Social factors affecting academic performance of children in refugee camps: a case study of Kakuma refugee camp, in Turkana county, Kenya

Abstract

The issue of obtaining a decent basic education for refugee children, particularly girls, is not assured owing to numerous disruptions that result in dropouts and subsequent failure to complete Primary Education. Researchers have researched the general factors affecting refugees' educational performance, leaving out social factors. the Against this background, this study aimed to determine social factors affecting children's educational performance in refugee camps The study’s specific objectives were to determine how language barriers, drug abuse, cultural beliefs, and insecurity affect the academic performance of children at Kakuma Refugee Camp. This study used systems theory and socio-cultural theory. A descriptive survey design was used to carry out the study. This study was carried out in Kakuma refugee camp, which in the North-western region of Kenya. The study targeted 267 standard 7 and 8 pupils in primary schools in Kakuma refugee camp, 15 class teachers, and 8 school heads, These respondents were targeted since they gave the correct information on the subject matter of this research. The researcher used a purposive sampling technique to select 15 class teachers and 8 head teachers. Simple random sampling was then used to pick a sample size of 80 class 7 and 8 students. Therefore, the whole sample size of the study was 103 respondents. Responses from the selected respondents were collected using a set of structured questionnaires and an interview guide, which were able to capture data relevant to research objectives. The data collected was both qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data was analyzed through thematic review. The R-squared in this study was 0.572, which shows that the four independent variables (language barrier, drug abuse, cultural beliefs, and insecurity) can explain 57.2% of on performance of Academic performance of children at Kakuma refugee camp, while other factors explain 42.8%. The researcher concluded that cultural beliefs affect the performance of refugee children. Ethnic conflicts wreak havoc on society and affect access to schooling further, the effect of early marriages on the performance of children is very high and cultural beliefs affect understanding of education concepts. The researcher concluded that insecurity makes students suffer mentally and emotionally and may affect academic performance. Fear and insecurity affect the performance of children to a very high extent, and conflict damages schools and thus limits educational opportunities. The study analyses social factors affecting the educational performance of children in refugee camps. Kakuma hosts refugees from multiple countries, including South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This diversity creates a unique context to study how different social, cultural, and economic backgrounds impact the academic performance of children in a refugee setting.