Njihia, M.Nderitu, J.Gatwiri, Winnie joy Nkonge2014-07-312014-07-312014-07-31http://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/10799Despite introduction of Free Primary Education in Kenya to aid access to primary education, studies reveal that majority of children from poor backgrounds and marginalized areas are out of school. Consequently, Non Formal Primary Schools have emerged as alternative institutions of providing primary education to those who cannot access formal primary schools. This study seeks to find out why more than 50% of primary school age children in Mathare remain not enrolled in Non Formal primary schools through establishing the determinants of access and participation in Non Formal primary schools in Mathare constituency. Key objectives for the study are: analyze access trends in Non Formal primary schools; identify factors influencing participation in Non Formal primary schools; establish factors that influence dropout rates in Non Formal primary schools and find out factors influencing promotion and repetition rates in Non Formal primary schools. This study adopts the Classical Liberal theory and Social Darwinism theory. Literature has been reviewed along the following themes; examination of equity in education, inequity in access to formal primary education, access to education in slums, and inclusive and equitable primary education. Descriptive survey design will be used in the research. The key variables for the study include independent and dependent variables. The locale of the study will be Mathare Constituency in Nairobi County. Study population is Non Formal primary schools head teachers (58), teachers (604) and pupils (18,000). Sample size will comprise head teachers (12) and teachers (60). Further, Tables for determining sample sizes for a given population will be used to obtain (317) pupils as the sample size. Data collection instruments include questionnaires and observation schedules. Questionnaires will collect data from head teachers, teachers and pupils. Observation schedules will be used to collect data on status of Non Formal primary schools environment. The face and content validity of research instruments will be determined by experts in the area of planning education while the reliability of research instruments will be determined through Test-retest method. The researcher will personally administer the questionnaires to the study respondents and fill in the observation schedules. Data will be analyzed through thematic and descriptive statistics where the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) will be used. The findings of the study will be presented in tables of frequency distributions, percentages, pie charts and graphs.enThesis