Title:
ASSESSMENT OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BULLYING AND DROPOUT RATES AMONG PUPILS IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN SABATIA SUBCOUNTY, KENYA

Authors:
Dr. Watindi Risper & Amisi Stephen Ngoda ,Kenya

Abstract:
Studies have shown that there is a positive correlation between bullying and school dropout rates. a number of children of school going age are not attending school in Public Primary Schools in Sabatia Sub-County. In all public primary schools, the annual average rate of dropout has been 4.1% and this is an implication that about 4.1 % of students are not able to finish their schooling. Surveys give varying causes of the dropout menace in various parts of Kenya. By the time this study was being born, little effort had been done to establishing the extent to which bullying has contributed to school dropout rates in Vihiga County, The study employed the group dynamic theory and mixed methods approach to determine this relationship. it targeted 31,703 pupils in classes 5 to 8 and a 100 public primary schools in Sabatia Sub-County together with their 87 dropouts of the previous year. To select respondents of the study, multistage sampling technique was used in three stages; simple random sampling of 30 public primary schools in the research area, saturated sampling of all the 3,201 pupils in classes 5 to 8 in the selected schools and convenience sampling of 6 drop-outs. Three instruments were used for data collection; a questionnaire a document guide and a Focus Group Discussion guide validity and reliability was ensured through piloting. Qualitative data was analyzed through frequency counts and quantitative data done using Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient. the Findings revealed that there was a strong positive, moderate positive and weak positive relationship between the observed drop-out rates and physical, verbal and emotional bullying cases respectively. It was concluded that the both physical and verbal bullying significantly contribute to high number of school dropout cases. The study recommended that stakeholders in the education sector should formulate policy that can identify and crack down on all forms of physical and verbal bullying in public primary schools in Sabatia Cub-County.