Community-Based Out-of-School Mentorship and Positive Youth Development: Case of Secondary School Students in Kibra, Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Kenya’s youth population is fast increasing, in the case of adolescents living in informal settlements such as Kibra, a lack of enabling social structures that positively impact their development has become their greatest hindrance. This study examined the influence of out-of-school mentorship programmes on positive development among secondary school students in Kibra, Nairobi County. Specifically, the study evaluated the effect of participation in youth mentorship, mentor support, individual characteristics, and the moderating influence of parental support on Positive Youth Development (PYD). The study was guided by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, Lerner’s Positive Youth Development Theory, and Rhodes’ Mentorship Model. It adopted a pragmatic grounded theory approach and used a mixed method design to support rigorous data analysis. The study targeted 3,560 youth in Form 1 to Form 4 drawn from secondary schools linked to mentorship programmes run by 10 community-based organizations in Kibra Sub- County. From this population, 349 students were randomly selected using the Yamane (1968) formula, alongside 10 key informants and 21 focus group discussions. The quantitative data were processed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and linear logistic regression, while the qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis. Findings show strong involvement in the mentorship programme, with 88% of students attending sessions and 57% taking on leadership roles. Most of the students (about 95–97%) recorded positive development outcomes. Guidance and counselling stood out with a significant relationship to positive youth development (χ² = 23.16, p = 0.001) and a strong association with outcomes (r = 0.50). Regression results point to three key factors that mattered most: school connectedness (β = 0.320), guidance and counselling (β = 0.319), and parental support (β = 0.297), with the model explaining between 19% and 56% of the variation in outcomes. The qualitative findings show uneven outcomes linked to mentor availability, self-control challenges, and differences in parental involvement. The study concludes that mentorship supports positive youth development in Kibra, but results vary across students. It recommends structured programmes, attention to individual needs, and strong parental participation. This study provides evidence to inform policy, programme design, and practice on adolescent development in informal urban settlements in Kenya.