The causes of high public primary learners drop outs hence Lowering academic performance in Kivaa Zone, Masinga Division, Masinga District Machakos County

Abstract

According to many philosophers and researchers in education like Maria Montessori, Jean Peaget and others , learning is the process of acquiring knowledge skills and attitudes for a permanent change of behaviour. This being the case children should be given a continuous process of learning. When the process is cut or has a gap then there will be a problem in achieving the permanent change of behaviour of which it will be a temporary change of behaviour. The study is then based on the lack of continuous process of learning and the fact that contributes to this , hence having school drop outs. Thus having not completely achieving the continuous process. The drop outs will be targeted in the public primary schools in Kivaa Zone , Masinga Division , Masinga District in Machakos County. The study then shall focus on :- The rate of school drop outs in the public primary schools, the factors that has contributed to the school drop outs, what has been done to curb the drop outs of the children, the education impact of the school drop outs and where the drop outs ends up in the society. The study will have five corresponding research questions :- what are the factors that have led to school drop outs , What is been done to reduce the menace of school drop outs, what is the education impact in the acquisition of learning process in the school drop outs and where does the drop outs ends up in the society. The study will have the following assumptions that learning process is affected in the drop outs and they do not acquire the skills , attitudes and knowledge for a permanent change. They end up in temporary change which fades away after sometime and the drop outs stays as if they never went to school. The community and the government should be doing something to reduce this menace. The researcher will employ a mixed research design which will involve both quantitative and qualitative analysis of data and also questionnaires and interviews will be used in data collection where by the respondents will consist of 20 schools, eight pupils one per each class from class four to class eight, the 20 head teachers of each selected school , one parent from each school and twenty drop outs one from each school. Various findings will be discussed, the culture, age , the work load in the schools and the reason of learners for dropping out of school. There is the need for the community , individual and government to work in unity to reduce the act of dropping out of school for a permanent change of behaviour to be achieved in a continuous process of learning.