DETERMINING THE IMPACTS OF COVID 19 LOCKDOWNS ON ADOLESCENTS'

EDUCATION IN KIIMA KIMWE WARD

RESLA MWIRO

C01/10585/2018

A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND

SOCIAL SCIENCES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS OF MACHAKOS
UNIVERSITY

SEPTERMBER 2022

i
 DECLARATION
This research project is my original work and has not been presented for a degree or any other
award in any university.
__________________________ _________________
RESLA MWIRO DATE
C01-10585-2018

We confirm that the work reported in this research project was carried out by the candidate under
my supervision as university supervisor.
__________________________
Mr. JUSTIN KYALO.

Project Supervisor

Department of Social Sciences

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 DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to my family and friends for their love and support and especially for
enduring my long periods of absence while carrying out the study.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost I thank the almighty God for making it possible for me to persue this course
through his provision and guidance.Secondly I appreciate the input of my supervisor Mr. Justin
Kyalo into this work. I am particularly grateful for his tireless guidance, encouragement and
positive criticism which were very instrumental in making this project proposal a success.
Finally I wish to thank my parents and friends for both the moral and material support without
which this study would not have been possible.

To all of you who contributed in one way or another towards making this work a success, thank
you and may God bless you.

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Table of Contents
DECLARATION .......................................................................................................................................... ii

DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................................. iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................................... iv

LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................................... viii

LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................... viii

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS .................................................................................................... ix

Definition of Terms....................................................................................................................................... x

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................. xi

CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 1

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1

1.1 Background to the study ..................................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Statement of the problem .................................................................................................................... 4

1.3 Objectives of the Study ....................................................................................................................... 5

1.3.1 Main Objective............................................................................................................................. 5

1.3.2 Specific Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 5

1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................................. 6

1.5 Justification of the study ..................................................................................................................... 6

1.6 Assumptions of the study .................................................................................................................... 7

1.7 Scope of the study ............................................................................................................................... 7

1.8 Limitations of the study ...................................................................................................................... 8

CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................................................. 9

LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................................. 9

2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 9

2.2 Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................................... 9

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 2.2.1 Classical Liberal Theory of Equal Opportunities......................................................................... 9

2.2.2 Social Darwinism Theory .......................................................................................................... 10

2.3 Conceptual framework ...................................................................................................................... 11

2.4.1 Digital Electronic Devices/Gadgets ........................................................................................... 11

2.4.2 Household Chores ...................................................................................................................... 12

2.4.3 Self-Regulatory Learning........................................................................................................... 13

2.4.4 Educational Services .................................................................................................................. 15

2.5 RESEARCH GAPS .......................................................................................................................... 16

2.6 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................... 18

CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................................................... 20

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................ 20

3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 20

3.2 Research Design................................................................................................................................ 20

3.3 Target Population .............................................................................................................................. 20

3.4 Sampling Frame ................................................................................................................................ 22

3.5 Sample and Sampling Techniques .................................................................................................... 22

3.5.1Sampling Techniques .................................................................................................................. 22

3.5.2 Sample size ................................................................................................................................ 23

3.6 Research Instruments ........................................................................................................................ 24

3.7 Data Collection Procedure ................................................................................................................ 24

3.8 Pilot test ............................................................................................................................................ 24

3.9. Data Processing and Analysis .......................................................................................................... 25

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... 26

APPENDIX 1 .............................................................................................................................................. 29

QUESTIONAIRE FOR STUDENTS ......................................................................................................... 29

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APPENDIX 2 .............................................................................................................................................. 32

Proposed Budget of the Study (Table 1.3) .................................................................................................. 32

vii
LIST OF TABLES
1.1 Target population............................................................28

1.2 Sample size......................................................................30

1.3 Budget Plan......................................................................36

LIST OF FIGURES
2.1 Conceptual framework...................................................17

viii
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
AEO –Area Education Officer
DANIDA-Danish International Development Agency
DCID- Duke Centre for International Development
DEO-District Education Officer
EARCs-Educational Assessment and Resource Centres.
EFA- Education for All
EMIS- Education Statistics Management Section
FPE-Free Primary Education
KIE-Kenya Institute of Education.

MDGs -Millennium Development Goals.

MOE -Ministry of Education
MOEST -Ministry of Education Science and Technology
NGOs -Non Governmental Organizations
SIDA- Swedish International Development Co-Operation Agency

UK-United Kingdom

SPSS- Statistical Package for Social Sciences

UN-United Nations

UNDP- United Nations Development Programmes

UNESCO - United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNICEF- United Nations Children Fund
UPE-Universal Primary Education
WHO -World Health Organization

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Definition of Terms
Assistive devices- this are instruments or tools that are used to increase functionality for persons
with disabilities in such areas as mobility, communication, hearing and seeing.
Inclusion- refers to changing of attitudes and environments to meet the diverse needs and to
facilitate participation of persons with disabilities and those from unprivileged homes on equal
basis with others in society.
Inclusive education- refers to schools and centers of learning and education systems that are open
to all children including those with disability and from unprivileged homes.

Participation – being involved in day - to- day learning activities like attending lessons,
examinations and co- curricular activities.

Secondary education- a level of education offered after pupils have graduated from the primary
cycle.

