SCHOOL HEALTH FACILITIES AND THE GIRL CHILD RETENTION

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

This Chapter covers;  the background to the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, objectives of the study, research questions, scope of the study, significance of the study, Theoretical framework, conceptual  framework and definition of operational terms.

• Background of the study

Education is a fundamental human right, as enshrined in numerous international human rights instruments, including the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1976 International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Worldwide, one in five children of upper-secondary-school age are out of school, including one in four children in South Asia (UNESCO, 2010). Girls in developing countries  disproportionately  drop out of school, particularly around puberty,  which some have attributed to the lack of school sanitation facilities for menstruating girls (Herz and Sperling 2004, Moojiman et al.  2005, Sommer 2010).

In India, particularly among the rural societies, girls are not always educated and many have minimal understandings of their own rights. The national average shows that there is only 1 woman for every 2 men that receives an education in India. Rural communities are often completely unaware of the concept and benefit of educating girls. With only 55% of schools  in  India  having  girls’  toilets  and  only  42%  of teachers being female, enrolling marginalized girls poses an immense  challenge.  Educating girls is giving them the power. Giving them genuine choice over the kind of the life they like to lead. Not only this the society as a whole is also benefitted as educated women has skill, knowledge and self-confidence that are needed for better parent, worker and citizen (Govindaraju & Venkatesan, 2010).

Investments in child health can improve educational outcomes (Miguel and Kremer 2004, Bleakley 2007, Weil 2007), though health needs often differ dramatically by gender and age. The “Menstruation Hypothesis” is that menstruation creates an obstacle to female schooling, contributing to high drop-out rates among pubescent-age girls.  This  belief has motivated  efforts to  provide  sex-specific sanitation in schools, which could increase  girls’ health,  privacy, and safety (Fentiman et al. 1999, Burgers 2000, Human Rights Watch  2001, Leach et al. 2003, Lidonde 2004, WaterAid  Ethiopia  2005, Kirk and  Sommer 2006, INEE 2009, CARE 2010, Raising Clean Hands 2010, Sommer 2010, WHO 2010).

Qualitative studies often indicate important impacts of school sanitation on girls’ enrolment (Birdthistle et al. 2011), yet there is little quantitative support for the “Menstruation Hypothesis” (Oster and Thornton 2011). While the quantitative evaluation of menstruation- management technologies may show no benefits where school absences are rare during girls’ few menstrual  days each month  (Oster  and Thornton 2011), a broader  “Menstruation Hypothesis” might emphasize how girls are impacted  every day by the physical, emotional, and societal  changes  that  happen  along with  the  onset  of menstruation.  Pubescent-age girls’ educational decisions may be more impacted by addressing every-day concerns for health, safety, and privacy, such as through the provision of sex-specific school latrines.  In addition, a narrow focus on the “Menstruation Hypothesis” might neglect other factors that influence education decision-making for pubescent-age boys and younger children, obscuring a broader link between school sanitation and education.

Many studies draw attention to the menstrual hygiene challenges within school environments, which range from girls having to miss school days, to a disruptive experience while at school. Findings highlight the gendered nature of the school environment for adolescent girls, emphasizing their unique needs. Tangible improvements to the school environment must be made in order to make it girl- friendly. Although literature is divided on the effect of menstruation on girls’ absenteeism, there is no doubt that MHM remains a challenge for girls especially in the absence of adequate facilities.

A UNICEF (2009) study undertaken in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan on overcoming exclusion and discrimination in South Asia reported that girls face huge disadvantages in all four countries for lack of toilet and water facilities at schools. During the time they are menstruating, girls frequently have to leave school or abstain for lack of proper facilities, sanitary cloths or to dispose of their sanitary pads. The existing facilities were such that it embarrassed the girls, offering them no privacy and dignity. The availability of separate latrines for girls and women may also affect the retention of female teachers. Having clean, safe separate female designated latrines must be a requirement for every school at all levels of education.

Currently, more than 60% of all schools in Africa lack sufficient sanitation facilities (UNICEF, 2009). Even in schools with facilities, unhygienic sanitation hinders the ability of students to concentrate and learn at school (Water and Sanitation Collaborative Council and WHO, 2005).  In Africa, the lack of basic sanitation facilities further decreases the enrolment of girls in secondary schools. Various studies have  particularly  linked  the  attendance  of  girls  to  the  availability  of  adequate sanitation facilities in schools (UNICEF, 2006). Girls spend more time in schools when the number of sanitation facilities is adequate (UNICEF, 2006). As such, the need for improved access to sanitation goes beyond improved health and addresses issues of children rights and gender equity.

Studies carried out in Lesotho and Bangladesh, have indicated that girls have a preference for separate facilities (UNICEF & IRC, 1998). In schools where the toilets are shared between girls and boys or are closely located, a significant number of girls drop out of school after they attain puberty because of harassment and lack of privacy (UNICEF & IRC, 1998).

According to the Kenyan Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, schools should adhere to a standard ratio of 1 toilet for 25 girls and 1 toilet for 30 boys (GoK, 2008). These ratios however remain unattained and currently, more than 60% of all schools in Kenya lack sufficient sanitation facilities (UNICEF, 2009). Even in cases where the number of sanitation facilities is adequate, they are often in poor condition discouraging their use among children (UNICEF, 2009).

According to Ngales (2005) in a study on school girls towards health, dignity and wellbeing in Ethiopia, it was found that female students indicated that they often missed classes during menstruation or because culturally restrictions combined with poor hygiene and lack of privacy prevented them from using latrines at all. In addition, female boarding schools students mentioned that they feared using latrines at night due to poor lighting.  The study concluded that girls’ performance, attendance and retention rates were lower than boys, and poor school sanitation is one of the multiple difficulties that girls have to struggle with.

FAWE, (2004), in Scaling up Good Practices in Girls’ Education in Uganda, notes that in the absence of the necessary provisions, the most common option taken by girls who suffer menstrual accidents at school is to return home and stay there for the duration. Poor management of sexual maturation leads to high levels of absenteeism since affected girls get discouraged when they don’t cop up and drop out.  Girls are distressed and uncomfortable because of wearing poor protective material during menstruation and this distracts them.

1.2. Education system in Uganda

The current Ugandan education structure has been in place since 1963 and came as a result of recommendation made by the Castle Commission. The country’s formal education system starts with seven years of secondary school (ages 6-12), which is ‘supposedly’ compulsory and free according to the current universal secondary education program me. It is followed by six years of secondary education for ages 13-18, which is also free and compulsory, though the last two for S.5 and 6, Government is under way to make it universal. This level is succeeded by three to five years of university or tertiary education depending on the profession selected by the individual (Kakuru, 2003).

