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Kenyatta University Institutional Repository is a digital archive that collects, preserves and disseminates scholarly outputs of the Institution
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A Critique of Abakhayo’s Conception of the Girl Child’s Right to Education in the Light of Thomistic Concept of Person
(Kenyatta University, 2025-10) Daniel Wabwire
This study offers a philosophical reflection on the Abakhayo community’s conception of the girl child’s right to education, examined in light of the Thomistic concept of person. Guided by four objectives, the study sought to; first, explain the concept of personhood in the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, second, elucidate the Abakhayo people’s understanding of the personhood of a woman, third, assess how this conception has impacted the girl child’s access to education as a human right, and finally, propose a person-centred model that affirms girls’ right to education. The research adopted a qualitative, phenomenological approach enriched by philosophical analysis. Primary data were gathered through focused group discussions and key informant interviews with elders, educators, women, and girls from Nambale and Matayos sub-counties of Busia County, while secondary data came from literature, policy documents, and scholarly works. The analysis was reflective, interpretive, and guided by Thomistic thought. The findings reveal that Aquinas’ conception of personhood emphasizes rationality, dignity, and incommunicable individuality, implying that both men and women share equal capacity and rights. By contrast, the Abakhayo community’s conception is retrogressively shaped by socio-cultural practices that privilege men and marginalize women and girls. Attributes of personhood, such as wisdom, leadership, and entitlement to property, are predominantly associated with men, while women are often regarded as “lesser persons.” This perception has profoundly influenced educational opportunities, as boys are prioritized for schooling while girls face systemic barriers, including early marriage, child labour, discriminatory traditions, and policies that reinforce cultural bias. The study concludes that the denial of education to girls among the Abakhayo is rooted in a distorted communal conception of personhood that undermines their dignity and rights. However, the Thomistic concept provides a normative lens through which these cultural limitations can be critiqued and corrected. Based on these insights, the study recommends a reorientation of cultural values and policies toward a person-centred model that recognizes the girl child as a full human person with equal educational entitlements. This requires integrating values of dignity and justice into curricula, enforcing legal frameworks on gender equity, and fostering awareness within communities to dismantle stereotypes and harmful practices. The study also calls for further research into the interplay between personhood, gender, and ethics across other African contexts where similar patterns of exclusion persist. Ultimately, the study underscores that the sustainable transformation of the Abakhayo community and, by extension, many African societies depends on affirming the intrinsic worth of the girl child as a person and ensuring her right to education is fully protected.
Implications of Visual Impairment (VI) on Performance of Gender Roles among Kipsigis Women in the Family in Kericho County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2025-11) Moturi, Dennis Nyariki; Pacificah Okemwa
Sheila Mutuma
The study sought to assess how visual impairment affects the performance of gender roles among Kipsigis women in Ainamoi Sub County in Kericho County. Among the Kipsigis, there are gender roles performed by men and women. Attributable to patriarchy and other socially constructed aspects, it is women who end up performing most of these gender roles in families. The research objectives were – to establish the gender roles assigned to Kipsigis women; to find out how visually impaired women cope in performance of their gender roles; to examine the challenges faced by visually impaired Kipsigis women in the performance of gender roles; and to investigate the possible strategies that can be adopted to mitigate the challenges faced by visually impaired women in performing their gender roles. The research was conducted in Ainamoi Sub County, Kericho County. Households with visually handicapped women were the target. The investigation was guided by the social model of disability. The study employed a descriptive research methodology, and 166 participants were selected using a simple random selection procedure. A closed-ended questionnaire was used to gather data, and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 21) was used for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used, and they were displayed as frequencies and percentages. Tables, charts, graphs, and summaries were used to display the data. Results showed that as a result of visual impairment, Kipsigis women in Ainamoi Sub County encounter challenges in mobility, identification and location of items and determination of quality. Challenges are also evident in meal preparation and cooking. Similarly, results showed that dependence on family and friends has seen visually impaired women cope with challenges, thereby perform their gender roles. It is recommended that family members motivate the visually impaired to perform their tasks. In cases of poor performance, family members should feel free to correct them. For businesses, it will be vital for them to provide necessary assistance to the visually impaired. For county and national governments, it is recommended that they create awareness to minimize stigma on disability. It is also recommended that the visually impaired are involved in decision making before implementation of programs and projects targeting them.
Exploring Influence of School Type, Gender and Parental Engagement on Pre-Schoolers’ Acquisition of Early Language Competencies in Busia County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2025-10) Onyango,Consolata Nabwire
Early language competencies such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing enable learners to communicate and use both printed and electronic learning resources effectively. These competencies serve as the foundation for gradual development of other core competencies. This study was therefore conducted to explore children’s acquisition of early language competencies, owing to their significance in pre-primary school. Specifically, the study aimed at exploring the influence of type of school, gender and parental engagement on children’s acquisition of early language competencies. The parental involvement theoretical model by Epstein (2009), was used to inform the study, while ex post facto research design was utilised to guide the research. Purposive, stratified, and simple random techniques were used to select 7 public schools and 4 private ones out of the 67 public and 40 private schools. A similar number of teachers were purposively sampled from the above schools, while 172 PP2 children/ parents from public schools and 82 children/parents from private randomly selected, formed the study’s sample. Early language skills checklist, questionnaire and interview schedules were used for data collection. A pilot study was conducted in two primary schools. Content validity was used to determine research tools validity, whereas reliability of the instruments was established using test-retest method. Thematic analysis was employed to probe qualitative data, while descriptive analysis was used to summarise quantitative data where frequencies, percentages, and means were generated. Additionally, inferential statistics involving two-sample t test (independent t test) and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient were used to test null hypotheses. Results revealed that majority of learners had not acquired the expected early language competencies. Learners in private schools had acquired higher language competencies compared to their counterparts in public pre-primary schools. In addition, female learners had acquired more early language competencies than their male counterparts. The results further revealed that majority of parents did not adequately participate in activities to develop their children’s early language competencies. This research recommends that parents should get more involved in activities to develop their children's early language competencies. Management of pre-primary school should introduce programmes to encourage parents to closely monitor and participate in activities that may enhance pre-school children’s acquisition of early language competencies.