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ABSTRACT
The education sector worldwide has greatly been impacted negatively by corona virus crisis, the
republic of Kenya included. This is because teaching and learning activities in all learning
institutions have severely been disrupted. Learners whose education has been affected negatively
are the unprivileged, vulnerable, marginalized, special needs and poor learners whose families
are mainly found in urban informal settlements, refugee camps, rural hard to reach areas and
internally displaced people camps. This is because their guardians or parents depend on
donations, small scale farming, vendition, informal employment and small scale businesses to
fend for their families.Corona virus crisis has compromised the financial ability of these families
dismally especially when it comes to financing school related expenditure like paying for online
classes, buying learning materials like textbook, revision materials and others. Learners from
these disadvantaged backgrounds always prefer to be taught physically by a teacher rather than
being taught remotely or online. This is because physical teaching helps them to closely interact
socially and bond physically with their teacher. The online education and distance learning
which has been implemented by the Kenyan government through the Ministry of Education do
not allow learners to have a personal relationship and intimate interaction with the online teacher.
Also online teaching do not favor such learners as most of them do not have access to mediums
like Smartphone, internet connectivity, computers, televisions, radios, among others. This has
widened inequality in access to relevant quality education by such disadvantaged learners. There
is need to examine these challenges and propose suitable remedies which can be utilized during
and after this corona virus crisis by educationalist in order to ensure uninterrupted learning in
educational institutions in future. Thus this write up will address this gist in this study. This study
focuses on investigating the impacts of Covid 19 lockdowns on the education of adolescents and
how these impacts can be addressed so that optimal access to education for these learners will
be achieved. The objectives of the study will be to investigate whether the learners had access to
digital electronic gadgets, whether self learning helped them and it challenges, how house chores
impacted on their learning and the inequalities they faced in accessing educational services.A
survey research design will be used to find out the level of impacts of Covid 19 lockdowns on
the education of adolescents.The target population will be 2059 secondary school learners and
1300 primary school learners drawn from Kiima kimwe ward. Questionnaires will be used as
instruments to collect data. Data will be analysed using descriptive statistics like frequencies and
percentages by use of the SPSS computer package. The collected data will be presented inform
of tables and figures. The study will establish that the covid 19 lockdowns had a huge impact on
the education sector.

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

Education is not only a fundamental human right, it is an enabling right with direct impact on the
realization of all other human rights. Accordingly, United Nations Policy Brief: Education during
COVID-19 and beyond, (UN, August 2020) warns that the pandemic has created severe
disruption in the education systems and is threatening a loss of learning that may stretch beyond
one generation of students. It is an understatement to say that the entire world has changed since
the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic hit. It is caused by severe acute respiratory
syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and originated in Wuhan, China. One negative
consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic is the downfall of the educational system.

In the case of the Netherlands, Engzell, Frey and Verhagen (2020) found that students from
homes with low levels of education suffered learning losses 40% higher than the average student.
Nevertheless, the same study also demonstrates that other students’ characteristics such as sex,
grade or prior performance did not affect the impact on learning during school closures. In the
case of the Flemish Community of Belgium, Maldonado and De Witte (2020)show that not only
has the level of academic performance decreased as a consequence of the school closures, but
also the learning inequalities have increased significantly within and across schools. Using
different indicators of inequality (i.e., Gini, ratio 90/10 and entropy), the study shows that
learning inequalities grew in the context of the pandemic, and this is mainly explained by a
significant performance decrease by those students at the bottom of the performance distribution.
Another estimation of the learning loss in the UK points out that primary education children
from advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds could have lost 24% of a standard deviation in
their performance across subjects as a result of the school closures, whilst socially disadvantaged
children could have lost 31% of a standard deviation. In the case of secondary education, the
learning loss is estimated to be 14% of a standard deviation for socially advantaged students and
28% for the socially disadvantaged ones (Pensiero, Kelly & Bokhove, 2020). Kuhfeld et al.
(2020) and Wyse et al. (2020), also used the previous literature to estimate the potential effects
of school closures in the US. According to Kuhfeld et al. (2020), the expected learning loss will

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vary between 37% and 63% depending on the scenario and domain of learning considered. As in
the analysis by Maldonado and De Witte (2020), the estimate for the US also predicts higher
learning losses among those placed at the bottom of the distribution of performance.

In Shanghai – China’s most populous city with 24 million people – schools returned to virtual
learning, neighborhoods were put on lockdown and residents were told not to leave unless
absolutely necessary as mainland China faces its worst COVID-19 outbreak since the outset of
the pandemic (Cowling et al., 2020; Nafisah et al., 2018; Rashid et al., 2015). School closures
have unprecedentedly altered the daily lives of the student learners, their families and their
educators. Incredibly, more than half a billion children (Cohen & Kupferschmidt, 2020) have
been forced to become virtual-school learners as they shelter in their homes, while parents,
siblings, and other family members have taken on the new role of pseudo teachers and coaches.It
is of grave concern, therefore, that the COVID-19 pandemic has created the worst education
crisis in a century, affecting 42% of students in China (UNESCO,2013).

Prior to COVID-19 school closures, South Africa had achieved near universal school enrollment,
and secondary school attendance was at 90%, with notable gender parity (StatsSA, 2019;
Shepherd and Mohohlwane, 2021). However, even before the pandemic, school completion rates
remained poor; with approximately half of a given cohort entering grade 1 projected to not
complete grade 12 and attain their National Senior Certificate/“Matric” (similar to a high school
diploma), the majority of whom are from poor areas and vulnerable to numerous barriers to
education (Weybright et al., 2017; Hall, 2018; StatsSA, 2019; Runhare et al., 2021). Despite
completion of grade nine being compulsory in South Africa, in 2018 only 70% of adolescents
aged 16–17 years attained their grade nine certificate, and 90.2% of 19–21 year olds, meaning
around 60% of young South Africans effectively drop out of school, with no school-leaving
qualification; there is considerable variation across provinces, household income quantiles and
population groups (Hartnack, 2017; Hall, 2018; StatsSA, 2019).In recognition that internet
access was not universal, and in an effort to continue the provision of education during school
closures, the South African Department of Basic Education (DBE) made attempts to fill the gap
for those learners unable to access online learning (Nel and Marais, 2020). Governmental
departments of communications and digital technologies and DBE, collaborated with national

2
television and radio broadcasters to launch the multi-media COVID-19 Learner Support program,
with the aim of rolling-out accessible virtual learning for students across South Africa (Mhlanga
and Moloi, 2020; Ngogi Emmanuel, 2020). DBE collaborated with several non-governmental
entities on initiatives that made use of online, mobile and social media platforms, and proactive
changes in national legislation required mobile providers to support “zero-rated”1 educational
applications and websites (Czerniewicz et al., 2020; Mhlanga and Moloi, 2020; Landa et al.,
2021). Teachers were tasked with creating lesson plans and assignments which were made
available online through these platforms (Mhlanga and Moloi, 2020).

