THE INFLUENCE OF ADMINISTRATORS’ PERCEPTION OF THE CHILDREN ACT 8 OF 2001 ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING PROGRAMME IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN EAST POKOT SUB-COUNTY, BARINGO COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

The Government of Kenya is committed to ensuring that all children within her borders have access to their rights as detailed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. School administrators in Kenya are mandated with the responsibility of managing primary school activities, as well as the task of ensuring the success of the school programmes and their perceptions greatly determines the success of the implementation of educational policies of guidance and counselling programmes. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of administrators’ perception of the Children Act 8 of 2001 on the implementation of the guidance and counselling programme in public primary schools in East Pokot Sub-county, Baringo County, Kenya. The study was guided by client-centred approach theory and McGregor’s Theory X and Y. The ex post facto research design was utilized. The target population under study comprised the 438 administrators in East Pokot Sub County. The total sample size was 280 respondents consisting of 140 head teachers and 140 teacher counsellors from 140 sampled schools. Purposive sampling was used to select head teachers and teacher counsellors from the five school divisions in East Pokot Sub-county. Questionnaires were used to collect data from the respondents. The instruments were pilot tested in 20 primary schools in the neighbouring Samburu County. The validity of the instruments was checked by the researcher through expert judgement from the department of Psychology, Counselling and Educational Foundations, Laikipia University. Reliability was determined by the use of the Cronbach coefficient alpha. The questionnaire was considered reliable after yielding a reliability coefficient alpha of 0.96 since a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.7 and above is considered sufficient to undertake the study. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer programme version 24.0 for windows was utilized to analyse the data. The data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics including percentages, means, and frequencies and simple regression which was tested at .05 level of significance. The study established that administrators’ perception of the Children Act 8 of 2001 influenced the implementation of the guidance and counselling programme in public primary schools in East Pokot Sub-county, Baringo County, Kenya. Findings might benefit the County Ministry of Education officers, parents, teachers and other stakeholders in the implementation of guidance and counselling programme in primary schools. The study determined that in the respondents’ opinion administrators’ perception of the Children Act 8 of 2001 does significantly influence the implementation of the guidance and counselling programme in public primary schools in East Pokot Sub-county, Baringo County, Kenya. The study thus recommends that intensive awareness on the Children Act 8 of 2001 among the administrators in primary schools be carried out to enhance the implementation of the guidance and counselling programme in public primary schools in the region.

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