RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHILD ABUSE AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG STUDENTS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN BUNGOMA EAST SUB-COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

The purpose of this studywas to establishthe relationship between child abuse and academic achievement amongstudents inpublic secondary schoolsin Bungoma East sub-county. The issue of concern wasthat a highnumber(15)men appearedin court in February (2012) in Bungoma East sub-county for child abuse ,whilethe sub-county K.C.S.E mean scoreshadremained low since 2007. Besides,the averageK.C.S.Emean score for girlswasconsistentlylower than that of the boys. The specific objectives of the study were, to find out the relationship between sexual abuse and academic achievement, to establish the relationship between child labour and academic achievement, to determine the relationship between psychological abuse and academic achievement and to evaluate the relationship between physical abuse and academic achievement among students in public secondary schoolsin Bungoma East sub-county. The study adopted a theoretical framework based on the Bowen family systems theory. A correlation research design was used on the study population. Piloting was conducted in 3 mixed secondary schools. The study population was drawn from the 40 public secondary schools in Bungoma East sub-county. The targeted population was 3493 Form 3 students from the 40 schools. Snowball sampling technique was used to come up with a sample size of the 3 abused students from the respective schools. Purposive sampling technique was used to come up with1Sub-county Education officer,13 deputy principals, 13HOD’s G/C, and 3 parents of the abused students. Questionnaires were used to collect data from the deputy principalsandthe HOD’s G/C.Interview guides were used to collect data from parents of the abused students while the focused group discussion guide was used to collect data from the form 3 students. Experts from the Department of Educational Psychology in the Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology checked on content validity. Restructuring and replacement of items was done to enhancethecontent validity. A pilot study was conductedin 4 mixed public secondary schools to test the reliability of thedata collection instruments through production of repeated results. The reliability of instruments was determined using split half method. Quantitative data from the questionnaires and examinationresults were analyzed using descriptive statistics(percentages, frequencies and means) andinferentialstatistics (T-Test and Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient). Qualitative data from interview guides and focused group discussion guides were received in verbatim, transcribed and organized into sub-themes and themes based on the research objectives. Analyzed data was presented using tables and graphs. The findings of the study may benefit researchers by adding to the existing knowledge on child abuse and academic achievement. The study concludes that there was a strong but not significant relationship between child abuse and academic achievement among studentsinpublicsecondary schools. There was great need to provide students with 3 meals day, basic essentials and to strengthen Guidance and Counseling in order to mould academically achieving students with holistic mindsets using effective protocol based communication channels. The study recommendedthat families and schools should avoid being compromised and should report all cases of child abuse,besides controlled canning should be reintroduced in schools. The recommendations from the study may also benefit counselors, school administrators, policy makers and the county government responsible for Bungoma East sub-county, which may then be generalized to other counties in Kenya.