| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing the girls’ performance in
education in Mbeere North, Siakago Sub-County, in Embu County. The study employed
a descriptive research design and targeted students in 10 public primary schools to
represent the 95 public primary schools within Mbeere North, Siakago Sub-County. The
main respondents were; primary school students and teachers. Stratified random sampling
technique was used. The target population was divided into strata on the basis of subgroups.
In this regard, a total of 40 respondents were sampled from the 10 primary
schools selected of virtue of sex, age, role and the kind of information needed
representing the 95 public primary schools. The study used questionnaire and focus
groups discussions. Purposive sampling technique was utilized to help identify the
interviewees and the female students. All respondents completed questionnaires and the
questionnaires were edited for completeness and consistency, checked for errors and
omissions and then coded. The quantitative data were processed with the help of
Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) software programme while the qualitative
data were subjected to content analysis from where relevant information was extracted.
The data were presented using tables to give a clear picture of research findings at a
glance. The findings of the study indicate the influence of socio-cultural factors such as
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), early marriages, school absenteeism and school
dropout.
It is the role of the government that parents and the community should be sensitized on
the importance of girl child education. The results revealed that in Mbeere North Siakago
Sub-County, Embu County FGM has an influence on girls’ performance in education,
FGM influences girls dropout rates from schools, there is a significance difference
between in age of marriage between girls who have undergone through FGM and those
that have not. It also revealed that there is a relationship between FGM and girls
absenteeism in schools. Based on the study findings the researcher recommended that the
government should ensure that parents and the community are sensitized on the
importance of girl child education. It also recommended that FGM should be understood
by the community as a gender inequality ad gender based violence, therefore elected
leaders should lobby on its abolition. Further the study suggested that a study to be
carried out on boys so as compare the findings with those of this study. | en_US |
