Determinants of Attendance in Alternative Primary Schools in Mathare Slum, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to establish the influence of home-based and school-based factors on pupils’ school attendance in Alternative Primary Schools in Mathare Constituency, Nairobi. The study employed the correlational design. The Study population was 18,000 pupils, 58 head teachers and 604 teachers. The sample size comprised of 12 head teachers (20%), 60 teachers (10%) and 317 pupils (1.8%). The study established that there was a strong positive and statistically significant correlation between home background characteristics and pupils’ school attendance in Alternative Primary Schools (r = .935, p = .012) at alpha 0.05 level of statistical significance. Further, a strong negative and statistically significant (r = -.662, p = .033) correlation at alpha 0.05 level of confidence exists between family size and pupils’ school attendance in Alternative Primary Schools.