https://repository.seku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/7322 2026-04-04T15:10:06Z https://repository.seku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/8100 Title: Educational subsidies and students’ participation rates in education in public secondary schools in Makueni County, Kenya Authors: Musyimi, Charles Abstract: Governments around the world agree that, the ability to provide quality education for all and to respond to new priorities depends on the availability of adequate funding in education. Financing of education is the greatest enabler of learners to participate in education and flow through education system from entry to exit. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of educational subsidies on participation rates in public secondary schools in Makueni County, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to establish the influence of Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE) capitation grants, government bursary funds, financing by non-state agencies and provision of teaching and learning materials by the government on participation rates in public secondary schools in Makueni County, Kenya. The researcher formulated four null hypotheses stating: There is no statistically significant relationship between FDSE capitation grants, government bursary funds, education financing by non-state agencies and provision of teaching and learning materials by the government and participation rates in public secondary schools in Makueni County, Kenya. The study was anchored on the Classical Liberal Theory by Rousseau. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The study targeted all 384 schools, all 384 Principals, 384 Deputy Principals and 9 Sub County Directors of Education in Makueni County. Out of the 384 schools, the study sampled 196 schools’ principals and deputy principals through stratified, simple random sampling. Data collection instruments included questionnaires for Principals, Deputies and interview schedule for Sub-county Directors of Education. The instruments were ascertained through piloting and by research experts to ensure content validity while reliability was achieved through piloting and testing reliability. Data was analyzed by use of SPSS version 22. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations and inferential statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data. Qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis and the responses presented in narratives, tables and figures. The results revealed that there was statistically significant relationship between FDSE capitation grants, government bursary funds, education financing by non-state agencies and provision of teaching and learning materials by the government on participation rates in public secondary schools in Makueni County. This was at r values of 0.67,0.68, 0.63, and 0.59 respectively which were all positive and significant with values of 0.014, 0.015, 0.019, and 0.022 respectively. The study concluded that FDSE capitation grants, government bursary funds, financing by non-state agencies and provision of teaching and learning materials by the government all influence students’ participation rates in public secondary schools in Makueni county, Kenya. And that, education subsidies influence students’ participation rates in the study locale. The results indicated that 64% of the variation in the participation of students in schooling in public secondary schools in Makueni County could be explained by provision of education subsidies in financing education. The study recommends that, the government should continue providing and diversifying educational subsidies, schools should come up with income generating activities whose profits can be used to give bursaries to deserving students. Further, schools should utilize the available resources cost-effectively. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.seku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/7731 Title: Institutional determinants of strategic plan implementation in public secondary schools in Machakos County, Kenya Authors: Kawinzi, Jeremiah M. Abstract: Strategic plan as a management tool can help to improve the performance of an organization since it guides all stakeholders to work towards the same objectives. It also makes an organization adapt to the ever changing environment toward realizing better results. This study sought to investigate the influence of institutional determinants of strategic plan implementation in public secondary schools in Machakos County, Kenya. The specific study objectives sought to establish the influence of school structure, resource allocation, leadership communication strategies, and the stakeholders’ participation in school development plans on the strategic plan implementation. The study used descriptive survey research design. The study targeted 351 public secondary schools, 351 principals in these schools, and 3,159 class teachers and academic Heads of Departments. The study used a sample of 30% of all the targeted principals and 10% of the targeted HoDs and class teachers from each zone to arrive at 105 principals, and 316 academic HoDs and class teachers. Public secondary schools in Machakos County were grouped into eight zones (strata) using the stratified sampling technique. The study used open-ended questionnaire to obtain qualitative data and closed-ended questionnaires to obtain quantitative data. Descriptive statistics that is distribution of responses, measures of variability and measures of central tendency were used to analyze data which was presented using frequency distribution tables, and pie charts. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the inferential data. Qualitative data gathered using open-ended questionnaires was grouped into themes based on the study objectives. The study tested four hypotheses each at a 0.05 level of significance. From the first objective, the study gave a positive coefficient of 0.0470 on school structure with a p-value of 0.314 and was not statistically significant at 0.05 level, hence we fail to reject the null hypothesis that, school structure had no influence on strategic plan implementation. Based on the second objective, the study produced a positive coefficient of 0.4168 on school leadership with a p-value of 0.000 which was statistically significant at the 0.05 level, hence we reject the null hypothesis that, school leadership had no influence on strategic plan implementation. In the third objective, the study produced a negative coefficient of -0.0168 on resource allocation with a p-value of 0.714 which was not statistically significant at the 0.05 level, hence we fail to reject the null hypothesis that, resource allocation has no influence on strategic plan implementation. The findings from the fourth objective produced a positive coefficient of 0.2519 on stakeholder participation in school development plans with a p-value of 0.000 which was statistically significant at 0.05 level, thus we reject the null hypothesis that, stakeholder participation in school development plans has no influence on strategic plan implementation. From the study findings, the study concluded that institutional leadership and stakeholders’ participation in institution development plans have a statistically significant influence on strategic plan implementation; however institutional structure does not have a statistically significant influence on strategic plan implementation even though school structure is positively and significantly related to strategic plan implementation, in addition, institutional allocation of resources had no statistically significant influence on strategic plan implementation in public secondary schools in Machakos County. Based on these findings, the study recommends that the school Principals ought to make sure that there is clarity in co-coordinating the curriculum, and stakeholders’ need to honor the invitation to participate in the school development plans in the strategic plan. Description: Doctor of philosophy in economics of education and planning, 2024 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.seku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/7719 Title: Stakeholders’ intervention measures in curbing teenage pregnancy crisis in public secondary schools in Machakos county, Kenya Authors: Musyoka, Julie Mutindi Abstract: Teenage pregnancy remains a persistent global crisis that profoundly impacts the socio-economic wellbeing of nations, citizens and families. It is a main contributor to school dropout rates, poor academic achievements, early marriages, and decreased school attendance for female learners. The study sought to investigate stakeholders’ intervention measures in curbing teenage pregnancy crisis in public secondary schools in Machakos County, Kenya. The aims of the research were to authedicate the relationship between parental socio-economic support to their daughters and teenage pregnancy; examine the relationship between school guidance and counseling programs and teenage pregnancy; assess the relationship between principal’s involvement of parents in student’s discipline and teenage pregnancy and investigate the relationship between Life Skills Education and teenage pregnancy in public secondary schools in Machakos County. The reviewed Literature was based on the research aims whereas the research was anchored on social learning theory postulated by Albert Bandura (1966). The research utilized a descriptive research design. The research target population was 360 principals, 360 Heads of Department (HOD’s) Guidance and Counseling (G&C), 360 Parent Association (PA) chairpersons and, 103,517 students. The study gathered data from a sample of 189 schools comprising Boys only, Girls only and Mixed schools. The participants of the study, who were proportionately sampled included; principals, HOD’s G&C, PA chair persons and form three students from the selected schools. Data was collected using questionnaires, interview schedules, Focused Group Discussions (FGD) and document analysis. The Collected data was analyzed using SPSS software version 25. Descriptive analysis was done using frequencies, measures of central tendency and dispersion particularly the mean and standard deviation. Hypotheses were tested using Pearsons’ correlation coefficient at the 0.05 level of significance. The study results revealed that teenage pregnancy was prevalent in Machakos county with an average of 173 cases recorded annually. Each school in the county also recorded at least 2 cases of teenage pregnancy yearly. Further, the findings from the research show that there was a positive and significant relationship between parental socio-economic support on their daughters and teenage pregnancy (rp =.550 & rh = 0.497; p≤ .05). There was also a positive and significant relationship between school G&C programs and teenage pregnancy (rp =.361 & rh = 0.497; p≤ .05). Additionally, the study found a positive and significant relationship between principal’s engagement of parents in student’s discipline and teenage pregnancy (rp =.379 & rh = 0.564; p≤ .05). Lastly, the research findings revealed that there was also a positive and significant relationship between Life Skills Education and teenage pregnancy in public secondary schools in Machakos County, Kenya (rp =.575 & rh = 0.414; p≤ .05). The study suggests that the Ministry of Education(MoE) should give incentives to inspire more education sector