Influence of fishing related activities on pupils' participation in primary school education: a case of beaches in West Karachuonyo Division, Kenya

Abstract

It is common practice in fishing communities that children are often assimilated into the fishing industry at an early age by having to help their parents or guardians in fishing and fish processing .This has denied many children from fishing communities the opportunity to go to school. Primary school participation rates are very low in schools that are along the beaches of Lake Victoria in Nyanza province. Education system in schools around the beaches experiences high wastage as a result of absenteeism, low completion rate, high rate of dropout and low performance in national examination.

This study sought to investigate the influence of fishing related activities on pupils' participation in primary education along the beaches of Lake Victoria in West Karachuonyo Division. It further sought to investigate the measures and explore the interventions that could be used to increase the participation of pupils in education. It is hoped that the study would provide an insight into influence of fishing related activities on pupils' participation in primary school education along the beaches of Lake Victoria.

The study was restricted to the schools that were under the influence of the beaches. The selected schools acted as units of observation from where the respondents were drawn. Social-ecological theory was used in this study to explain the dynamic interaction between individual and their immediate environment and make us understand how such interaction influences various human activities. Descriptive survey was used for this study as it provided qualitative and quantitative description of sample of population studied. The study aimed at sampling 123 respondents from 21 primary schools. The study also consisted of class teachers for standard 6 and 7 and all head teachers of all the sampled primary schools found within the study region. Primary data was obtained by developing and administering questionnaires to the respondents. The questionnaire contained both open-ended and contingency questions. Pilot study was conducted to test the reliability and the validity of the measuring instruments.

The data was analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. The data collected through questionnaire was coded, summarised, and edited for possible errors. Descriptive statistics was used to compute the data that was collected from the field. Inferential statistics such as chi- square test was used to test hypothesis at 00.5 level of significant. The data collected was processed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).The result of the analyses was used to document the findings of the study. It was established that gender, age and class level of pupils participating in fishing related activities influenced their participation in primary education. The study also established that various fishing related activities such as actual fishing and seasoning of fish influenced pupils' participation in primary education.

The study explored strategies that could be employed to increase pupils' participation in primary school education. The study concluded that demographic characteristics of pupils participating in fishing related activities influenced their participation in primary education and that actual fishing and seasoning of fish influenced pupils' participation rates in education. The study concluded that concerted efforts be made by way of developing appropriate strategies to help increase pupils' participation in education. The study made recommendations based on the findings of the study and gave suggestions for further reading.