1.3 Statement of the Problem

Female education has multiplier effects because it empowers women to bring about change and helps to break the vicious cycle of poverty. Despite initiatives addressed through various government policies, interventions and declarations like the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) strive to ensure equal access to secondary school education for both boys and girls. Girls still face tremendously higher school dropout rate as compared to the boys. This has been mostly attributed to poor sanitation facilities in most schools in the developing countries including Uganda where the girls shy away from sharing latrines or being seen in open places and worse during their menstrual cycles (Ngales, 2005). And this has been noted as the single most important factor hindering girl child retention in many schools.

Therefore though many studies have been done in the area of the relationship between sanitation and girl child education, little has been done in the context of Uganda and Wakiso district in particular thus prompting the researcher to undertake a study on the of school health facilities on girl child retention in selected schools in Wakiso District.

1.4 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of school health facilities on girl child retention in selected schools in Wakiso District.

1.5 Objectives of the study

This research will be guided by the following objectives:

1. To assess the factors that affect girl child retention in schools.
2. To examine the relationship between health facilities and retention of girl child in secondary schools
3. To establish the Challenges school administrators face in construction of school health facilities
4. To identify the strategies aimed at retaining students in schools so as they can completet their secondary school education.

1.6  Research questions

1. What are the factors that affect girl child retention in schools?
2. What is the relationship between health facilities and retention of girl child in secondary schools?
3. What are the Challenges school administrators face in construction of school health facilities?
4. What are the strategies aimed at retaining students in schools so as they can complete their secondary school education?

1.7 Scope of the study

The scope of the study is divided into the geographical scope, the content scope and time scope.

1.7.1 Geographical scope

The study will be conducted in selected secondary schools in Wakiso district. The study will cover five secondary schools across Wakiso District.

1.7.2 Content Scope

The content scope of the study will cover the impact of school health facilities on girl child retention in Wakiso District. In this respect the study will specifically assess the, the factors that influence girl child retention in schools,  the challenges of students’ retention in schools and the strategies aimed at retaining students in schools so as they can complete their secondary school education.

• Time scope

The study will cover the period of 2002- 2012. This period is preferred because, since 2002, concern grew over the rate of girl child dropout in schools including in Wakiso District.

1.8 Significance of the study

The study will benefit all educational stakeholders, the government, educational partners, parents and students in various ways. The Ministry of Education through the D.E.O. and the Education Service Commission benefits from the findings of the research to advice on how to reduce the drop out of the girls from schools in Wakiso.

The study will give recommendations to address a fore mentioned factor with a view of those concerned to effectively deal with the drop out problem. So the study will come up with the way forward for schools to help them retain more girls who complete secondary cycle.

The study will also act as a source of educational material for other researchers, schools, and the general public on school health facilities and its impact on girl child retention in schools.

CHAPTER TWO:

 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0. Introduction

The aim of the study is to investigate the school health facilities and the girl child retention.

2.1. Theoretical review

Scholars have long held an interest in students’ departure, partly because it is         acomplex human behavior; partly because it is related to other factors like status attainment, self-development, and the development of human capital; and partly because it is a place where theory can have an impact on practice. Retention studies are important to institutions because if institutions can maintain or increase their retention rates, they can survive, and possibly prosper.

Since students retention is by definition a process that occurs over time, theoretical models tend to be longitudinal, complex, and contain several categories of variables that reflect both students and institutional characteristics. Theories of departure provide an explanation of why students’s leave school. Theoretical models of departure are models based on theories, while models of departure identify factors assumed to be related to retention without providing an explanation of why the factors act the way they do. Theories, theoretical models, and models are used somewhat interchangeably in the literature.

Students’ retention models are complex because they contain a large number         of variables, often set in a casual pattern. A variable could either affect retention directly, or it could affect some other variable that has a direct effect on retention. For example, high school grades could directly affect rates of retention (e.g. the higher the high school grades, the higher the rate of retention). High school grades could also be thought to affect retention indirectly; that is, the higher the high school grades, the higher the school grades-and the higher the school grades, the higher the rate of retention.

Since 1970, the main theoretical tradition in the study of students retention has been sociological, involving a search for commonalities of behaviors that distinguish groups of students’s who stay at school groups of  who leave. Psychological and socio-psychological approaches, concerned with how individuals assess themselves in an educational context, began to develop after 1980. In the decade of the 1990s there was an increasing interest in how economic factors affect retention and in how the cultural factors typical of subgroups of students’s affect retention decisions, particularly in terms of minority students’ retention. Other theoretical approaches have been taken, but have had little empirical study.  Pascarella and Terenzini (1991) offered a summary on student retention and other associated outcomes.

Vincent Tinto’s model of students departure has had the greatest influence on our understanding of students retention. His theory helped guide a large number of dissertations and empirical studies of student retention. The model posits that student’s enter school with family and individual attributes as well as preschool schooling. They enter with certain commitments, both to finishing school and to staying at their school. They enter an academic system that is characterized by grade performance and intellectual development, which together lead to academic integration, and they enter a social system where peer group interactions and faculty interactions lead to social integration. Academic and social integration work together to influence ongoing goal and institutional commitments, which, in turn, lead to the decision to remain in, or to leave school. This model was later revised through the addition of commitments outside the institution and intentions to remain enrolled, Terenzini (1999).

The explanatory theory underlying Tinto’s model came most immediately from the research of William Spady (1971), who saw an analogy between committing suicide and dropping out of school. In both instances, according to Spady, a person leaves a social system. The French philosopher and sociologist Emile Durkheim had found that some people committed suicide because they lacked the values of the social system in which they participated, and because they were not supported by a group of friends. At the core of his model, Tinto borrowed Spady;’s use of Durkheim’s two postulates to identify the concepts of academic and social integration. Academic integration was thought to be the result of sharing academic values, and social integration was viewed as the result of developing friendship with other students’ and faculty members. In Tinto’s model, a student who does not achieve some level of academic or social integration is likely to leave school.

While Tinto’s (1993) later model is similar in structure to his earlier ones, it offers another explanation of students’ departure: failure to negotiate the rites of passage. According to this theory, students’ would remain enrolled if they separated themselves from their family and high school friends, engage in processes by which they identified with and took on the values of other students and faculty, and committed themselves to pursuing those values and behaviors.

A second theoretical trust came from John Bean, based on empirical and theoretical studies published in the 1980s, an explanatory model of student retention, and a psychological model of student retention developed by John Bean and Shevawn Eaton (2000). Originally based on a model of turnover in work organizations, Bean’s model evolved into one where the overall structure was based on a psychological processes, the model was similar to Tinto’s in that it was complex and longitudinal. The model differed from Tinto’s original model in two important ways, however: It included environmental variables (or factors outside the school that might affect retentions) and a student’s intentions, a factor found to be the best predictor of student retention. These factors were subsequently incorporated into Tinto’s model (1993) model.

