Self-Efficacy as a Predictor of Career Decision Making Among Secondary School Students in Busia County, Kenya

The most common constrain to career progression among youth in Kenya is the inability to make informed career decisions. Majority of high school students suffer from excitement for attaining university degree self-actualization rather than taking up career that enhances development of talents and skills that are job market driven. This study aimed at examining the influence of self-efficacy in career decision making among secondary school students. The participants in the study consisted of 364 fourth form secondary school students in Busia County, Kenya.  Gender, age and school type were used as controller variables of self-efficacy on career decision making. Scales to measure self-efficacy and career decision making was developed. Spearman correlation coefficient and multinomial logistic regression techniques were used in data analysis. The results of spearman correlation demonstrated that self-efficacy significantly correlated with students' career decision making (rs = -0.236, p = 0.001) while coefficient of determination (R2) in multinomial logistic regression models (one to four) accounted for 30.5%, 31.3%, 33.1% and 35.6% variations respectively on student career decision making. These implied the remaining 69.5%, 68.7%, 66.9% and 64.4% respectively unexplained were largely due to variation in other variables outside the regression models. The overall likelihood ratio of the regression model was statistically significant X2 (60, N = 364) = 105.984, P=0.001. When controller variables were fitted into the multinomial logistic models the relative risk ratio increased or decreased but the p-value remained statistically significant. This implied that factors within self-efficacy variable contributed significantly in the relationship between self-efficacy and career decision making. On the basis of the findings, it was recommended that career decision making should be enhanced in schools using career guidance and counseling strategies Keywords: Self-efficacy, Decision making, secondary school students, Controller variables, Multinomial logistic regression, Keny

Developmental Vulnerability of Children Born to Traumatized Mothers in Mount Elgon Region, Bungoma County, Kenya

Psychological trauma is the minds reaction to an event and does not manifest in everyone in the same way,it affects people in different ways; for some the symptoms may take weeks, months and for others several years to surface. Regardless of the sources, an emotional trauma contains three very common elements namely; it was unexpected, the person was unprepared, and there was nothing the victim could do to prevent it from happening. The Mount Elgon Region expectant mothers found themselves in the generic as the result of the atrocities of Sabaot Land Defence Force Group.The fundamental goal of parenting right from conception, zygote and embryo is to help the feotus, neonate, infant and later the child to grow and thrive to the best of its potential. Parents anticipate protecting their children from danger whenever possible, but sometimes serious danger threatens the parents themselves leaving the children more vulnerable traumatic effects. The expectantmothers during the Sabaot Land Defence Force violent conflict exposed their foetus to devastating developmental risks which were visible through behavioral disorders and various types of disabilities as revealed by the study. Worse still, approaches to conflict management in Mount Elgon region relied on relief response by humanitarian agencies with a hope that affected families will attain recovery in due course. However, it is apparent that any assistance must go hand in hand with social economic development where social structures with specific indicators in normative cultural transformation are used in the transition to reduce conditions for which conflicts have arisen. This paper, therefore, exploreswhat trauma of the mother can do to unborn child’s developmental milestones and suggests approaches for change that can minimize the traumatizing agents to expectant mothers. KeyWords:- Traumatized Expectant Mothers, Pre-School Learners,Foetus, Developmental Vulnerability

Influence of Authoritarian Parenting Style on Forms of Delinquent Behaviour Among Secondary School Students in Butere Sub- County, Kenya

Forms of delinquent behaviour amongst secondary school students continue to increase thus hindering effective learning by students leading to poor academic performance in national examinations. The study sought to determine the influence of Authoritarian parenting on forms of delinquent behaviour among secondary school students in Butere Sub-County. The study was based on the Parenting Models theory. It adopted a correlational research design which allowed the researcher to describe different events, experiences, or behaviours and look for links between them. Study data was collected using a questionnaire and an interview schedule. Population of the study comprised of 2797 form two students, 30 deputy principals and 30 teachers in charge of guidance and counselling in secondary schools in Butere Sub-county. The study sample comprised 338 students selected using simple random sampling, 10 deputy principals and 10 teachers in charge of guidance and counselling. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis. Study findings showed that there was a statistically significant and positive relationship between Authoritarian parenting style and forms of delinquent behaviour among secondary school students in Butere Sub-County.  The study recommended that parents consider spending quality time with their children in order to monitor them for any signs of forms of delinquent behaviour, and inculcating in them desirable societal values. Family systems need to be strengthened so as to provide the communal counselling services for both parents and youth and to promote family education related to child upbringing. Keywords: Authoritarian, Parenting Style, Delinquency, Students DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-19-01 Publication date:July 31st 201

Effects of Traumatized Antenatal Mothers on Their Pre-School Children in Mt. Elgon Region, Kenya

Foetus developmental vulnerability in pre-school children of traumatized antenatal mothers in Cheptais and Mount Elgon Sub-Counties, Bungoma County, Kenya. Is a study meant to establish the effects of trauma of the mother on the unborn child who was born and now is in pre-school level of education. Through observation by the mother during neonate, infant and childhood stages of developmental milestones in relation to the same observation of non-traumatized mothers’ children. The conclusion is supported by the observation of the same children by their teachers in pre-schools. The sampling strategy involved non-probability where purposive and snow-ball observation, analysis and probability, sampling where multistage or cluster was the most appropriate for observation and units of analysis to make units of representative sample of Cheptais and Mount Elgon sub-counties. This study is designed to assist the community and the society in general to understand the need to avoid any stressful situation by expectant Mothers. It is also meant to enlighten the society on the importance of taking care of their expectant Mothers and to desist from encouraging stressful environment. The study enabled the researcher to understand why there were increased number disabled children in the region. Whose conditions were seriously interfering with their academic work? Majority of the children born to traumatized mothers had developmental problems associated with disabilities as opposed to those mothers who resisted trauma; hence associating trauma with developmental problems of the children who were foetus at the of traumatizing episodes

Effects of succession planning programs on staff retention

Learning about factors that affect staff retention and ways of improving it,can help firms avoid the inconvenience of high attrition. Thus, the purpose of this study was to establish the effects of succession planning programs on staff retention in the sugar companies of Western Province, Kenya. Management staff members were purposively selected, stratified and simple randomly sampled. Data collection was done by use of questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were employed to analyze the data. Findings of the study indicate that more employees had high job satisfaction because of going through the succession planning process with the hope of being next in line of management. This had a positive effect on the retention of staff in the sugar firms under study