Activities used by Secondary School Teachers to Address the Menace of Drug and Substance Abuse in Kenya

Author: Rono, Richard; Kimengi, Isaac N.; Githinji, Felicity W.

ABSTRACT

For some decades, students have been given lessons about drugs in schools in the belief that education about drugs can change their behavior. There is a social consensus that drugs can be eliminated. The purpose of this study was to look into activities used by teachers at the secondary school level to address the menace of drug and substance abuse in selected secondary schools in Kenya. The study was based on social learning theory. The research was conducted in Nandi County schools in Kenya. Twenty-four randomly selected schools out of 235 county schools were engaged in the study. A sample size of 1292 respondents was obtained using purposive and simple random sampling techniques. The participants included Deputy Principals, Counselors, and teachers teaching Life Skills subjects, students, and Focus Group Discussions. The data instruments utilized included questionnaires and structured interviews. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequency tables, and percentages. The findings of this study revealed that drug abuse in schools was a challenge that needed to be addressed by all stakeholders in education. Outsiders were found to be secretly selling drugs to students during festivities such as music and games. Teachers and school security officers in most schools did not bother to check on student luggage on arrival during opening and midterms which became an easy leeway for getting drugs into schools. The research findings would be useful to schools, parents, research practitioners, and school administration.

Keywords: Activities, teachers, secondary school, drugs, and substance abuse

Citation

Rono, R., Kimengi, I. N., & Githinji, F. W. (2021). Activities used by Secondary School Teachers to Address the Menace of Drug and Substance Abuse in Kenya. Journal of Contemporary Social Science and Education, 2(1), 1‐14. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7337860.