Bean’s model, described traditional-age student’s, posits that background variables, particularly a student’s high school educational experiences, educational goals, and family support, influence the way a student interacts with the school or university that the student chose to attend. After matriculation (as in Tinto’s model) the students interacts with institutional members in the academic and social arena. According to Bean (1993). The student also interacts in the organizational (bureaucratic) area, and is simultaneously influenced by environmental factors, such as wanting to be with others at another school or running out of money. A student’s interaction with the institution leads the student to develop a set of attitudes toward himself or herself as a student and toward the school. Academic capabilities (as indicated by grade point average), feeling one fits in at an institution, and loyalty to the institution are a secondary set of outcomes that are extremely important in determining a student’s intentions to remain enrolled, as well as actually continuing enrollment. Bean eta-l (1985) also developed a model of student retention for non-traditional student’s which reduced the emphasis on social integration actors since non-traditional (older, working, commuting) students have less interaction with others on campus than do traditional, residential student’s.

Bean and Easton (2000) model describes how three psychological processes affect academic and social integration. While attitude-behaviors theory provides an overall structure for the model, self-efficacy theory, coping behavioural (approach-avoidance) theory, and attribution (locus of control) theory are used to explain how students develop academic and social integration.

These grand theories of student retention of the 1990s, which attempt to simplify a very complex action into a series of identifiable steps, are inadequate to deal with either specific populations or individual decisions. Because of this inadequacy, a series of articles was written to provide increased explanations of certain aspects of student retention. A collection of these partial theories, which provide a closer look at a certain aspect of student retention decisions, was published by John eta-l in 2000. This volume contains explanations of retention behavior based on economic factors, psychological processes, campus climate, student learning, campus cultures ethical differences, school choice, social reproduction, and power (critical theory).

Of these theoretical approaches, a number of studies of the economic influences on retention have been conducted, particularly by Edward (2000) based on cost-benefit analysis, these studies examine how retention decisions are affected by ability to pay, family resources, student’s aid, perceptions of aid, and tuition.

Regardless of the particular approaches taken in a model, the general process of student retention remains the same: Both experiences before entering school and academic abilities are important; the way student’s interact in the social and academic environment once at school are important, as are factors from outside of the institution, particularly the cost of attending the school; and the attitudes a student forms about the institution.

2.1.2 Student’s retention in schools

According to Noddings (1987), high quality educators cannot separate sound educational decision making from the dispositions associated with “caring.” The values found in the theme of “caring” are crucial to educators engaged in growth (Noddings, 1987). The common threads that run through this theme include the role educators’ play in the lives of their student’s, in the welfare of the community, and in the ethics of personal and professional accountability (Ladson-Billings, 1995).

Educators are caregivers, models, and mentors and must treat student’s with respect, set good examples, and support positive social behaviors        (Lickona, 2001). The unit is mindful that there is no prototypical “teaching personality” but believes that standards would be incomplete without attention to dispositions. The Unit supports values, commitments and professional ethics that influence behaviours toward student’s, families, colleagues, and communities and that affect student learning, motivation, and the educator’s own professional growth.

Student’s that have economic, social, or educational advantages are the least likely to leave schools, while student’s lacking these advantages are the most likely to leave. Advantaged student’s are also likely to attend the most elite schools, and since these student’s are least likely to leave school before graduating, these schools have the highest retention rates, (Bandura, 1973). The reverse is also true. Community schools, regardless of their     quality or value, are lowest status institutions and have the lowest rates of retention. To say that the most elite schools have the highest retention rates is partly a tautology, because one part of the definition of elite ness is the rate of retention. Nevertheless, elite ness and student retention run hand in hand.

2.2 Factors that affect girl child retention in schools

Parental investment for children’s well-being can sometimes become gender biased. Although parents are altruistic to the gender of their children, they do not invest in education equally for all. In this regard, there are considerable evidences in the literature (Glick & Sahn, 2000; Kingdon, 2005) supporting this view whereby that, there is gender bias or pro-male bias in case of parental investment in children. In addition, Leung and Zhang (2008) found that parents’ preference for sons encourage more of them to invest for in their sons’ well-being to take care of parents in the future. In fact, parental gender bias investment occurs particularly when parents have limited/lower income and resource, causing girls to leave school earlier than boys. For instance, Fuller and Laing (1999) and Grant and Hallman 2006) found an association between a family’s financial strength and the likelihood of the daughter’s dropout in South Africa.

Direct and indirect schooling costs are important factors for the education of children and some research indicate that schooling costs especially school fees, are a central reason for early dropout from schools. Schooling costs are sometimes linked to the gender of the children as parents are sometimes become unwilling to pay schooling fees for their daughters. For instance, Brown and Park (2002) investigated that in rural China, parents’ incapability to pay compensate school fees was the reason for the dropout of 47% of girls while only 33% of boys dropout in elementary schools; in junior secondary high school, fees were half for the girls but only 8% for the boys. Hunter and May (2002) found that school fees were significant reason for the dropout rate of 27% of boys but 30 % of girls before secondary school graduation in South Africa. From the families’ perspective, Shovan Ghosh Susmita & Sengupta (2012) observe that in  poor households in India, the costs of schooling for  girls are likely to be higher while the benefits  more tenuous for them than the boys. The authors also observe that though direct costs are similar for boys and girls, parents are less willing to spend on girls. Lloyd et. al. (2000) also found that in Kenya, higher school fees increases the likelihood of dropping out for girls but not for boys.

There is substantial literature regarding how a child’ work impacts on educational outcome regardless of the gender of the children. Many studies observe that girls sometimes begin working at an earlier age than boys especially in  rural areas and girls also tend to do more work in the household than boys.  Studies indicate that female students tend to drop out of school to take care of their younger siblings (Brock & Cammish, 1997). Another study found that if children less than 6 years old are present at home, elder sisters are more likely to drop out (Canagarajah & Coulombe, (1997). Another research indicates that if mothers work and get wage outside of the home, Female children take some responsibilities of the household which causes them to drop out, Fuller & Liang (1999). In general, girls take more load of household chores than the boys and on the other hand rural girls do more household works  than  urban girls (Ersado,  2005).

