Determinants Of Form Two Students Dropout From Secondary Schools In Bahi District: Dodoma Region

ABSTRACT

The study investigated the determinants of form two students‟ dropout in community secondary schools in Bahi district of Dodoma region. The study was governed by Frustration-Self-Esteem model developed by Jeremy Finn in the year 1989.The study further employed cross-sectional survey design. The study employed a mixed approach where both qualitative and quantitative data were analysed. A total of 101 respondents were involved in the study comprising of (1) DEO, (7) HoS, (7) Discipline Teachers, (7) Class Teachers, (30) Parents and (49) Form Three Students. The data collection methods used in the study included the questionnaires, interviews, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), observations and documentary review. Data obtained from fieldwork were analysed quantitatively using SPSS software 25 version and the results were presented in the form of Tables, frequencies and percentages, whereas qualitative data were analysed through thematic analysis based on the themes of the research questions and were presented using Tables, frequencies and percentages.

The findings of the study revealed that, the main casual factors of students‟ dropout from secondary schools were poverty, hunger, early marriage, distance from home to schools, students‟ involvement in Income Generating Activities (IGA) and lack of hostel services. Moreover, the study revealed that Bahi being a semi-arid district, the main causes of students‟ dropout were poverty, hunger, shifting of families to places with good climatic condition, lack of school lunch, lack of hostel services and lack of clean and safe water. Moreover, the findings revealed the mechanisms that have been used to address the problem. These include: providing guidance and counselling to students, conducting meetings with parents improving teacher-student relationship, improving academic performance, introducing school lunch, building of hostels, and introduction of sports / games in schools and enforcing of school by-laws.

The study recommends that there is a need of providing lunch to students in secondary schools, building hostels, providing clean and safe water to secondary schools, starting of several generating income projects in secondary schools such as poultry keeping, brick making, shops etc, educating the parents and the society on the importance of education to their children so that they can also help their children to value education.