Relationship between selected socio-cultural factors and enrolment of girls in rural public primary schools in Samburu County, Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to examine the relationship between selected socio-cultural factors and the enrolment of girls in rural public primary schools in Samburu County, Kenya. The Kenyan government strives to promote girl child education as is depicted in the Kenyan Constitution, 2010 and Basic Education Act, 2013. The researcher used a descriptive correlation survey design. The study was guided by Social Conflict Theory by Oberschall. The target population of the research was 136 female teachers and 135 headteachers who happened to be male teachers from rural public primary schools in Samburu County. The sample size for the study was 136 female teachers and 27 headteachers. Out of these, 14 female teachers and 3 headteachers were used for piloting. The researcher used the census method for female teachers who responded to the questionnaires, and a purposive sampling technique was applied for head teachers whose data was obtained using interview schedules. From the hypothesis, the Pearson Correlation Coefficient revealed a statistically significant negative correlation of -0.503 with a p-value (Sig.) of 0.045 less than the .05 p-value. The significance level, at 5 per cent, indicates that with higher socio-cultural factors, there will be a corresponding decrease in girls' enrolment, thus making the null hypothesis to be rejected. The study recommends a holistic approach to enhance girls' education in Samburu County. This behooves educational planners include raising public awareness about the importance of girls' education challenging traditional beliefs and increasing the presence of female teachers.