Fuller and Liang (1999) argue that the advantage of having  females as household heads may be the result of increased autonomy of the females when males are absent in the decision- making process. Shahidul (2013) examine data in Bangladesh and found that if a mother participates in the household’s decision-making process, the dropout rate of girls is decreased. Though female headship eventually gives advantage to girls, studies sometimes show controversial results. This is because, many studies found that single-female headed households face greater financial and time constraints than two-parent households in general which may impact differently on children’s academic achievement (Guo & Harris, 2000; Pong et al., 2003). In fact, children in households headed by married women have higher educational attainment while children of widows are more likely to work.

There are several evidence that shown participation in extra-curricular activities varied by gender and girls are usually less participative than boys. For instance, Jacqueline et al. (2012) investigated gender dynamics in the valuing of extra-curricular activities and their survey results show a significant difference in the proportion of participation in extra-curricular activities of male and female students. Results show that approximately 76% of male students participate in extracurricular activities compared to only 48% of female students. Sometime girls’ participation in extra-curricular activities constrained by the lack of facilities  in schools. For instance Osiki Jonathan Ohiorenuan (2008) observes that 90% of the schools in the study area had extracurricular facilities for the boys but  the facilities for the girls were either not available or were provided minimally. This occurs in schools in most developing countries, especially in the rural areas.

Several studies examined the impact of female teachers on the educational achievement of girls. Solotaroff et al. (2007) found that in Afghanistan, lack of female teachers is an obstacle to girls’ participation and enrollment in schools. Afghan people believe that girls should not be taught by male teachers, however, female teachers are not available in Afghan society  which is the foremost reason for the low rate of female education. Solotaroff, et al. (2007) presented that in Pakistan, girls usually drop out early because of lacking of female teachers in schools. In these societies,  parents tend to stop their daughters’ education before adulthood as female teachers are not available in schools. Though parents are sometimes reluctant to send girls to schools based on their religious feelings, in fact female teachers are effective in achieving educational outcome for female students. In this respect, a number of studies have attempted to examine the effect of having female teachers in schools.  For instance, many studies found that having female teachers in the school has a positive impact on female students’ academic achievement outcomes (Carrell et al., 2010; Hoffman & Nixon, 2009; Rothstein, 1995; Robinson, 1999). Therefore, lack of female teachers in school negatively impacts on girls’ dropout outcome.

Research also indicates that irregular attendance  can be a precursor for dropping out  from school regardless of the gender of the pupils. However, it can be argued that school absenteeism can be somewhat negatively more effective for early dropout from school female students. In this regard, Manacorda (2012) also argues that girls are at a greater risk of absenteeism, repetition and dropout, and have lower educational achievement than boys in upper primary school. There are some causes for girls’ dropout because of absenteeism. For instance, teenage pregnancy among girl is commonly associated with frequent absence from school initially, then permanent and or temporary dropout. Girls also can more drop out because of absenteeism due to child labour or household work. This is because a good deal of literature on  household work found that girls do more household work than boys which may increase non-attendance in schools for girls. Moreover, availability of toilets and access to feminine hygiene supplies impact on girls’ absenteeism. In this regard, Gran (2013) indicates that female students were more likely to be absent if their  toilets at school were dirty. In addition, Ngales (2005) found that in Ethiopia, female students were often absent in class during menstruation and frequent absence led them to drop out from school.

Much research have examined how teachers’ attitudes toward female students are linked to dropout issue. Colclough et al. (2000) found that in Ethiopia, teachers in school more positively viewed boys than girls because they  usually expect girls to quit school early. Teachers’ attitude and their teaching practices have foremost impact in sustaining girls in schools. According to Nekatibeb (2002) study from several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa indicate that both female and male teachers believed that boys were academically better than girls. This study also found that most teachers tend to pay more attention to boys in the classroom than girls. Research by Fawe (2001) shows that teachers were not conscious in using their language toward girls in the classroom. They also viewed girls as less intelligent to those boys and that girls are just there to marry early. According to Njau and Wamahiu (1994) in a study on dropout rates in Sub-Saharan  Africa, it was found that the foremost cause of higher rate of girls’ dropout was the attitude of teachers towards girls in class. Teachers tend to  favour to boys than girls in terms of academic performance and achievement which led to low retention for the girl child in schools.

School distance is an important determinant of school dropout for female students. Juneja (2001) observes that if school distance is considered too far from home, young girls tend to drop out more due to for the vulnerability to sexual harassment (Colclough et al., 2000; Nekatibeb, 2002). Parents are afraid for the safety of their children when they have to travel longer distances to school. Ainsworth et al. (2005) found that the likelihood of attending  secondary school for girls decreases with the greater the distance compared to the nearer secondary schools. Nekatibeb (2002) also determinants that school distance is the foremost obstacle for girls’ education in many countries in Africa. A large number of studies in African regions report that  school distance can discourage girls from being educated for two  major problems. One of them is the length of time and energy needed to cover the distance for children with empty stomachs. Another is parental anxiety about sexual safeguard of their daughters. School distance gives the motivation to girls to stay in school. Ainsworth et al. (2005) found that close proximity to schools had a positive motivating impact on girls

Regarding the effect of early marriage on girls Holcamp (2009) found that in rural areas girls’ dropout rate became higher because parents consider girls’ schooling as of no benefit when they leave their own family after getting married. Mansory (2007) also found that  early marriage is the foremost cause of early school dropout  of girls in Afghanistan. A lot of research have highlighted on girls’ age and education and found that when girls reach  puberty, parents consider it is time for them to be married and tend to arrange the marriage instead of continuing schooling (Molteno et al., 2000). Some studies argue that early marriage of girls is associated with dropouts in certain contexts. For instance, in societies  where girls leave parental household after marriage, girls’ dropout might be higher in that society (Ackers et al., 2001). The PROBE team (1999) of India reported that in that country education might give girls better preparation for marriage however, despite this, parents sometimes are reluctant to let their daughters have their education as higher education raises the cost of marriage for girls. Shahidul (2012) also found that in Bangladesh girls  with lower socioeconomic backgrounds drop out from secondary school  when schooling or higher education inflates dowry  in the marriage market of girls. In this research, author argues that if girls have  higher education but have lower parental socio-economic background, they face difficulties in getting a husband because pattern in which parents need to pay a higher amount of dowry to marry their educated daughters to similarly educated grooms thus resulting in early dropout among girls.

Several studies also found that investigated that teenage pregnancy is a significant cause of school dropout for girls (Boyle et al., 2002). Some studies argue that there are some specific characteristics of girls with  dropout status which are: Girls with poor school performance, girls who have experienced temporary dropout previously, low economic statu, family migratory life styles and the consequent vulnerability of girls. Dunne  Leach, (2005) argue that some unexpected circumstances of girls such as lack of social and economic opportunities and gender inequality in education system lead to motherhood and consequence dropout from schools. Dunne and Leac (2005) state that the dropout rate of girls is higher than the dropout rate of boys and the foremost cause for girls to drop out is pregnancy. Though some countries permit girls after getting pregnant to return to school, research found that the re-entry rate is not much higher. According to Grant and Hallman (2006), re-entry to school after pregnancy depends on some circumstances such as if they can get caregiver for their child and  if they are able to share or relinquish childcare responsibilities.