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, nationwide enrollment in primary education stood at 93 per
cent and 53 percent at the secondary level (UNICEF,2021). The quarantines and curfews
imposed by governments as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic also lead to learning loss. If
children experience learning loss during normal extended school holidays, it remains to be
determined how much learning will be lost during extended emergency closures. For rural
children of parents with low literacy levels and limited education resources, this risk of learning
loss is heightened. Not only are these parents frustrated at having to homeschool without
adequate preparation, they also cannot reinforce their children’s learning (Seleina &Jepkemei,
2020). Intermittent online learning is not effective for students already behind, and radio learning
cannot replace classroom learning as it is intended to supplement knowledge that children
already have.In pastoral communities, high dropout rates reflect a perceived lack of value of
schooling, long distances to schools and high rates of child marriage (Parsitau,2020). In 2020,
school closures interrupted learning for over 17 million children, who missed more than six
months of formal education eading to increased risks of violence, child I labour and child
marriage (Parsitau& Jepkemei, 2020).

Machakos County has a youthful population of people below age 15 making up 39% of the total
population and this is because many more people are added to the population than the number of
people dying (Jepkemei, 2020). In Machakos County, one in four (24%) people are adolescents
aged 10-19 (Kenya Beureau of Statistics [KBS] 2017). According to reports released by the
Kenya Health Information Systems (KHIS) at least adolescents between the ages of 10-19 years
are presented to be pregnant from different sub-counties in Machakos County, Kenya due to

3
covid 19 lockdowns and school closure thus impacting their learning.The number of cases
reported from the month of January to May, 2020 summed up to 3,964 cases of teenage
pregnancy.Ms Salome Muthuma,the Chairperson of adolescents and youth affairs in Machakos
County, attributes the rising cases to the pandemic that has led to closure of schools. Adolescents
in Kiima kimwe ward are being exposed to sex pests and with containment measure to curb the
spread of corona virus, elderly care givers are having it rough in monitoring their children.
There’s need for concerted efforts to countermand the surge of the worrying trend, as this can
lead to a high rate of students dropping out school. Challenges that may impact adolescents
involvement in remote learning settings in Machakos County include; lack of internet access
(Hollingworth et al., 2011); lack of interest of in using technology (Beckman et al., 2019); and
having low digital self-efficacy (Povey et al., 2016). From research done on virtual school
learning environments, pre-pandemic, we learn that parents become a learning coach for students
who spend a significant amount of their day in an online setting (Hasler Waters & Leong, 2014).

Hence, this study establishes the impacts of covid 19 lockdowns on the education of adolescents
in Machakos County, Kiima Kimwe ward. The study therefore, is an attempt to fill the already
identified gap in knowledge by elucidating the impacts of this novel pandemic on adolescents's
education.

1.2 Statement of the problem

COVID-19 school closures hinder Kenya’s Vision 2030 National Development Goals which try
to achieve quality education for all (Ngwacho, 2020). The ten-year action plan aims to address
and implement the Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations General Assembly, 2015)
and thus safeguard the right to education. Under this framework and before the COVID-19 virus
spread across the world, the government had prioritized digital literacy via its “digischool”
program – which aims to equip all students with the digital tools necessary to succeed in the
modern world (ICT Authority of Kenya). Following the country’s first COVID-19 case on
March 13, 2020, schools were abruptly shut and have remained closed ever since, with children
in most year groups having to repeat their 2020 school year in 2021 (Njenga, 2020). The closure
of schools affected over 18 million children in Kenya and has subsequently prompted the
development of a COVID-19 response plan (Kenya Basic Education COVID-19 Emergency
Response Plan.
4
One of the most immediate challenges is the country’s inability to provide effective and
accessible remote learning opportunities for children. Marginalized children with implicit
vulnerabilities such as those with disabilities; living in informal settlements, slums or remote
locations; asylum seekers and refugees are at a greater risk of failing to benefit from remote
learning opportunities (Ngwacho, 2020).

As of 2016, 50% of Kenyans did not have access to the Internet (United Nations Economic and
Social Council, 2016), while children often do not have access to Internet, laptops or the
Internet-enabled smartphones in order to carry out their work (Human Rights Watch, 2020) in
spite of past government promises to provide all children with this equipment (Jelimo, 2020).
This lack of access combined with the cost of Internet data is exacerbated in more rural areas,
creating a digital divide which is separating the large majority of Kenyan students from
education (Ngwacho, 2020).

Even where children have Internet access, remote learning programs lack reliable infrastructure,
as teachers have limited knowledge of online teaching and the country has had little time to
prepare for its realities (Jelimo, 2020). The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development’s (KICD)
Education Cloud is a positive step. This organization is attempting to centralize education and
teaching to make vital school resources more accessible; however, this material is only valuable
to the limited few who can access it (Njenga, 2020). Students with access to the Internet have
further revealed that the cost of internet access forces them to prioritize which material to
download, limiting the impact of available resources (Human Rights Watch, 2020).

