THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF MARSABIT ON STUDENTS’ RETENTION IN SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MARSABIT COUNTY– KENYA
Abstract
Purpose of the Study: This study sought to establish the contribution of the Catholic Diocese of Marsabit on students’ retention in selected schools in Marsabit County. Catholic Diocese of Marsabit has contributed tremendously in the development of education sector in Marsabit because many of the government schools in Marsabit were established and built by the Catholic Church. Despite the effort made by the Church to enable pastoralist children get equal opportunity for education with other parts of Kenya, many children are engaged in pastoralist activities such as looking after livestock. This lack of school attendance has highlighted the need for students’ retention in school. Two research questions and Tinto’s theory of students’ retention guided the study.
Statement of the Problem: Despite the effort of the government of Kenya, the Catholic Church and other Non-Government Organization, retention of students in secondary schools in Marsabit County remains as challenge because the pastoralist communities have not yet seen the importance of education.
Research Methodology: This study adopted convergent parallel mixed method design. The target secondary schools, principals, teachers, students and county education directors in Marsabit County. Both probability and non-probability sampling was used to establish the samples for the study. 400 respondents were sampled from the target population of 2,000 in four of 12 Catholic sponsored secondary schools in Marsabit County. The respondents comprised of 4 principals, 16 teachers, 16 parents and 364 students. Simple random sampling as part of probability sampling was employed to select the students, teachers and parents from the 4 selected secondary schools, while non-probability sampling mainly purposive sampling was used to sample the principals. Questionnaires and interview guides were used as the main data collection tools. The instruments’ validity and reliability was tested through test-retest technique. A pilot study was carried out in two of the Catholic sponsored secondary schools within an interval of one month. Data analysis was done through mixed method analysis whereby quantitative data analyzed through statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) while, data from qualitative interviews was analyzed and presented in a thematic-narrative form.
Findings: The study established that the Catholic Diocese of Marsabit through its sponsorship and donations, educational program like leadership training program and services such as guiding and counseling played a big role in enhancing students’ retention in Catholic sponsored secondary schools.
Conclusion and Recommendations: going by the findings of the study, it was concluded that, the Catholic Diocese of Marsabit was undeniable champion and promoter of education in the County because through its initiatives programs, almost all the students who were enrolled in school were retained till the completion of secondary level. The study recommended that other faith-based organizations to be in the forefront in promoting students’ retention in school. It further suggested that the government to invest a lot in sensitizing the pastoralist communities about the importance of education and the needs for students’ retention in secondary school. In addition, the study suggested that, the school heads to come up with programs that can help in retention of students in secondary schools. The study recommended further researches to be conducted to establish the challenges of students’ retention in secondary schools.
Keywords: Retention, Student, Motivation, Programs, Sponsorship, Donations, Guiding, Counseling, Leadership, Performance.
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