Save the Children (2005) indicates that cultural norms and beliefs constrain girls’ education especially in many developing  parts of the world. In these societies, traditional values and some religious beliefs constrain girls from making their own decisions and expressing their own opinions. Chege and Sifuna (2006) examined claim that many cultures favor education for boys more than girls. Kapakasa (1992) studied girls’ persistence in school and found that initiation ceremonies (religious ceremony) have significant effect on girls’ dropout rate when parents have Progressive Academic Publishing, UK  more propensity to pay for the expenses of the ceremony than their daughters’ education.

2.3 Relationship between health facilities and retention of girl child in secondary schools

According to Evans-Solomon (2004), girl-child education is any formal education that the girl-child receives to enable her acquire knowledge, skills, good habit, values and attitudes.  The values that the girls acquire through education can help them to exhibit their talents. Offorma (2009) explains girl-child education as education girls receive through learning and it can be formal or informal. She adds that it is very important that girls are given equal opportunities as boys to enable them use what they have learnt to solve problems in their society, however the girls child needs a healthy environment to be able to study for privacy reasons and to help them during the menstruation period.

Byoung-suk, K. (2012) stated that girl child need safe, healthy and stimulating environment in which to grow and learn. During the school year, girls can spend 6 to 8 hours at the school where the environment plays a significant/critical role in child development. More of the time is spent in the school yard or travelling to and from school. This condition requires careful planning and designing to optimize experiences that support education, health and stewardship. Therefore, the school environment is of paramount importance in shaping and reshaping intellectual ability. However, supportive and favourable school environment enriched with enough health facilities, and favourable climate makes girls more comfortable, more concentrated on their academic activities that resulted in high academic performance. The forces of the environment begin to influence growth and development of the individual right from the womb of his mother.

The educational process of development occurs in physical, social, cultural and psychological environment. A proper and adequate environment is very much necessary for a fruitful learning of the Girl child.

The favourable school environment provides the necessary stimulus for learning experiences. The children spend most of their time in school, and this school environment is exerting influence on performance through curricular, teaching technique and relationship (Arul Lawrence A.S. 2012).

However, educational institutions are intimately linked with society as a whole. They are the temple of knowledge and agent of social change and transformation. The general condition of our schools, colleges and universities are a matter of great concern to the nation. It plays a significant role in the development of the personality of the girls. As the girls spend most of their life at school, the school environment is highly responsible for the inculcating of high values into them. For example, the Kothari Commission (1964-1966) posited that “The destiny of Indian is now being shaped in her classroom” . This quotation indicated the significant role a school environment plays in a student in particular and nation in general. Therefore, student being a backbone of every nation need a healthy school environment that support them to perform well.  A document prepared by policy studies association (PSA) reviewed in 2014 in Washington D.C. indicated that girls achievement is more heavily influenced by teacher quality than by girls’ race, class, prior academic record or school a student attend. This effect is particularly strong among girls from low-income families and African-American girls. The benefit being taught by good teachers are cumulative. Research indicated that the achievement gap widens each year between girls with most effective teachers and those with less effective teachers. It suggests that the most significant gains in student achievement will likely be realised when girls receive instruction from good teachers over consecutive years. Poor and minority girls are the least likely group to be taught by teachers with experience, knowledge and credentials. The elements of teacher quality that the researcher demonstrates are strongly associated with high girls’ achievement. Research also showed that these girls produce most gains when assigned to competent teachers

Another research by Oworye, J.S. (2011) showed that there is a significant difference between the academic achievement of girls in rural and urban secondary schools as measured by senior school certificate examinations mainly due to poor health facilities in rural schools. Also he pointed out that uneven distribution of resources, poor school mapping, facilities, problem of qualified teachers refusing appointment or not willing to perform well in isolated villages, lack of good road, poor communication, and nonchalant attitude of some communities to school among others are some of the factors contributed to a wide gap between rural and urban secondary schools. Schools located in rural areas lack school health facilities like toilets and bathrooms. It is also observed that a lot of coaching of urban girls is done to prepare them for public examinations, thus promoting the spirit of competition and rivalry that may be lacking in the rural pupils, probably, owing to limitations in exposure and experience. Also, the study has proven that girls in urban areas had better academic achievement than their rural counterpart. In other word, girls in urban locations have a very advantage of favourable learning environment interms of health facilities that apparently enhance their academic performance and enables their stay in school.

Arul Lawrence, A.S, Vimala, A. (2012) conducted a research on the school environment and academic achievement of standard six girls. The data from 400 sample participants is used to determine the relationship between school environment and academic achievement. The result of this study indicated that there is no significant difference in the school environment of standard six girls in term of gender, medium of instruction.

But there is an important difference in the school environment of standard six girls in term of locality of school. The urban girls have better school environment than the rural girls. The urban girls are having a stressful environment in their day life very much because they are living in the mechanical and hurry burry life. So they feel school health facilities is not very convenient for their studies. Therefore, school health facilities enriched with modern facilities makes the student feel comfortable in their studies that result to high academic performance.  A research by Sunday, A.A. (2012) revealed that there is a significant relationship between physical school environment and girls’ academic performance in senior secondary school physics. To him, the physical school environment has some influences on girls’ academic achievement in senior secondary school physics.

