Wanjiru, Lucy Njeri2025-07-242025-07-242025-02https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/30787A Research Project Report Submitted at the School of Education in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Education (Early Childhood Education) of Kenyatta University, February 2025. Supervisor Hudson OukoGlobally, the effects of alcohol and substance abuse among youth and young persons are something to worry about particularly in the developing counties. This is so particularly with those areas where studies have shown that they are most affected. In central Kenyan regions for instance there have been reports of severe effect of alcohol use and drug abuse that have resulted in some victims losing their lives and others going blind. Education in such areas is often not the priority to the affected and dysfunctional families. Hence, education at all levels has experienced the effects of alcohol and substance abuse. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of parental alcohol and substance abuse on preprimary school enrolment trends in public and private preprimary schools in Kiambaa Kiambu County. The study was guided by the following objectives; to determine the enrolment trends of preprimary school pupils over the past five years of CBC implementation in Kiambaa sub county, Kiambu County; to analyze preprimary school parents’ levels of alcohol and substance abuse influence on preprimary school enrolment in Kiambaa and to determine preprimary school parents’ perspective towards enrolment of pre-primary school pupils in Kiambaa Kiambu County. The study targeted all the 55 (23 public and 32 private) pre-primary schools in Kiambaa sub-county. Purposive sampling was used to select the locale of the study. Three pubic and four private preprimary schools were selected respectively. All preprimary school teachers from the sample schools were included in the study sample. The study was anchored on the ecological systems theory by Urie Bronfenbrenner. Three instruments were employed namely questionnaire, interviews and observation schedule. Pilot study was done in two schools which were not included in the actual study. Content validity and test re-test technique was employed. A coefficient of P≥0.70 was accepted as good enough. Descriptive data analysis techniques were used to analyze and present the findings. Findings revealed that the enrolment trends were below expected levels and that parental alcohol and substance abuse do affect the enrolment trends to the negative. Parental perspectives were found to be negative and were attributed to the low enrolment trends in the area. It was further established that alcohol and weed/bhang were the most prevalent abused substances. The study recommended that the county government should allocate more resources to support and promote pre-primary schools and that NGOs and CBOs to sensitize community on the effects of alcohol and substance abuse on socioeconomic wellbeing and school enrolment. The study recommends for further study using a larger population and focusing on more factors including school and teacher readiness’s influence on preprimary school access and quality.enThesis