players to participate in giving socio-economic support to girls from lower socio-economic backgrounds as well as making G&C programs mandatory in all schools. Further, the research recommends that PAs should work collaboratively with principals to make sure that parents are engaged in all matters affecting their children and that KICD should review the Life Skill Education syllabus to include content on sex education. In addition, the MOE should include LSE in teacher education as a learning area or infuse LSE in a specific subject combination so that the Teachers Service Commission(TSC) posts teachers to teach LSE specifically, making it compulsory and examinable. It is hoped that through these interventions, teenage pregnancy cases in the county will significantly reduce. Description: Doctor of philosophy in educational administration, 2024 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.seku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/7706 Title: Family-based determinants influencing students’ academic participation in public day secondary schools in Makueni County, Kenya Authors: Nzina, Jacinta W. Abstract: Over the years, the government of Kenya has implemented various programs and policies in a bid to enhance students’ academic participation in secondary education across the nation. While several gains had been realized as a result of these initiatives in terms of access, retention and completion among secondary school students, in Makueni County, a considerable number of students were not able to participate fully in their studies as expected. Research had shown that enhanced students’ academic participation in schools depended on the commitment of both the government and households/guardians. Hence, family-based determinants were likely to influence students’ academic participation in public day secondary schools. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to establish the influence of family-based factors on students’ academic participation in public day secondary schools in Makueni County, Kenya. This study particularly sought to determine the influence of parents’ ability to pay user charges, parental involvement in students’ learning activities, home-school distance, parental level of education and home environment on students’ participation in public day secondary schools in Makueni County. This study was guided by the human capital theory. The study employed concurrent research design of mixed methods approach. The study targeted all the 250 public day secondary schools in Makueni County. The units of observation were 250 principals, 380 Form 4 class teachers, 250 PA chair persons and 108 area chiefs. The sampling techniques were stratification and random sampling. The sample size included 50 principals, 76 class teachers and 50 PA chairpersons from the 50 schools sampled and 21 chiefs, making a total of 197 research participants. Data was collected using questionnaires, interview schedules and document analyses. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24 and presented using frequency tables and graphs while qualitative data was analyzed thematically and presented using narratives and appropriate verbatim quotes. Descriptive statistics used were mainly mean and standard deviation while inferential statistics used were both correlation and regression analyses. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were used to determine the correlation between the independent and dependent variables. Bivariate regression analysis was used to show the individualized influence of each independent variable on the dependent variable while the joint influence for all the independent variables was demonstrated using multiple regression analysis. Bivariate regression estimates were used in hypothesis testing where inferences were made at the 0.05 level of significance. The study established that parents’ ability to pay user charges, parental involvement in students’ learning activities, parental level of education and home environment positively and significantly influenced students’ academic participation in public day secondary schools in Makueni County. On the other hand, home-school distance had a negative significant influence on students’ academic participation in these schools. Based on these findings, the formulated null hypotheses that family-based factors did not have a statistically significant influence on students’ participation in public day secondary schools in Makueni County were rejected. Thus, the study concluded that parents’ ability to pay user charges, parental involvement in students’ learning activities, home-school distance, parental level of education and home environment were significant family-based determinants influencing students’ academic participation in public day secondary schools in Makueni County. One of the recommendations from this study was that government should increase the amount of FDSE allocations channeled to schools to cover user charges imposed, boost scholarships and bursary schemes and also implement feeding programmes for the day scholars. The study also called for construction of more public day secondary schools in strategic areas near communities, expansion of boarding facilities and increase sensitization campaigns on the importance of education targeting parents/guardians. The study also recommended that school administrators should organize more frequent academic clinics and PTA meetings, allow school fees to be paid in installments and in -kind where possible and also establish active guidance and counseling departments among other recommendations. Description: Doctor of Philosophy in Economics of Education and Planning, 2024 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z