The implication of child friendly schools practices on enrollment in public primary schools in Nandi North sub- County, Nandi county, Kenya

Abstract

Child-Friendly Schools is an effort to address some of the main obstacles keeping children out of school. However, many primary school children fail to complete the whole school cycle, and thus do not acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes. The main purpose of the study was to assess the implication of child friendly schools practices on enrollment in public primary schools in Nandi North Sub-County, Nandi County, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were; to assess the level of awareness of child friendly school practices in public primary school in Kenya, To explore the level of adoption of child friendly school practices in public primary school in Kenya, To determine the implication of the adoption of child friendly school practices on enrollment in public primary school in Kenya and To recommend ways of enhancing enrollment through child friendly school practices. The study was anchored on Abraham Marlow's (1954) theory of hierarchy of human needs. The study adopted a descriptive survey design and targeted 172 head teachers in public primary schools in Nandi North Sub-County. A sample size of 106 respondents was clustered into educational zones and thereafter selected by use of simple random sampling technique. The research employed the use of questionnaires to collect information relevant to this study. The data collected from the instrument was organized, coded and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Study findings showed that there was a high level awareness of child friendly school practices in primary schools in Nandi County. However, the schools have not ensured that all the dimensions of child friendly school are adopted in the schools. Specifically, parents’ involvement in activities and decisions that affect their children is minimal. The study also established that once the practices of child friendly schools are adopted, enrollment in schools is likely to increase. Therefore the study recommends cooperation and coordination with the all stakeholders in attainment of increased enrollment of children in schools, especially the at- risk children.