Search

Despite witnessing a consistent rise in private demand for postgraduate studies at universities in Kenya, recent trends show a decline in postgraduate enrolment. This downturn poses potential obstacles in achieving both the university objectives and Kenya's Vision 2030. Reviewed literature reveals that the decision to pursue postgraduate studies is often determined by a variety of factors, one of which is the perceived returns associated with obtaining an advanced degree. Given this framework, the primary objective of this study was to assess the extent to which perceived returns, as a determinant of private demand for postgraduate studies, affects private demand for postgraduate studies at the selected universities in Kenya. By adopting an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the study combined quantitative and qualitative approaches to comprehensively examine effects of perceived returns on private demand for postgraduate studies in selected universities in Kenya. The target population comprised all the 60,515 students enrolled in Master's and PhD programmes across both public and private chartered universities in Kenya during the research period. The study employed a systematic random sampling method to select 395 Master's and PhD students from a purposefully selected pool of four public chartered universities and three private chartered universities. Data collection involved the use of questionnaires and interviews. Quantitative data underwent analysis using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data was subjected to thematic and content analysis techniques. The study established that perceived returns (with a regression coefficient of B = .57 and probability level of p = .004 < .05 (at a significant level of p < .05), emerged as a significant predictor of private demand for postgraduate studies. The findings shed light on how perceived returns affects private demand for postgraduate studies and offer insights for policy makers

Student retention in secondary school is paramount for the ultimate achievement of goals in education. This is the reason why individuals, societies, education partners and stakeholders pull together to finance education at all levels. Despite this effort, student retention in public boarding secondary schools in Kenya is wanting, Literature indicates that, costs incurred while going through secondary education may have an effect on the retention of students. This study therefore sought to establish the extent to which direct costs of education affect student retention rate in public boarding secondary schools in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used to gather both the qualitative and quantitative data. The target included 31 principals and 4012 parents. All the 31 principals were purposively selected. Yamane simplified formula was used to sample 399 parents who were then distributed among the sub counties using proportionate random sampling. Questionnaires were utilized to collect quantitative data from parents while an interview schedule helped to gather qualitative data from the principals. Document analysis provided secondary data on students’ retention. Quantitative data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data on the other hand was analyzed thematically. The study findings showed that, direct educational costs are crucial predictors of students’ retention rate in public boarding secondary schools. They account for 94.1% of the variance. Costs of meals, accommodation, activity fee, parents’ association fund and the costs of repairs, maintenance and improvement all contributed to the variance. However, the cost of repairs, maintenance and improvement accounts for the highest contribution (90%) as the cost of activity fee accounts for the lowest (0.01%). The study concludes that, direct educational costs affect students’ retention rate in public boarding secondary schools. The study

This research investigated the effect of play as one of the transformative instructional methods that enhance pupils’ academic achievement in lower primary schools in Kirinyaga East sub-county, Kirinyaga County, Kenya. The research employed a descriptive survey research design. The target population was 845 comprising 35 Headteachers, 210 teachers and 600 lower primary pupils. Slovenes formula was employed to compute a sample size of 271, comprising 8headteachers, 55teachers and 193 pupils. Data collection instruments used were semi-structured questionnaires for Headteachers and teachers, interview guidelines for teachers and a lesson observation checklist. The instruments were piloted to determine their validity using a panel of three academic staff experts from Department of Educational Management and Curriculum Studies. The reliability was determined using test-retest approach. After following appropriate ethical requirement of obtaining research permit from the National Commission for Science Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) and preliminary visits to the County Commissioner, Kirinyaga County and heads of schools sampled, data was collected. The data collection involved administering of questionnaire and interviews from teachers and Headteacher and also lesson observation. Quantitative data was analyzed with the assistance of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to generate both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that use of play was not effectively used due to inadequate play materials. It was conclude that if Kenyan youth are able to be prepared effectively using transformative learning centered pedagogy focusing on play to face life challenges of the 21st century ,the country’s education managers should ensure adequate teachers are trained on modern pedagogy ,infrastructure improved in schools and teachers morale improved .The most important recommendation is that systematic teacher training on use of play and