The effect of sociobackground factorson boy students' completion of social education in Kieni East district, Kenya.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Crime in school is any act committed within school compound and which is punishable by law. The offenders may be students or non-students though emphasis has been laid on offending acts committed to students by students within school grounds. The study is important because the effects of criminal acts in schools directly or indirectly affect learning, which is the core business in schools. In extreme cases, the consequences of crime in schools have been fatal. The study sought to establish the relationship between crime in schools and academic performance. The objectives of the study were; to investigate types of crimes committed in public boarding secondary schools in Tetu District of Nyeri County, to determine the rate at which the crimes are committed, to establish who the victims of crime in schools are, to determine who the perpetrators of crime in schools are and to establish the relationship between crime and academic performance of students. The outcome of this study may be used as a guide by curriculum developers in designing programs to deal with crime in schools. It may also help teachers in understanding and containing school crimes thus minimizing their effects. The study was carried out in public boarding secondary schools in Tetu District. The schools were stratified based on gender into, boys', girls' and mixed secondary schools. Stratified random sampling was used to select 2 boys', 2 girls' and 3 mixed schools to participate in the study. Simple random sampling was also used to select students per class, proportional to their population. Administrators and students were the target population. A questionnaire was used to collect data from students while an interview was used to collect data from administrators. Validity and reliability were ascertained through piloting. Collected data was coded and analysed using descriptive statistics like mean, mode and median. Thereafter, data was presented in frequency distribution tables, percentages and bar graphs. Open ended questions were analysed thematically. The study revealed that the most common crimes in schools were theft, threats and property destruction in that order. Conversely, rape and attempted suicide were almost nonexistent. It was concluded that crime rate in schools is inversely proportional to academic performance. It is recommended that; theft, threats and extortion should be referred to police to discourage the offences, students should be encouraged to report all off ending cases to school authorities, guidance and counseling should be strengthened in schools.