Orlu, C. (2013) conducted a research among six hundred teachers and girls with the aim to find out environmental influence on the academic performance of secondary school girls, in Port Harcourt local government area of river state. The result of this research indicated that the school environment has a significant influence on academic performance and girl child stay in school. The location of the school affects girls’ performance. For example, when a school is sited in a noisy area like an airport or in the heart of a city where activities disrupt the teaching-learning of the student. One will not expect such girls in this area to be doing well academically. Noise in anything interferes with teaching/learning process.  However, the physical structure of the school building and their health facilities and the interactions between teachers and girls are also influence girls’ performance. School climate can be a positive influence on the health of the learning environment or a significant barrier to learning. The school environment can affect many areas and people within schools. For example, a positive school climate has been associated with fewer behavioural and emotional problems for girls. Therefore, it is believed that positive interpersonal relationship and optional learning opportunities for girls in all demographic environments can increase achievement behaviour. Positive student teacher relationship brings about a positive and supportive school climate for girls for smooth running of academic activities which results in good academic performance. Anta, K. Jairo, K.M. Odhiambo, O. & Mary, E.A. (2013) conducted a research in Nandi District, Kenya, aimed to established the relationship teachers’ characteristics and girls’ academic achievement. The findings revealed that girls’ academic achievement (in 2007, 2008 and 2009) was below average for 45% of the schools, 6 (30%) performance was on average while 5(25%) of schools had high student academic achievement. The poor performance was attributed to an inadequate number of teachers in most secondary schools within the district. On teacher qualification, the study established that 65% of teachers were degree holders, 25% had diploma certificates while only 10% were untrained. Cross tabulation results suggest that there was no difference in performance between teachers who had degree or diploma, suggesting that teacher qualification did not lead to increased girls’ academic achievement. It also indicated that a participation of teachers in professional development programmes has benefited a lot with the improvisation of teaching methods.  Denial, K.K. Felix, K. (2014) examined the impact of the school environment and peer influence on the girls’ academic performance. The study assessed school environment factors and peer influence in term of the level of psychological impact they have on learners. Twenty-one public secondary schools in sabbatic established that school environment exert a potent influence on girls’ academic performance. The school as an institution of learning which also act as a second home for learners has been found to have a strong relationship with girls’ academic performance.

Kasente (2004) and Kukuru (2003) mention that in Uganda, early marriage is a factor that influences girl- child education. They found out that when the girl- child grows and marries, it helps the family to escape the route from poverty. The authors found that parents think that if their girl children are sent to school, they will get pregnant and the parental investment in them will be a waste of money. Holmes (2003) expounds that overall, females receive less education than males, and they tend to dropout, or are withdrawn earlier for economic and social-cultural reasons.

According to Holmes, the opportunity cost of sending female children to school in the rural areas of Uganda is very high. Parents therefore push their girls to marry early   and the early marriage of the girls helps the parents to acquire a lot of money since the benefit of their schooling will not be accrued to their parental household

2.4 Challenges school administrators face in construction of school health facilities

Construction of school health facilities requires a lot of fundings from both the government and devedelopmenrt partners if any , most of the schools in African countries receive limited fundings from the government , this has particularyly affected the delivery of health facilities in these schools, (Corbally, 1962, Osuntokun, 2003), the two authors further assert that Public finance has been described as the collection and disbursement of funds for public use It has also been regarded as the financial activities of public authorities in terms of taxing, spending, borrowing and lending and it involves the means of providing for the expenditure involved in the staffing, equipment and maintenance of educational institutions (Adesua, 1981, Charles, 2002). The financing of education as an aspect of public finance embraces all aspects of funding of education including the sources of funding and how the money earmarked for education is spent especially for the purchase of goods and the services of men and materials (Agbobu 1983, Borokhovich, Bricker, Zivney and Sundaram, 1995). Thus, the financing of health facilities in educational sector  is a vital area of Economics of Education  (Akangbou, 1986, Adeyemi, 1998).

Though secondary school education in Uganda is meant to be accessed by all the citizens of the country, most of the female students with disabilities have faced challenges accessing the health facilities of the schools because in most cases then health facilities are built without putting disabled children into consideration, (Ssekamwa, 1999).  Students who are deaf have little or no access to skilled teachers in sign language and interpreters. Further impacting problem is lack of transport due to the costly maintenance of vehicles and daily transportation of student’s to school (ibid). In addition, lack of adequate knowledge and skilled teachers to handle student’s with traditional disabilities is a factor worthy considering as a strong case against the success of such girls in school leading to the drop out of such girls before they finish school.

Implementation of secondary school education programme has had a lot of challenges in the Northern Uganda. For over two decades; this area has experienced a devastating civil war waged by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) against the Government. This war did not only result into massive displacement of the entire population to camps, but seems to have been student’s-targeting and depriving their right of education. For example, the recent report of the abducted student’s amounts to about 26,662 (MoES 2007). The equality of survival in this situation has been extremely low to those who enroll and those who attempt to persist to continue the equality of output and outcome may not match their counterparts in safe areas due to moving up and down from one camp to another while saving their lives and looking for food (Tomasevki, 1999). In Bundibugyo the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) insurgency affected time for student’s to go to school and some of them dropped out of school because of this war in late 1990s.

A study by Ott (2001) found the top five building construction stressors by administrators were the presence of dirt in the building, increased noise levels due to construction, presence of fumes and odors, and temperature fluctuation throughout the facility. These stressors were directly related to environmental issues during construction. The author also reported the top three coping mechanisms were assistance with moving, appropriate administrative response to problems during the construction process, and appropriate administrative response to post construction issues.

Lapinsky (2007) reported in his study of occupational stress among career and technical education directors across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that the top stress related factor was dealing with changes in mandates and regulations from the state department of education. Other factors identified by chief school administrators as moderate to high stress levels included: imposing excessively high personal expectations, too heavy of a workload, and too many meetings and organizational appointments during building projects.

School construction / renovation has become a current topic in education. With aging school facilities, changes in building safety codes, over-crowded classrooms, and advances in technology, district officials are faced with the dilemma to either upgrade or invest in new construction in order to bring their facilities into the 21st Century. A study from the General Accounting Office (1995) explained that $113 billion is necessary to repair existing school buildings. Holloway (2000) reported that one in three American school facilities need extensive repair or replacement. In addition to securing funding for a building project, district officials must also be cognizant of how school culture will be affected during this process. There is a current upturn in construction projects following the passage of president Obama’s initiative to fight the Great Recession of 2007-2009, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA (Pub. L. 111-5).

As school projects begin, students, faculty and administration must adapt their schedules and daily routines because of construction disruptions. During this time, issues such as loss of telephone service, power, intercom, walkways, and lavatories may be unavailable for extended periods of time. In some cases, the cafeteria, gymnasium, pool, auditorium, and athletic fields may be off limits. This may cause parking to be at a premium because of the construction vehicles moving in and out of the worksite. The inconvenience of changing room assignments, scheduling, constant or irritating noise, loss of space, and even foul odors will certainly impact day-to-day activities and the instructional process. These factors can influence the culture of any school.

2.5 Strategies aimed at retaining student’s in school so as to complete the secondary school cycle

Poverty reduction, Njeru and Orodho,(2012). The two writers consent that the critical factors that are responsible for the low access and poor participation and retention in education is poverty.

High rates of poverty at household level have made poor households either not to enroll their girl child students in secondary schools to sustain an uninterrupted participation of those who are enrolled due to inability to meet various requirements.