Correlates and Modelling of Households Graduation from the Hunger Safety Net Programme in Marsabit County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2025-12) Rufo, Boniface Munene
Poverty and food insecurity remain high in Marsabit County, Kenya, despite the implementation of social protection interventions such as the Hunger Safety Net Programme. Moreover, there is limited empirical evidence on household graduation, which is a critical component of effective social protection. Therefore, this study focused on assessing the correlates and modelling of households graduation from the Hunger Safety Net Programme in Marsabit County, Kenya. Key independent variables examined included household-level characteristics, Hunger Safety Net Programme support mechanisms, community-level factors, and adaptive coping mechanisms. The dependent variable was households graduation from the Hunger Safety Net Programme. The study was guided by social protection theory, social capital theory, and the theory of change. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted. Data were collected from 334 primary respondents within their households, five key informants, three focus group discussions, and five respondents who shared the most significant stories. SPSS version 25 and STATA version 16 were used to compute quantitative statistics, while qualitative data were analysed in narratives. The findings revealed that household-level characteristics had a statistically significant correlation with households graduation. Simple linear regression analysis indicated that cash transfer amount, adequacy of cash transfer, and duration of support had a statistically significant association with households graduation. Community associations, community participation, community trust, and community leadership were also found to have a statistically significant correlation with households graduation. The study also found that households relied on indigenous agro-pastoral practices, livelihood diversification, financial credits, food coping mechanisms, and social insurance systems within their communities as adaptive coping mechanisms. However, there was no statistically significant correlation between adaptive coping mechanisms and households graduation. Overall, the majority of the households that had graduated from the Hunger Safety Net Programme were still food insecure and were likely to fall back and require social safety net support. The study recommends that the Hunger Safety Net Programme provide the graduated households with capacity-building interventions such as seed capital, skills training, financial literacy, community networking, and linkages. Community participation in selecting households to graduate should also be encouraged to cultivate a sense of ownership. Finally, the Hunger Safety Net Programme and other social safety nets of a similar nature should consider adopting the household graduation model developed in this study for sustainable graduation.
Integrated Marketing Communications Mix and Adoption of a Sports Culture by Academic Staff of Chartered Public Universities in Nairobi City County, Kenya
(Kenyatta University, 2025-11) Mulili, Benjamin Mwanzia
The practice of using ideas from the experience of others in the making and implementation of
policy locally is not new. It can be an effective way for governments to learn what to pursue and
what to avoid. Governments discovered that instead them to engage in the slow process of
learning by doing, they can simply learn by observing the policy experience of others. Therefore,
it should be possible for one government to pick policy ideas, in whole or parts, with the view to
using it to help solve an existing policy challenge in their own system. Scholars have ascribed
different names to explain this process. These include diffusion, transfer, lesson drawing, policy
mobilities and translation among various cognates. While slightly different, what these related
fields of studies have in common is that they attempt to trace the movement of policies from one
setting to another, helping to address questions such as: why and how policies move, who is
involved in this movement, what actually is moved, and who is involved in this process.
However, despite the extensive nature of the literature, gaps still exist in relation to the capacity
of the policy receptors to incorporate borrowed lessons. Similarly, agency, motive, cognition,
capacity and time are all in need of further development. This thesis is designed to help fill these
gaps. It draws on Punctuated Equilibrium Theory to complement the Policy Transfer heuristic to
provide a theoretical prism to investigate the phenomenon. Inductive-interpretive method was
used to extend Critical Realism research to study the interaction of agency and structure. Thus,
two main data collection approaches were used: primary document review and semi-structured
interviews. Based on interviews with 24 Task Force members, sourced through purposive and
snow-ball techniques (complemented primarily by official publications of Kenya‘s Ministry of
Health, and the World Health Organization), this study inductively conducted Braun and
Clarke‘s Six-Step thematic analysis. The findings showed that lessons have been offered to
Kenya Task Force by the WHO, the former utilized the lessons in coming up with Kenya‘s
COVID-19 measures; and that the WHO advice was combined with ideas borrowed from other
sources. The study also found that the Task Force members actively (and willingly) participated
in the transfer process; thus they had a positive relation with the WHO. Furthermore, despite
some delays in declaring the pandemic and in generating Kenya‘s initial responses, the WHO
was generally prompt in guiding Kenya to enact national guidelines. This study discovered that,
after the initial transfer, the transfer actors have improved their response time for the integration
of lessons in the second wave. However, it slowed in the third. Other findings were: there were
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varied choices among Task Force members on specific choices, the Task Force members had the
needed agency to determine the transfer and no conflict was found between the sending actors
and the receiving actors of the IPC. Finally, the study also found that the capacity of Kenya at the
outset of the pandemic was mixed: it had a pre-existing IPC but suffered the dearth of key
infrastructure and supplies. Despite this, Kenya provided support to its contiguous neighbors
(Seychelles, Somalia and South Sudan) who were in much dire needs. The study thus concluded
that the transfer of the IPC measures from the WHO was instrumental to Kenya‘s COVID-19
policies. Therefore, this thesis recommends reducing the number of Task Forces in future
pandemics, sustaining the voluntary nature of international health regulation, making timely
decisions, encouraging accountability and transparency within Task Force membership and
robust investment in Kenya‘s health sector