Influence of Social Factors on Pupils' Transition Rate from Public Primary to Secondary Schools in Kinangop Sub-county, Nyandarua, Kenya

Abstract

Education is the process of imparting and acquiring knowledge in basic skills, academics, technical disciplines and citizenship. In Kinangop Sub-County of Nyandarua County, approximately 30% of pupils who sit for KCPE do not transit to secondary schools. Specifically the study sought to find out the extent to which social factors influence transition rate of pupils from primary to secondary schools in Kinangop Sub-Count. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of selected factors on the transition rate of pupils from public primary to secondary schools in Kinangop Sub-County, Nyandarua, Kenya. The Ecological Systems Theory and the Human Capital Theory informed the study. Sample size consisted of 201 teachers in the sub-county. Data was collected using questionnaire. Consulting supervisors and experts in the Department of Curriculum and Educational Management determined the validity of the research instrument. Reliability was determined through carrying out a pilot study in two schools in the neighbouring Nyandarua South Sub-County and a coefficient of 0.82 was achieved. Collected data was analyzed through simple and multiple regression analysis at .05 alpha level using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. The findings of the study indicated that social factors accounted for 72.0% of the total variance in transition rate of pupils from primary to secondary schools, economic factors accounted for 4.6% of the total variance in transition rate of pupils from primary to secondary schools.  Further, community-based factors accounted for 93.3% of the total variance in transition rate of pupils from primary to secondary schools while school-based factors accounted for 93.7% of the total variance in transition rate of pupils from primary to secondary schools. The findings indicate that the combined effect of social, economic, community-based and school-based factors on the transition rate of pupils from primary to secondary schools in Kinangop Sub-County accounted for 94.5% of the total variance in transition rate of pupils from primary to secondary schools in Kinangop Sub-County, Nyandarua County, Kenya. The findings from the study could be beneficial to school managers, parents, teachers and Ministry of Education as it has revealed the specific factors hindering pupils' transition rate from primary to secondary schools in Kinangop Sub-County, Nyandarua County, Kenya. The findings could also help the aforementioned stakeholders in coming up with strategies that will mitigate factors