Thesis Title: Determinants of Pupils’ Transition to Secondary Schools in Busia County, Kenya

Student’s Name: Obore Assumpta Nekesa

Supervisors Name

1.Prof. Julius Kiprop Maiyo

2. Dr. Sarah Naliaka Likoko

ABSTRACT

Education is acknowledged as a fundamental human right all throughout the world, and Kenya agrees. Investments in education can promote economic growth, increase productivity, aid in the development of the nation and society, and lessen social inequality. The sector of education with the quickest growth is currently secondary education, which was previously undervalued. Increased secondary education accessibility may affect welfare. People with a secondary education are less likely to experience poverty than people with less education. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of pupils’ transition to secondary schools in Busia County. The objectives of study were to; evaluate the influence of family background on the pupils’ transition to secondary schools in Busia County, determine the effect of socio-cultural factors on the pupils’ transition to secondary schools in Busia County, analyze the influence of pupil’s characteristics on the transition to secondary schools in Busia County and establish the effect of school levies on pupil transition to secondary schools in Busia County. The Structural Functionalism, Cultural Deficit, and Classical Liberal Theories served as the foundation for this study. For this study, a descriptive research survey design was used. 1508 respondents made up the study’s target population. This group included 60 chiefs and 1448 village elders from 60 different Busia County sites. The 290 village elders and the 12 Chiefs were chosen using stratified and straightforward random selection techniques. A closed-ended questionnaire with a Likert type scale of 1 to 5 and an interview schedule were used to gather the data. My supervisors and Kibabii University’s expertise assessment ensured the questionnaire’s validity. The test-and- retest approach was employed to assess the instruments’ reliability, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was utilized to gauge their internal consistency. The test and retest results had a strong positive association, as indicated by the correlation coefficient of 0.754 that was found. Texts and direct extracts from the data were used in the presentation. Percentages, frequencies, weighted averages, Pearson correlation, basic linear regression, and multi-linear regression were used to code and evaluate quantitative data. The results of this study showed that student failure to transition from primary to secondary level is primarily caused by school levies, family background, pupils characteristics and socio-cultural factors. The study recommended that in order to accomplish a 100% transition policy as a state mandate, the government should appropriately address concerns associated to transition.