| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that influence the retention of female students in secondary schools in Muhoroni division, Muhoroni District of Kisumu County. The study identified the gaps which paved way for the recommendations of intervention measures that would improve the retention of female students in secondary schools in Muhoroni District. This would enhance the attainment of their primary purpose of retaining female students in secondary schools. The schools studied included Koru Girls’ Secondary school, Chemelil Academy and Muhoroni Mixed Secondary School.
Five research questions were formulated to guide the study. Research question one was to identify how early marriage affected the retention of female students in secondary schools in Muhoroni Division, research question two was to examine how initiation rites affect retention of female students in secondary schools in Muhoroni Division, research question three was to examine how the attitudes of parents affect female education in secondary schools in Muhoroni Division, research question four sought to investigate how roles in the society and domestic labour influence the retention of girls in secondary school education in Muhoroni Division, research question five was to examine how poverty influence the retention of girl – child education in secondary schools in Muhoroni Division.
Literature review dealt with the retention of girls in secondary education. The areas covered by literature review included:- Benefits of educating women, status of enrolment in Kenyan education system, early marriages and retention of girls in secondary schools, initiation ceremonies and the retention of girls in secondary schools, attitude of parents towards secondary school education for girls, domestic labour and the retention of girls in secondary schools, roles in society and how they affect the retention of girls in secondary schools and lastly poverty and its impact on the retention of girls in secondary schools. The sample consisted of three out of nine head teachers constituting a quarter of the total administrators and twenty nine out of two hundred and twenty six students constituting 1/8th of the total number of students. The method of allocation was to ensure that the population size was reflected in the sample size.
The findings revealed that there were several factors that influenced the retention rate of female students in secondary schools in Muhoroni Division ranging from early marriage which affected the retention of girl child in Secondary Schools, initiation rites which interfered with the normal school and class attendance, the attitudes of parents which at times were negative on the girl child and most of the parents preferred educating boys to girls, the roles in the society and domestic labour were overwhelming for the girl child leaving the girls to be seriously exhausted and cannot concentrate in the class work and lastly poverty which seriously affected the education of girls as a result of the death of parents leaving the girl child to lack school fees and depend on the guardians and well wishers. The result of these are observed on the low retention rate of female students in secondary schools in Muhoroni division.
The results also indicate that the school administrators used various methods in handling female students’ retention in schools and these included guidance and counseling, recommendations for bursary fund fees forms, punishments involving parents in matters of student disciplines and mobilization of the community members and well wishers to pay for the disadvantaged girls in secondary schools. However the administrators also agreed that more funding and support from the government and well wishers were needed for the retention of the female students in secondary schools.
It was found out that the factors which influenced the retention of female students in secondary schools in Muhoroni Division included early marriages, the initiation rites especially the female genital mutilation, the attitudes of parents, the roles in the society and domestic labour and lastly the poverty in relation to paying school fees for female students in secondary schools.
In the light of the research findings the researcher recommends that peer educators/counselors should be posted to the mixed and girls secondary schools to survey the girl-child problems and encourage them to seek help to curb the drop out of students in secondary schools. | en |