1.3 Objectives of the Study

1.3.1 Main Objective

To determine the impacts of Covid 19 lockdowns on the education of adolescents

1.3.2 Specific Objectives

(-) To determine the accessibility of electronic gadgets by the adolescent in their learning

(-) To determine the effects of house chores on the education of adolescents

(-) To assess the effectiveness of self learning on the adolescents

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(-) To determine the inequalities in accessing educational services among the adot

1.4 Research Questions

(-) How are the adolescents accessing digital electronic gadgets during the covid lockdowns?

(-) What are the types of inequalities faced by adolescents in accessing educational services?

(-) How are the house chores affecting the education of boys and girls differently?

(-) How effective is self learning among the adolescents during the covid lockdowns?

1.5 Justification of the study

This study shows how new education allies have been formed even in the midst of the covid
lockdowns period. The pandemic has galvanized new actors in the community—from parents to
social welfare organizations—to support children’s learning like never before ( Winthrop, 2020).
Alongside increasing recognition of the essential role of public schools, the pandemic has
galvanized parts of communities that traditionally are not actively involved in children’s
education. As school buildings closed, teachers began to partner with parents in ways never done
before, schools formed new relationships with community health and social welfare
organizations, media companies worked with education leaders, technology companies partnered
with nonprofits and governments, and local nonprofits and businesses contributed to supporting
children’s learning in new ways(Vegas, 2020).

During school closures due to the lockdowns, existing inequalities in the education system were
exacerbated by the pandemic, particularly for girls, who face challenges unique to their
intersecting experiences of gender and age. The home environment was generally not conducive
to learning, with adolescents feeling easily distracted, unsupported, and limited in study time due
to competing demands.

Policy measures by the government would be Implemented and policy makers wilI implement
policies to reduce the COVID-19 Pandemic uncertainties and Improve growth prospects.

This study is also showing the rising public support whereby there is newfound public
recognition of how essential schools are in society and a window of opportunity to leverage this
support for making them stronger. In addition, Innovation has suddenly moved from the margins
6
to the center of many education systems, and there is an opportunity to identify new strategies,
that if sustained, can help young people get an education that prepares them for our changing
times (Leong,2020).

1.6 Assumptions of the study

When conducting this research, my assumptions include being given permission to do this
research by the authority, getting enough and sufficient data for my study and positive response
from the people whom the study will.be conducted to.

1.7 Scope of the study

This study focuses more on the adolescents of Machakos County, Kiima kimwe ward.Machakos
County has a youthful population of people below age 15 making up 39% of the total population
and this is because many more people are added to the population than the number of people
dying (Jepkemei, 2020). In Machakos County, one in four (24%) people are adolescents aged 10-
19 (Kenya Beureau of Statistics [KBS] 2017). According to reports released by the Kenya Health
Information Systems (KHIS) at least adolescents between the ages of 10-19 years are presented
to be pregnant from different sub-counties in Machakos County, Kenya due to covid 19
lockdowns and school closure thus impacting their learning.The number of cases reported from
the month of January to May, 2020 summed up to 3,964 cases of teenage pregnancy.Ms Salome
Muthuma,the Chairperson of adolescents and youth affairs in Machakos County, attributes the
rising cases to the pandemic that has led to closure of schools. Adolescents in Kiima kimwe ward
are being exposed to sex pests and with containment measure to curb the spread of corona virus,
elderly care givers are having it rough in monitoring their children. There’s need for concerted
efforts to countermand the surge of the worrying trend, as this can lead to a high rate of students
dropping out school. Challenges that may impact adolescents involvement in remote learning
settings in Machakos County include; lack of internet access (Hollingworth et al., 2011); lack of
interest of in using technology (Beckman et al., 2019); and having low digital self-efficacy
(Povey et al., 2016). From research done on virtual school learning environments, pre-pandemic,
we learn that parents become a learning coach for students who spend a significant amount of
their day in an online setting (Hasler Waters & Leong, 2014).

7
1.8 Limitations of the study
The Covid 19 lockdowns had a large impact on the education system affecting the adolescents
who on top of other challenges were really impacted negatively by this pandemic. When
conducting this study, some of the limitations likely to encounter include language challenges,
lack of cooperation from the people and lack of enough data.

8
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction
This chapter will look at the theoretical framework, conceptual framework and discuss the
objectives of the study.

2.2 Theoretical Framework

The study was guided by the classical liberal Theory of Equal opportunities and Social
Darwinism Theory.

2.2.1 Classical Liberal Theory of Equal Opportunities

According to Bannister (1989), liberalism is a policy that considers individual liberty and
equality as the most important goals; it emphasizes individual rights and equality of opportunity.
Liberal theories support provision of basic rights to all and seek to avoid discriminating (Dorrien,
2001). Procedural liberalism allows individuals to pursue their own vision of life within the
framework of the state law. Wolfe (2009) observes that classical liberalism emphasizes the
individual and says that society must be arranged to allow the individual to live a good life in the
way that he chooses. It therefore follows that, deliberate steps must be taken by the society
(stakeholders in the provision of education in this case) to „arrange education to be accessible for
all learners, those with challenges assessing educational services during certain difficult
conditions included.

Opportunity for all individuals is the main concern of the classical liberal theory. Individuals are
born with abilities, talents and given amount of capacity which to a large extent is inherited and
cannot be substantially changed. Thus educational systems should be designed so as to remove
any barriers that prevent those from poor families during the covid period from taking advantage
of their inborn talents through education (Orodho 2004).

This theory guided this study in the sense that it recognized there was no equal opportunities for
students from poor backgrounds accessing equal education hence strategies needed to be
developed. These strategies should be able to embrace the fact that learners from poor families
are individuals with different abilities, needs and capacities. Whatever strategies that is to be
9
employed should therefore seek to open chances for each and every child from poor backgrounds
according to their status without necessarily leaving out those that are from privileged
backgrounds.