This has resulted in adequate provision of learning facilities to the enrolled, poor quality education and high dropout rates among the poor. The above statement is supported by the UNESCO background paper which poses that poverty cannot be overcome without specific, immediate and sustained attention to enhancing access to education (UNESCO, 2002). Poverty is thus addressed in two avenues. First, inability to meet indirect costs for schooling, such costs are school learning and teaching materials, uniforms, transport to and from school and food Several studies done in Malawi, Ghana, Zambia, Ethiopia and Tanzania have shown that students are hindered form effective participation in schooling due to inability to afford such costs (Kelly, 2007).

In conformity with this situation, Mingat (2002) established that the richest households, 76 percent of their students attend school compared to 40% of the poorest households. This means that student’s from poor households have much lower attendance than those from richer households. UNESCO (2002) concurs with, Mingat that the level of the family income is one of the most powerful factor that influences school enrolments rates in the developing countries. (Onyango, 2000).

Briggs, (1980) cited in Mbai (2004) contends that poor families may contemplate bearing the cost of sending their student’s to school but might abandon the whole exercise when more exercises are demanded.

Ending children’s labor, According to Mutegi (2005) conversation of the rights of the student’s defined a student’s as anyone below the age of 18. Student’s labor is destroying a generation of student’s, Student who start working when they are young never grow as they miss out on education. The Koech Commission TIQET (1999) also found that students labor is a rampant practice that continues to keep student’s out of school, especially in the prevailing situation of poverty at the household level. student’s in different parts of the country are involved in activities such as fishing, picking of coffee, tea, Mira, hawking and petty trading. In addition many school age girls are employed as house girls and student’s menders in urban and rural areas. This habit contravenes the students’ rights as stated below “every student’s shall be protected from economic exploitation and any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with students’ education” (Student’s Act, 2001 pg. 153).

Students’ from poor households are particularly vulnerable because the opportunity cost of schooling is substantially higher for them. Such student’s may have to work in the fields, grazing the family’s animals or protecting crops against predators. Both Psacharopoulos (2009) and Priva (2010) found that student’s from poor households who work contribute significantly to total household income. Priva argues that banning students’ labor could reduce the welfare of the households intending to send their children to school. .

TIQET (1999) thus concluded …All these forms of labour, whether paid, interfere with students’ participation in education, either denying them access and retention or hindering their effective participation, by causing dropout and absenteeism.

Elimination of gender discrimination

Organization are working towards ending gender discrimination this is normally by non government organization and civil rights activist, according to burke et al, 2006 most NGO are in the developing world trying to agitate for equality, Other factors that influence retention of students in school include the gender of the students. Burke and Beagle (2004) found that female parents may favor girls; in that the mother’s schooling is associated to a greater degree with a daughter’s attendance than a son’s attendance.

Reduction of Birth rates: Birth order also affects schooling. We may start with the premise that a large number of student’s in a household has negative causal effects on the quality of education. This is because given equal resources; parents with more children have fewer resources to commit per student than parents with fewer students. Park and Chung (2007) found a strong but negative causal relationship between sib ship size and education of the first-born and second-born student’s in rural Bangladesh. Using evidence from the Turkish Demographic and Health Survey, Kirdar et al. (2007) also concluded that birth order affects schooling.

Creation of small and manageable sizes of families, According to West (1980) cited in Otunge (2004) large numbers of student’s in a family of limited income result in overcrowding in the home and this may in turn have a serious effect upon behavior. West further adds that parents in overcrowded accommodation cannot protect or supervise their young student’s as they might wish. According to Ruther (1980) cited in Otunge (2004) large family size is quite strongly associated with social disadvantage. The large family size limits the parental involvement in the academic welfare of each student’s. Thus leads to low participation of the student’s in school activities and may eventually lead to dropout

According to Onyango (2000) better educated parents appreciate the value of education more than illiterate ones. In this case, educated parents are able to assist their student’s progress in education both materially and morally hence retention of student’s in school.

Education of student’s on the core values of society especially the language and the culture of a given society, Language and medium of instruction is another factor that influences access and retention. Learning using a foreign language or another ethnic group language which one is not familiar with is not easy especially in the early years of schooling. It demands one to learn the language before learning the content. The double task discourages one from catching up with schooling. As such student’s either perform poorly or repeat classes a practice that usually leads to drop outs

Poor supervision and indiscipline

Poor supervision and indiscipline in schools has pushed many student’s to engaging in frustrating activities, such as smoking, drinking of alcohol, miraa chewing among others. It has been observed that teachers pass time in the staffroom chatting, gossiping or simply whiling away their time while classes remained untaught and the syllabus remain uncovered (UNICEF, 1998). The low performance of students eventually means that education does not fetch enough benefits as an investment; parents get demoralized and see education as a waste of time and the resources that could be invested elsewhere.

Change of people’s Attitudes towards education

Parkinson (1976) defined attitudes as either mental readiness or implicit predispositions that exert some general and consistent influence on a fairly large class of evaluative responses. Altitudes are reinforced by beliefs and often lead to particular forms of behavior. Thus we can infer that our perceptions and our value system are shaped by our altitudes which start at a very early stage after birth. Dorothy (1947) suggested that at birth a student’s is exposed to the values and practices of the human group very early in life, and that one becomes a cultural being by learning the ways of his people.

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

This chapter includes the research design, area and population of study, the sample size, sample selection techniques, data collection methods, research procedure, validity, reliability and data analysis.

3.1 Research Design

This study is both quantitative and qualitative and is based on the cross-sectional survey design. According to Linda, (2002), a cross-sectional survey is a design used to collect data at one point in time from a sample selected to represent a larger population. The combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches increases the quality of research because the results from each method reinforce each other for consistency. Qualitative techniques help the researcher to come up with conclusions on variables that may not be quantified while quantitative techniques help in establishing numerical values attached to variables.

3.2 Area and population of study

The study will be carried out in 5 selected schools in Wakiso District. The population of study will include, the school administration specifically the Head teachers, teachers and female students. Such categories will act as the population sampling frames. The specific numbers of people in each of these frames in the five schools altogether are presented in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1: Summary of the accessible population

Source: School Records, 2015

3.3 Sample size

The sample size of 100 people will be selected from the accessible population as research respondents. The sample size will be determined basing on the guiding arguments of research methodology experts such as Gay, (1983); Krejcie and Morgan, (1970). Gay, (1983) suggests that for a correlation research, 30% of the accessible population or more is required while for descriptive studies, 20% is enough. As for Krejcie and Morgan, (1970), cases must be included in the study if the research population is ranging from 0-10.

In the case of this study whose research design embodies both descriptive and correlation characteristics, the 30% scale will be used to determine the sub sample from the population frames that exceed 10 people. And these will include teachers and the female students. For the rest of the frames with less than 11 subjects all the people will be included in the total sample. These include head teachers. This process cuts across all the five secondary schools in Wakiso district as summarized in Table 3.2 below.

