Impact of Cultural Norms on Girls’ Dropout Rates in Public Secondary Schools in Garissa Township, Garissa County, Kenya

Abstract

Globally, education has been identified as one of the pillars to promote intellectual knowledge and enhance development in society. However, there has been concern related to the girls dropping out of schools in Garissa County, Kenya. This study then investigated assessed the influence of cultural norms on girls dropping out from public secondary schools in Garissa Township, Garissa County in Kenya. This study targeted a population comprising of five secondary schools in Garissa Township Sub County. The unit of enquiry was; five heads of department for guidance and counselling, five principals, and a total of 3,169 female students. The study purposively sampled the; five principals, five head of guidance and counselling in these schools as key interview informants. Simple random sampling was employed to select 10% of the girls, resulting to a sample size of 317 respondents. The study used mixed-methods, combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Questionnaire and interview schedules were be used to collect data. The analysis encompassed quantitative analysis to produced descriptive statistics correlation analysis to yield inferential statistics and thematic analysis for qualitative data. The study concluded that cultural norms have statistically significant positive impact on dropout rates among girls in public secondary schools in Garissa Township, Garissa County, Kenya p<0.01; r=0.702). The study recommended for engaging community in educational campaigns. The findings are expected to provide valuable insights for implementing specific interventions and policies aimed at addressing cultural norms obstacles and decreasing the incidence of females dropping out of public secondary schools.