2.2.2 Social Darwinism Theory

The Social Darwinism Theory proposes the application of the theory of Natural Selection to
social, political and economic issues (Bannister, 1989). This theory follows the mantra „the
strongest survive‟ and is used to promote the idea that social policy should allow the weak and
unfit to fail and die (BCOOP,2002- 3). This study will borrow heavily from Darwin‟s theory of
Natural Selection which argues that:

- Resources of an environment are limited and therefore members of species must compete for
limited resources and for survival, - Members within a species are not exactly alike; each
contains individual combination of inherited traits, some of which are useful while others are not.

- Organisms without useful traits eventually die off. The fittest survive.

From the above observations it is imperative that, opportunities for the students who were from
poor backgrounds during covid 19 to improve their lot through education must be sought in
earnest.

This is true, particularly due to the fact that, the learners from poor families do not have learning
resources that could allow them compete fairly with their peers who are from privileged families
and can access the learning materials during the covid 19 lockdowns. Wolfe (2009) argues that
societies can use the classical liberal theory to prioritize the disadvantaged (those from poor
backgrounds in this case) in forming social policy while allowing the competent (those from
privileged families) to work their way to the top.

This theory guided this study in the sense that it was recognized that learners from poor
backgrounds risked "extinction" from the education system if deliberate measures and strategies
are not put in place to assure them equal opportunity of access and participation to education. All
students regardless of their backgrounds should be incorporated into the education system
despite all challenges. Education should act like an equal footing to every student so as to
promote equality at all spheres of life.
10
2.3 Conceptual framework
Digital Electronic device

Education House chores

Self learning

Accessibility of educational services

Fig 2.1

2.4.1 Digital Electronic Devices/Gadgets

The Covid 19 lockdowns which led to closure of schools created another route to education through
adoption of digital electronic gadgets to facilitate learning and this had to be conducted in conjunction
with internet services. Globally, around 47% of all primary and secondary students did not have access to
the internet at home ( World Bank, 2020).

In the United States of America, the pandemic’s uneven effects on students began with the basics: logging
into the virtual classroom. According to one survey, as of summer 2020, nearly a third of teachers in
majority Black schools reported that their students lacked the technology necessary to take part in virtual
instruction. Only one in five teachers said the same in schools where fewer than 10% of students were
Black ( Kraft et al, 2020).

In Pakistan,the unavailability of laptops, personal computers, and consistent internet connectivity

obstructs and delaysonline learning progression mainly for less privileged, and inhabitants of rural areas
or belong to relegated communities of Pakistan(Salam, Jianqiu, Pathan, & Lei, 2017).

COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of remote learning in South Africa,though the covid 19
accelerated the adoption of remote learning, access to the electronic digital devices nationwide is not
universal, with socio-economically disadvantaged communities facing various barriers to accessing fast,
reliable, and affordable internet solutions (Oluka et al., 2021). Whilst remote learning has ensured some
level of continuity and reduced disruption to education, it is likely that the shift to online and internet-base
learning has disproportionately impacted those learners from disadvantaged socioeconomic communities,
particularly female learners (Oluka et al., 2021; Wernli et al., 2021).
11
As of 2016, 50% of Kenyans did not have access to the Internet (United Nations Economic and Social
Council, 2016), while children often do not have access to Internet, laptops or the Internet-enabled
smartphones in order to carry out their work (Human Rights Watch, 2020) in spite of past government
promises to provide all children with this equipment (Jelimo, 2020). This lack of access combined with
the cost of Internet data is exacerbated in more rural areas, creating a digital divide which is separating
the large majority of Kenyan students from education (Ngwacho, 2020). Learners from the marginalized
and vulnerable homes lack the digital infrastructure to help them interact online freely with their
colleagues from the fortunate families. This is because their parents are unable to buy for them digital
gadgets like radios, televisions, smartphone, internet connectivity, and others. This shows that this corona
virus crisis has impeded the provision of an inclusive education to learners from different backgrounds.

2.4.2 Household Chores

Lockdown and social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
created a care gap for households, posing a challenge to the adolescents girls compared to boys affecting
their education (Andrew et al. 2020). Although evidence suggests that in the early stages of the pandemic
both girls and boys took on the additional care necessitated by the restrictions,girls carried a
disproportionate share of the burden (Andrew et al. 2020; Kreyenfeld and Zinn 2021; Sevilla and Smith
2020; Zoch, Baechmann, and Vicari, 2021).

In Brazil, a potential factor of influence that is present mainly in low-income families has to do with
household chores. There is a discussion about which tasks should be included in this category, and also
about the boundaries in terms of household chores performed during childhood and adolescence between
what is considered part of the familial experience and domestic child labor, which is prohibited for those
under 18 years old (Patriota & Alberto, 2014).

Even though a clear definition of this concept had not been established at the time, a synthesis of the
Social Indicators provided by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics [IBGE] (2015) included
the following tasks under the household chores category: a) clean or tidy up part of or the entire home; b)
cook or prepare meals, iron clothes, do the laundry or the dishes, using electrical appliances or not to
perform tasks for oneself or other residents; c) instruct or supervise domestic workers performing
household chores; d) take care of children or minors; and e) clean the backyard or area around the house.
The last IBGE survey found that 37.6% of Brazilian boys and 68.5% of Brazilian girls aged from 10 to 15
years old reported the performance of household chores during the covid lockdowns.

12
The impact of these responsibilities on the development of these individuals, however, had a negative
impact because adolescents girls were overworked compared to the male counterparts thereby having
little time left for studying. Adolescents who perform household chores have their school performance
affected, and experience school failures, and have less time to do school work (Dellazzana-Zanon, Zanon,
& Freitas, 2014). This factor is also related to life purposes because school performance plays a vital role
in prospects ( Bybee & Terry, 2006).

