Gender Disparities In Accessing Free Primary Education In Kathiani Division, Machakos District

TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................................ i

APPROVAL .............................................................................................................. ii

DEDICATION ........................................................................................................ iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................... iv

CHAPTER ONE ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... ..... ................ 1 1.1

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY ............................................................... 1 1.2

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ............................................................. 2 1.3

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ......................................................................... 3 1.4

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY .................................................................. 3 1.5

RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................ 3 1.6

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ............................................................... 4

CHAPTER TWO ..................................................................................................... 5

LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................. ..................................... 5

2.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 5 2.1

LITERATURF~ REVIEW· ......................................................................... ........ 5 2.2

REVIEW RELATED LITERATURE .......................................... ...... ............ 7 2.2.

1 SOCIAL AND CULTURAL PRACTICES ................................................ 8 2.2.2

HOUSEHOLD FACTORS ........................................................................ 10 2.2.3

SCHOOL-BASED FACTORS ......................................................... ........ 14

CHAPTER THREE .............................................................................................. 17

METHODOLOGY ........................................................................ ................. ....... . 17 3.0

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... ... ........... ...... 17 3.1

REASERCH DESIGN .................................................................................... l7 3.2

STUDY POPULATION ............................ .. : .................................................. 17 3 .3

SCOPE OF THE STUDY ............................................................................. 18 3.4

SAMPLE SIZE AND SAMPLING PROCEDURES ................................ 18 lV 3.5

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS ..................................................................... 1 8 3 .6

DATA COLLECTING PROCEDURES ..................................................... 19 3.7

DATA ANALYSIS ........................................................................................... 19

CHAPTER FOUR ................................................................................................. 20 DATA PRF~ENTATION ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS ............................. ................................................................................. 20 4.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 20 4.2 SCHOOL BASED FACTORS THAT AFFECT ENROLMENT OF GIRLS (Answers Research Question]) ......................................................... 21 4 .3 SOCIAL-CULTURAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT ENROLMENT OF GIRLS (Answers Research Question 2) ......................................................... 22 4.4 HOUSEHOLD FACTORS THAT AFFECT ENROLMENT OF GIRLS ··················· · ········································································································ 25 4.5 SUGGESTIONS TO ENCOURAGE GIRLS' ENROLMENT ............... 28 CHAPTER FIVE ................................................................................................... 30 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..................... 30 5.0 INTRODUC1'ION ................................................................................. .. ........ 30 5.1.1 DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH OBJECTIVE ONE .......................... 30 5 . 1.2 DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH OBJECTIVE TWO .......................... 31 5.1.3 DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH OBJECTIVE THREE ..................... 31 5.2 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................ ....... 32 5.3 RECOMMENDATION .................................................................................. 33 APPENDIX I .......................................................................................................... 3 5 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR HEAD 'TEACHERS ............... ............................... 35 APPENDIX II TEACHERS ................................... ............... ..... ........................ 37 APPENDIX III .................................................................................................... ... 40 INTERVIEW FOR EDUCATION OFFICERS ................ .............................. 40 v APPENDIX IV ....................................................................................................... 42 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS ............................................................ 42 

CHAPTER ONE ] .. 1

INTRODUCTION

Since independence in 1963, education has been recognized as an important sector in Kenya, one of the major strategies of the past colonia l government was to ensure free primary Education (FPE), to realize this, edu cation was declared free. Free Primary Education became a reality when fees for entire primary education was abolished in 1978. However, with introduction of structural adjustment Programme, it led to the shift o the burden of the cost of education to parents. This reversed trend adversely affected access to quality basic education in the entire country. However, due to unequal social economic gender - built in most African societies, the scale of the disadvantaged tipped mor e against girls and women. This group is particularly disadvantaged in terms, of access, retention and p erformance in education.