Table 3.2:  The process of determining the sample population size

Source: Gay, (1983); Krejcie and Morgan, (1970).

3.3 Sample selection

The researcher will use both purposive and stratified random sampling techniques. Purposive sampling will be employed for choosing the head teachers. Who will be regarded as key informants and will be asked to fill interview schedules.

Stratified random sampling will be used for selection of teachers and students. This sampling method involves dividing members of the population into homogeneous subgroups from which specifically required numbers will be indiscriminately chosen respectively, to raise the sample population. This process often improves the representativeness of the sample by reducing sampling error. It minimizes the variability of the sample from the population (Hunt and Tyrrell, 2001). With this method, teachers and students will be identified separately and respective numbers specified in Table 3.2 above will be randomly selected; 153 students and 44 teachers will be randomly selected. These will be asked to fill questionnaires. Altogether the sample population of 202 will be selected.

3.5 Data collection instruments

The study will use the questionnaire and interview schedules for collection of the required data.

3.5.1 Questionnaire

The questionnaires will be used to collect data from teachers and students, preferably identified as general respondents. At least 197 questionnaires altogether will be prepared and administered. The students’ questionnaires will be self-administered by the researcher while teachers will be asked to fill theirs independently. The questionnaires will contain both closed and open questions. Close-ended questions will be used to collect quantifiable data relevant for precise and effective correlation of research variables.

The closed ended questions will be used because they are easy to fill, saves time and keeps respondents on the subject.  The Likert scale will be used for some of the closed ended questions, such as; strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree. Open-ended questions will be used to enable respondents add more in-depth relevant information and experiences.

3.5.2 Interview schedule

Interviews will be semi structured schedules. Five interview schedules will be distributed and administered among 5 key informants (head teachers). The interview schedule is composed of open and some closed questions. Open ended questions will intend to enable informants substantiate their perceptions and provide detailed data on certain research variables.

3.6 Procedure for data collection

The researcher will collect the introductory letter from the Dean Graduate Studies of Uganda Christian University to enable her to conduct this study. With this letter she will proceed to Wakiso District Headquarters where she will seek permission from the District Education Officer to conduct a field survey in the five selected schools. While in the respective schools of study, she will first seek permission in the head teachers’ offices to engage the target respondents including the head teachers themselves, teachers, and students. After, questionnaires and interview schedules will be distributed among the selected respondents and key informants in the target schools. Particularly the researcher will adopt a self-administered questionnaire method for students that may not effectively fill questionnaires by themselves considering their younger age and perhaps the language proficiency barrier. As other participants will fill questionnaires and interview schedules, the researcher will check on each of the respective schools to address raised queries. Informed consent will be first obtained from participants after explaining the reason of the study to them. After a specified time scale amicably agreed with participants, the researcher will collect the filled instrument drafts.  The collected data will be set for analysis and interpretation.

3.7 Validity and Reliability of Instruments

3.7.1 Validity

The validity of the research instruments will be determined by discussing several drafts of the questionnaires and interview schedules with colleagues. The drafts will be also discussed with the researcher’s supervisors. Necessary adjustments will be made and the instruments will be then set for a pilot- run to be conducted in different area. In this case, the instruments will be administered with a number of respondents selected from the respective population frames similar to those that will be later selected for the main study; 1 head teacher, 4 teachers, and 10 students. This will be done in two Schools.  The findings of the pilot run will be analysed and discussed with the researcher’s supervisor. After discussion, the content validity of the instruments will be determined before the main field survey.

3.7.2 Reliability

The reliability of the research instruments will be established using the SPSS Cronbach Alpha Coefficient test. Specifically, this test will cover the research items systematically arranged in the questionnaire and interview schedule according to the research questions. All the variables reflected in these grouped research items of the questionnaire and the interview schedule will be particularly tested using the SPSS Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient. As a result, this SPSS Reliability test should yield a Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient of about 0.7-1.0. Given this statistical output the research instruments will be proved reliable. This is because according to Reynaldo (1999), a research instrument is reliable within the range of 0.7- 1.0.

Content validity of questionnaires will be determined by expert judgement of 3 raters who will confirm that the instrument contained the adequate content.

3.8 Data processing and analysis

3.8.1 Processing and analysis of quantitative data

For purpose of processing data, questionnaires will be sorted, numbered and data entered accordingly. Data will be categorised according to the target population, identified and assembled. It will be edited to reduce it from detailed to summarized form. Then for effective analysis, this data will then be coded and entered into the computer using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) programme. This programme will be used to produce the relevant descriptive frequencies and variable correlations coefficients of the Pearson’s Correlation Test. Afterwards frequency and percentage tables were derived from SPSS frequencies and levels of significance between variable relationships will be deduced from the Correlation co-efficient output. Where necessary charts and diagrams will be derived from the same data frequencies using the micro excel computer programme. These quantitative statistical methods are used to interpret variable relationships for simple and meaningful information.

3.8.2 Processing and analysis of qualitative data

Qualitative data includes interview data. For effective processing, this data will be continually edited even during data collection. My colleagues and data analysis expert will check for uniformity, accuracy, consistency, legibility and comprehensiveness of the data.  During this process, irrelevant data will be eliminated and the relevant one will be organised according to the study objectives. Then data will be analysed using the interpretive analysis. This will include descriptive or explanatory methods used for data presentation and analysis. This will be done to interpret relationships between variables into meaningful and simple information.

3.9 Measurement of variables

The study will be based on different scales of variable measurements deemed appropriate for data management in view of the concept of study, the research design and nature of data. These include the nominal, ordinal, in some cases interval and the particularly the ratio measurement scales.

3.9.1 Nominal measurement scale

The nominal scale will be used for coding of responses to research items (questions) in the questionnaires and interview schedules. This will be particularly meant for identification purposes and will be therefore useful for categorisation of responses into sameness and/or difference.

3.9.2 Ordinal measurement scale

The ordinal level of measurement will be used for establishing rank orders of the nominally categorised responses into comparable response frequencies. This will be useful for categorisation and comparing statistical values of different response frequencies in order to show which is greater or less than the other or equal with each other.

3.9.3 Interval measurement scale

The interval scale will be used for variable measurement of research items that required response coding and comparison along interval ranks. This particularly will cover response items categorised in intervals such as age groups, experience of service, and number of children cared.

3.9.4 Ratio measurement scale

The ratio scale will be used more particularly for specifying proportionalities of difference or sameness between data variables. This will be vital for interpreting the significance levels of the relationships between data variables in order to draw simple and meaningful information from the questionnaires and interview data.