In Gambia, a range of domestic work such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, care of younger siblings, petty
trading at home, in the markets, and on the street done by girls during the covid lockdowns really had an
impact on their education compared to boys. About 83% of these girls interviewed confirmed that they
were asked to do the stated chores because it’s considered appropriate to their gender hence girl’s
academic performance was poor because of these household gender roles ( Njie et al, 2020).

In Kenya, girls’ time use was disproportionately affected by school closures, as they were assigned more
household chores than boys( Bulbarelli, 2020). According to adolescents, most girls were required to
prioritize chores over remote learning. In addition to reporting concentration issues, a significant
proportion of adolescent girls reported that housework affected their learning at home in that 60% of
adolescents reported that household chores interfered with their ability to learn at home ( Nyothach, 2012).
This was more prominent in Wajir at 63%, with girls (74%) being particularly affected compared to boys
(46%). Likewise, in Kisumu and Nairobi, girls aged 15–19-years were more likely to report this barrier in
contrast to Kilifi, where more boys were affected ( Obor & Kwaro, 2020).

Conversely, a larger proportion of adolescent boys reported being subjected to child labour to raise
income for the family as opposed to learning. Across all sites, 10% of adolescents reported that working
to raise income affected their learning. Boys were more likely to be subjected to this pressure (13%) than
girls (9%) ( Fwaya,2020).Among boys, it was prominent in those aged 15-19 years and the proportion
differed slightly across counties, with 17% in Nairobi, 15% in Kisumu, 21% in Kilifi and 4% in Wajir.
These adolescents were subjected to child labour since some parents forced them to look for manual work
to support the family, while others had deserted their families due to loss of income and jobs ( Mehta, A
& Howard, 2020) .

2.4.3 Self-Regulatory Learning

In Germany, with the closure of schools and colleges, self learning was made easier since parents took on
more responsibility to support their children’s learning at home. Just over half of teachers report that
parents were engaged with their children’s self learning (Lucas et al., 2020; Villasden, Conti &

13
Fitzsimons, 2020). In total, 58% of parents reported that they were home-schooling their children during
the initial lockdown. Parents typically took part in more home-schooling for primary compared with
secondary-aged children (Andrew et al., 2020a; Lucas et al., 2020; Pensiero et al., 2020; Villasden et al.,
2020). They spent just under 1 hour supporting secondary children with their learning per day, compared
with 2 hours supporting primary-aged children (Pensiero et al., 2020). Teachers further reported that 48%
of parents of secondary-aged children were engaged with their child’s learning, compared to 56% of
parents with primary aged children. Many children and young people found the transition to life in
lockdown difficult, particularly from a mental health and well-being perspective (Pallan, et al., 2021; The
Children’s Society, 2020a, 2020b). There were many factors about living under lockdown restrictions,
online learning and being unable to socialise with friends, that were reported as detrimental to students’
mental health, well-being and desire for learning. On the contrary, the effects of self learning were also
revealed in the sense that many students reported that increased screen time associated with online
learning led to headaches, burnout and stress (Müller & Goldenberg 2020a, 2020b, 2021; Open Data
Institute, 2020).

Although many reported enjoying the flexibility of offline learning (Muller & Goldenberg), the lack of
structure and routine could be difficult to navigate. For instance, some students reported being
unmotivated or having no discipline to study, while others, particularly girls, lacked the discipline to
restrict learning to normal school hours and often worked longer than they would usually, compared with
boys (Impact Ed, 2020; NSPCC, 2020; Müller & Goldenberg, 2020b; Open Data Institute, 2020; Young
Minds, 2020a).

Many young people also reported feeling stressed and anxious about different aspects of their life. This
included worries about school work, family and homelifeand the pandemic, and some were also
experiencing bereavements (Child Poverty Action Group, 2020; Impact Ed, 2020; Mountford-Zimdars &
Moore, 2020; Open Data Institute, 2020; The Children’s Society, 2020a; Young Minds 2020b). Overall,
the evidence indicates that school closures had direct and large negative impacts on students’ mental
health and well-being. This had important implications for their remote learning.

Research has demonstrated a strong correlation between self-directed learning (SDL), motivation, and
learning achievements among students from various disciplines (Mega et al., 2014). It was also found that
constructive emotions from students had a positive effect on organization of time, summary of learning
materials, and preparation for tests. Positive feelings also had a beneficial effect on students’ self-learning
ability as well as their self-efficacy. In addition, motivation had a more positive impact on the
achievements of students who used self-learning than its impact on the achievements of students who
14
studied in the traditional way (Mega et al., 2014; Venkatesh, Croteau, & Rabah, 2014; Wang, Shannon, &
Ross, 2013). Further, it was reported that integrating technology increased the learners’ motivation and
satisfaction (Wang et al., 2013; Venkatesh et al., 2014), and also that highly technological-efficient
students earned higher grades (Wang et al., 2013).

2.4.4 Educational Services

A defining feature of school closures is that students do not have the same support of teachers as in
traditional in-person classroom teaching. In the Netherlands, many have argued that the school closures
may increase inequality between children from different family backgrounds (e.g., UNESCO 2020b,
European Commission 2020). But another dimension of inequality that may be particularly relevant for
school closures is the one between low- and high-achieving students. Out-of-school learning implies a
large amount of self-regulated learning where students must independently acquire and understand the
academic content without the support of trained educators.

