Determinants of Truancy among Secondary School Students and It’s Effect on Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Performance in Central Division, Machakos County
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Date
2017-07
Authors
Kiendi, John
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
Secondary school tier of education is very essential in every student‟s life as its completion ensures that they get a chance to advance academically and eventually get employed into a well-paying job or at list ensure acquisition of knowledge relevant to future advancement. However, despite the importance of this level of education, secondary school students in Machakos County continue to frequently miss school posing a greater risk to their educational development and future economic status due to the effects associated with poor academic qualifications such as crime and poor remuneration creating the need for this study to try and find out the determinants of truancy among secondary school students and its effect on KCSE performance in Central Division, Machakos County of Kenya. The social control theory as advanced by Hirschi was used to guide this study. An ex-post factor study design was used in this study. The study population comprised secondary school students in Machakos County alone. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the required respondents as it eliminates the possibility of any form of bias in respondents selection. Structured questionnaire was the preferred instrument of data collection among the respondents. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software to generate frequency of answers, percentages, tables, figures. The results showed that there were school-related, home-related and individual student-related determinants of truancy in Machakos central division. Of these schools and home-related determinants influenced truancy among male students that female students while individual related determinants influenced truancy among female students more. These determinants were also shown by the study to affect student academic achievement with male students academic achievement being affected the most. The study concludes that in Machakos County public secondary schools, there exists numerous school, home and individual student-related determinants that influence truancy among learners. The researcher recommends that appropriate policies be developed to eliminate these determinants and measures be developed to minimize the effects of truancy on truant learners academic achievement. All the rights of the respondents and ethical issues pertaining to research were observed during this study
Description
A Research Project Submitted in Partial Fullfillment for the Degree of Master of Education in the School of Education at Kenyatta University. July, 2017