTIES, KENYA LUMADEDE, JAPHETH M There has been a rise in juvenile delinquency worldwide, particularly in developing countries such as Kenya. Failures in interventions point to the possible inefficacy of the measures, misdiagnosis, or scanty analysis of juvenile delinquency. This was precipitated by mixed results and insufficient documented research. There has been therefore a need to comprehensively confirm, analyze, and document the relationships between various criminogenic situational predictors and juvenile delinquency in Kenya. The purpose of this study thus was to examine selected criminogenic situational predictors and juvenile delinquency in Nairobi and Mombasa counties in Kenya. For this purpose, the study evaluated the hypothesized predictors on both non-delinquents and delinquents to establish clear relations. The study was anchored on Social Learning and Social Disorganization theories. The study adopted a Concurrent Nested mixed method Research approach with a qualitative component being embedded in a quantitative Causal-Comparative Research Design. The target population of the study was 2,908,950 juveniles in the two counties. The accessible population was 235,861 respondents, out of which a sample of 400 was drawn, from which the researcher got 360, a response rate of 90%. The researcher drew the sample using a disproportionate stratified random sampling thus ensuring representation of both delinquents and non delinquents in each county. The delinquent population entailed both delinquents who had committed minor violations and delinquents who had committed serious violations. Delinquents who had committed serious violations were drawn from borstal institutions, while those who had committed minor violations were drawn from the Probation Department. The non-delinquents were drawn from county secondary schools in each of the counties. Random sampling was done using the Excel data analysis tool pack. In addition, 12 respondents were selected purposively from the authorities dealing with children matters, 6 from each county. The total response sample size attained was thus 372 respondents. A face-to-face interview questionnaire and an in-depth key informant interview schedule were the main instruments of data collection.The tools were piloted and the questionnaire's internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, yielding a value of 0.897, surpassing the recommended reliability threshold of 0.750. Validity was assessed to ensure instruments accurately measured the intended constructs. Binary logistic regression was conducted on the quantitative data at a 95% confidence interval (CI) and a p-value < 0.05 considered significant with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0 software. Thematic content analysis was conducted on the qualitative data with the help of Max. Qda software. The odds ratio indicates that when holding all other variables constant, a child is 7.2 times more likely to turn out delinquent with poor parental characteristics, 2.3 times more likely to turn out delinquent with poor family management practices, 3 times more likely to turn out delinquent with poor parent-child attachment and 2.2 times more likely to turn out delinquent with poor neighborhood characteristics than turn out non-delinquent. The odds ratio for combined situational predictors indicated that when holding all other variables constant, a child is 67.5 times more likely to turn out delinquent than a non-delinquent with poor situational conditions. Therefore, employing a .05 criterion of statistical significance, the null hypothesis was thus rejected because the findings show a statistically significant predictive relationship between combined situational predictors and juvenile delinquency. The findings will be useful to the government, academia, policy actors as well as parents in developing crime prevention policies, contributing to theory and literature, informing on better practices, and effective formulation of relevant social policies respectively.

DEWEY’S PHILOSOPHY OF EXPERIMENTATION AND TRAINEES ACQUISITION OF PRACTICAL SKILLS IN TECHNICAL TRAINING INSTITUTIONS IN MERU COUNTY, KENYA.

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

DEWEY’S PHILOSOPHY OF EXPERIMENTATION AND TRAINEES ACQUISITION OF PRACTICAL SKILLS IN TECHNICAL TRAINING INSTITUTIONS IN MERU COUNTY, KENYA. KOBIA, PRISCA Vocational Education Training (TVET) aims to empower the trainee to acquire skills for the job market and boost personal and national economic development. In Dewey’s philosophy of Experimentation, there is a close link between a child’s life and experiences as a continuous process, which Dewey regards as the aim of training which forms the basis of equipping a child with a competence for self-reliance. Technical Training Trainees have demonstrated limited mastery of skills trained in their workstations in the industry. The study aimed to establish the influence of John Dewey’s Philosophy of Experimentation on Trainees’ acquisition of practical skills in TVET Institutions. The study adopted a Descriptive Survey Design. The study's target population was 5160 consisting of Technical Trainees, Technical Trainers, and Industry Experts. The sample size was 357 respondents comprising 330 Technical Training Trainees from TVET institutions, 17 Technical Trainers, and 10 Industry experts. The instruments for data collection were Questionnaires for Technical Trainees `and Trainers. Interview Schedule was used on Industry experts. Research instruments were validated for content and construct validity by supervisors. The instruments were piloted in two Technical Training Institutions in Tharaka Nithi County. The reliability of the instruments was approximated using Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient. It was found that the reliability of the Trainees’ Questionnaire was 0.854 and that of Trainers was 0.827. The study was informed by Pragmatic and Experiential Theories. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0 for Windows was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics included mean, percentages, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation. Inferential statistics included t-test, ANOVA, Chi-square, and regression analysis. Hypotheses of the study were tested using linear regression analysis at α = 0.05 level of significance and the analyzed data was presented in tables. The study established that Trainers’ Academic Qualifications, Pedagogical Approaches, Availability of Training resources, Trainer's working experience, and Trainer’s Awareness of IndustryOccupational Standards do not have a significant relationship with skill acquisition among Trainees in TVET institutions. The current study did not support the findings that therewas no significant relationship between Trainers’ awareness of industry occupational standards on Trainee acquisition of practical skills in TVET institutions in Meru County, Kenya. The findings of this study may contribute to the body of knowledge on the influence of Dewey’s philosophy on trainees’ acquisition of practical skills in technical institutions. The study findings may also prompt Technical Trainers to reflect on Dewey’s Philosophy and Trainees’ Acquisition of Practical Skills in Technical Institutions. In addition, the findings of the study may provide information to curriculum developers and policymakers in coming up with policies and plans that would incorporate ideas of Dewey’s philosophy on Trainees’ acquisition of practical skills in technical institutions as well as provide a basis for further research.

SELECTED SOCIO-CULTURAL INFLUENCE ON TEENAGE PREGNANCY AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THARAKA NITHI COUNTY, KENYA.

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

SELECTED SOCIO-CULTURAL INFLUENCE ON TEENAGE PREGNANCY AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THARAKA NITHI COUNTY, KENYA. NJERU, JOYLINE M