While self-regulated learning may be feasible for high-achieving students during school closures, it may
be especially challenging for low-achieving students (Woessmann, 2020).We find that the school closures
had a large negative impact on learning time, particularly for low-achieving students. Overall, students’
learning time more than halved from 7.4 h per day before the closures to 3.6 h during the closures. While
learning time did not differ between low- and high-achieving students before the closures, high-achievers
spent a significant 0.5 h per day more on school-related activities during the school closures than low-
achievers ( Engzell et al 2020).

In Germany, the COVID-19-induced learning gap between low- and high-achieving students was not
compensated by parents’ activities. Already before the school closures, parents of low-achievers spent
less learning time together with their children than parents of high-achievers (0.4 versus 0.6 h per day)
( Bjorklund and Salvanes, 2020).

The school closures only exacerbated this inequality in parental involvement, as parents of low-achievers
increased their time investment in joint learning by less than parents of high-achievers (+0.5 versus +0.6
h). The activities of schools did not compensate for the learning gap between low- and high-achieving
students either. During the school closures, schools and teachers only carried out a fraction of their usual
teaching activities via distance teaching. For instance, only 29% of students had shared lessons for the
whole class (e.g., by video call) more than once a week, and only 17% had individual contact with their
teacher more than once a week ( Maldonado and Witte, 2020). This reduction in school activities hit low-
15
achieving students particularly hard: Compared to high-achievers, low-achievers were 13 percentage
points less likely to have online lessons and 10 percentage points less likely to have individual teacher
contacts more than once a week ( Maldonado,2020).

Looking at other dimensions of educational inequality, the COVID-19 school closures did not increase
learning-time gaps by parental education, but they affected boys more than girls (Fetzer et al 2020).
However, school support was significantly lower for children without a university-educated parent, which
suggests that the school closures may also have amplified socioeconomic inequality in educational
achievement. Compared to girls (−3.5 h), the COVID-19-induced learning disruption was more
pronounced for boys (−4.0 h), who particularly spent more time playing computer games ( Hanushek,
2020).

As of 2016, 50% of Kenyans did not have access to the Internet (United Nations Economic and Social
Council, 2016), while children often do not have access to Internet, laptops or the Internet-enabled
smartphones in order to carry out their work (Human Rights Watch, 2020) in spite of past government
promises to provide all children with this equipment (Jelimo, 2020). This lack of access combined with
the cost of Internet data is exacerbated in more rural areas, creating a digital divide which is separating
the large majority of Kenyan students from education (Ngwacho, 2020). Learners from the marginalized
and vulnerable homes lack the digital infrastructure to help them interact online freely with their
colleagues from the fortunate families. This is because their parents are unable to buy for them digital
gadgets like radios, televisions, smartphone, internet connectivity, and others. This shows that this corona
virus crisis has impeded the provision of an inclusive education to learners from different backgrounds.
The worst hit are learners from poor backgrounds. This is in contravention of the recommendation that
was given by UNESCO in relation to closure of institutions due to corona virus crisis. It proposed the use
of distance learning platforms and open education applications and any other platforms that institutions
and instructors can use to get in touch with learners distantly and minimize the interruption of learning
(UNESCO, 2020).

2.5 RESEARCH GAPS

Social inequalities in education, have played an important role in the debate around this policy
area over the past few decades. However, the evidence presented demonstrates that the impact of
the Covid-19 crisis in education has been particularly mediated by the students’ socioeconomic
characteristics, and that the pandemic has exacerbated educational inequalities dramatically (UN,
2020). In terms of learning impact, the evidence released to date reveals that socially

16
disadvantaged students have been significantly more affected by the learning losses experienced
as a consequence of the pandemic. Although there is still no solid evidence on the long-term
effects of these learning losses, studies of other similar situations in the past show that the impact
on learning is likely to affect the long-term educational, social and economic outcomes of the
children and youth affected by the current crisis (OECD, 2020).The higher impact of learning
loss on socially disadvantaged children can, at least partially, be explained by the difficulties
faced by working-class families to tackle the challenges posed by home learning during school
closures. Evidence of families’ responses to home learning during school closures shows that
socially disadvantaged parents have experienced more difficulties in supporting their children’s
learning during the crisis both in terms of material resources and selfperceived competence. The
evidence also found that the unequal capacity of schools and teachers to respond to the
unexpected educational crisis is another factor explaining why the Covid-19 crisis has had a
greater impact on socially disadvantaged students. In this regard, the effect of the pandemic are
expected to increase the relevance of social inequalities in the debate around education.

The Education Endowment Foundation (2020) estimates that for the UK, the Covid-19 impact
on the learning gap between socially advantaged and disadvantaged students will reverse the
progress made since 2011to narrow the performance gap. Online teaching and learning were also
important topics of debate in the education policy field before the pandemic. However, the
current crisis could become an opportunity to accelerate progress in this area. In order to achieve
this objective, it is important to take into account the experiences of students, teachers and
educational institutions regarding the sudden transition to online learning during the pandemic.

What the evidence in this area demonstrates is that policies to increase the role of online
educational provision should be accompanied by the necessary institutional support for students
and teachers in this process. If proper support is not put in place, the evidence shows that
students and teachers face important problems in enacting online learning, which affects their
educational and professional experience. As in the case of the impact onlearning, the capacity of
educational policies to tackle the challenges posed by social inequalities in the implementation of
online learning is essential to guarantee their success.

17
Teachers’ working conditions and wellbeing have also been significantly affected by the Covid-
19 pandemic. In England, teachers’ working conditions have been a recurrent topic of debate in
the past years (see, for instance, Worth et al., 2018). However, school closures have significantly
altered the working conditions of educators and increased their perception of stress and burnout.
In this regard, it is important to point out that the evidence shows that the working conditions of
teachers during the pandemic have influenced the experiences of their students. In a context in
which the role of online learning increases, it is necessary to develop policies and institutional
support that guarantee certain working conditions for teachers as a means to ensure that potential
future disruptions do not affect their professional activity.Finally, in the case of higher education,
the evidence available shows similar patterns to those observed at other educational levels.
However, as Aucejo et al. (2020) point out, the Covid-19 pandemic will have a more immediate
effect on academic, labour and social outcomes of those students who will have to be enrolled in
higher education. Although the labour and social outcomes of adolescent students were also part
of the global debate on this level of education, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic will require
specific compensatory policies for higher education students affected by the crisis, as they are
more likely to be affected by the economic and social effects of the pandemic.

