Thesis:

Influence of principals’ sanitation management practices on safety of students in public secondary schools in Kangema sub-county, Murang’a county, Kenya

Management of sanitation assures the protection of health and provides a safe environment in schools. Nevertheless, public secondary schools in the Kangema Sub county still report cases of injuries, food poisoning, and even fatalities. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of principals’ sanitation management practices on safety issues regarding students in public secondary schools located within Kangema Sub county, Murang’a County, Kenya. Further goals pursued included exploring impacts arising from compliance with personal hygiene rules, handwashing protocols, toileting as well as waste disposal activities on the safety of students within those secondary schools. The study was guided by the theories of sanitation management and hygiene and safety. The overall approach was mixed methodology alongside concurrent triangulation research design. There were 1,463 respondents comprising 27 principals, 1,434 teachers, and two Sub-County Directors of Education (TSC & MoE). From this population a sample size of 312 was calculated using Yamane’s Formula. Stratified sampling created five strata aligning with the number of zones in Kangema Sub-county. Four principals from each zone were selected through purposive sampling while all Sub-County Directors of Education were considered irrespective to selection criteria for this study. Nonetheless, from each zone, 58 teachers were identified through simple random sampling. This procedure achieved a sample of 20 principals, 290 teachers, and 2 Sub-county Directors of Education. Quantitative data from the teachers was collected through questionnaires while qualitative data from the principals and Sub-county Directors of Education was collected using interviews. To assess validity, reliability, trustworthiness and dependability of the research instruments piloted testing was conducted with 32 participants drawn from two secondary school public schools located in Kangema Sub-county. Validity was established using expert judgment while reliability was established through test-retest method. High internal reliability was observed with a significant Cronbach Alpha value (r=0.725). Credibility was ensured by means of data triangulation described as multi-faceted analysis while dependability is detailed reporting outlining every step involved in the collection process. Thematic analysis aligned to specific objectives guided qualitative data interpretation and the narratives formulated captured key findings whilst recounting them constructively. Quantitative results were processed descriptively through frequency tallies alongside percentage representation and inferentially via Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Analysis all analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 25) where results were tabulated for ease of comprehension and review. The study found that the safety and security of learners in Kenya's public secondary schools poses major challenges because incidences like food poisoning, injuries, and other sanitation epidemics continue to occur. Initiatives to solve these problems have led school principals to adopt numerous enforcement policies on sanitation covering students’ personal hygiene, handwashing, use of toilets, as well as waste disposal. These policies have not been successful. Therefore, the investigation recommends that instead, health policies framed around comprehensive hygiene needs gap analysis aimed at development should be tailored and enforced by the school heads. Also, they must ensure that students are compliant with the enforced handwashing etiquette. It is also necessary for them to make certain that schools maintain a sufficient ratio of toilets proportional to the student population alongside enforcing strict toilet usage policies and regulations. Finally, it remains important for these school reportedly continue supporting adherence by students to set procedures on waste disposal endorsed.