2.6 SUMMARY
From the reviewed literature it is clear that there have been efforts to ensure access to education for all
adolescents learners during the covid 19 lockdowns. These efforts however seem to be addressing access
to education without necessarily putting in place measures to ensure that those adolescents learners who
faced challenges of lacking electronic gadgets for learning and the burden of household chores are able to
navigate through the challenges they went through in order to be at equal footing with the others. Besides,
these efforts seem to be addressing the policy aspect of dealing with the problem of limited access to
education, leaving out other necessary efforts including implementation of the same policies.

Similarly little seems to have been studied to establish if those adolescents girls facing the burden of
household chores during the covid lockdowns are able to navigate through their tasks so as to be able to
study like the boy adolescents without any disruptions.

All the challenges and opportunities considered previously have different implications in terms of place,
scale and time. Regarding the time dimension, it is expected that the Covid-19 pandemic will have
immediate effects on educational policy in terms of inequalities and online learning and present

18
immediate challenges. However, as was mentioned previously, it is expected that these challenges will
evolve, but last over time. In parallel, it is also important to consider the scale dimension since the
individual effects of Covid-19 have implications for communities and for society as a whole, for instance,
in terms of social and economic development. Finally, place also appears to be an essential dimension to
consider. While the short-term effects on education of Covid-19 are mainly concentrated in more socially
disadvantaged local areas, it is expected that the long-term effects will affect regional and national levels.
The study therefore investigated the impacts of Covid 19 lockdowns on the education of adolescents as
well as suggested strategies that could be employed to enhance access to education for all adolescents
learners during the covid lockdowns period.

19
 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction
In this chapter, the research design, location of the study and the target population used in the
study will be discussed. The sample size and sampling technique will also be discussed. Finally
data collection procedure and analysis will be addressed in this chapter.

3.2 Research Design

The study will adopt an exploratory approach using a descriptive survey design to investigate if
the adolescents were able to access education during the Covid lockdowns, what hindered those
who did not access education and the strategies that would be employed to see more adolescents
access education. This is because descriptive survey designs allow researchers to gather
information, summarize, present and interpret it for purposes of clarification (Orodho, 2004).
Descriptive survey is a method of collecting information by interviewing or administering a
questionnaire to a sample of individuals (Shona,2006). This design will seek to uncover the
nature of the factors involved in a given situation, the degree in which they exist and the
relationship between them.The surveys will also allow the researcher to compare the everyday
experience of adolescents during the school closures with pre-pandemic times. In particular, the
longitudinal component of the surveys will offer some insight on how the adolescents reacted to
the school closures both in the short and medium term. The surveys will collect information on
the time that adolescents spent on a range of activities, as well as additional information on the
involvement of the teachers in these activities. Surveys provide a unique opportunity to obtain
timely data while the pandemic and its impacts were unfolding (Grewenig et al. 2021).

3.3 Target Population

The target population for this study will be learners of the schools located in Kiima kimwe ward.
During the covid lockdowns, so many students' education came to a stand still due to the many
changes and challenges brought about by Covid 19 lockdowns. Adolescent learners especially
from Kiima Kimwe ward were most affected due to the fact that the ward is one of the most
marginalized area facing challenges in accessing educational services. The table below indicates
the target population. (Table 1.1)
20
 Number of Number of Total number
female students male students of students

Iluvya Primary 300 350 650

Kathiyani 200 350 550

Primary

Muthini 200 200 400

Primary

Katoloni 200 250 450

Primary

Machakos 200 200 400

Rehabilitation
primary

Kakinduni 200 100 300

primary

Kiima kimwe 600 600 1200

Secondary

Katoloni 600 550 1150

Secondary

Iluvya 550 550 1100

Secondary

Muthini 309 400 700

Secondary

2759 3550 5570

21
3.4 Sampling Frame
The sample frame for the study includes learners from three secondary schools namely Kiima
kimwe Secondary, Katoloni Secondary and Iluvya Secondary school. The reason for choosing
those sample frames is because of high number of students population from each school who
would provide more data that would ensure the ease in accessing the students.In addition, this
category has the highest number of adolescent learners who would help provide answers to the
researcher's questions. The number of teachers are also few hence making it easier to get data
that is accurate.

3.5 Sample and Sampling Techniques

3.5.1Sampling Techniques
A sample is a subset of a particular population while sampling is the exercise concerned with the
choosing of individual observations intended to yield some knowledge about a population of
interest especially for the purpose of statistical extraporation (Mugenda & Mugenda, 2013).This
study will adopt the use of cluster random sampling with the type of two-stage cluster sampling
in order to select the sample. Cluster sampling is a method of probability sampling that is often
used to study large populations, particularly those that are widely geographically dispersed
(Thomas, 2022).In this study, cluster sampling will be used because the population of student is
large. Two groups that is the sample frame (Group A for all secondary school students and
Group B for all primary school students) will be used for the study. From the sample frame, by
using double-stage sampling, the researcher will select fifty students each from group A and B
using simple random technique between.This means since group A contains four secondary
schools, twelve students each from three schools and fourteen from one school will be selected
through simple random technique. Their ages will be between 14-18 and they will include those
who are above average in school and those who are below average in school. Since group B
contains six primary schools, eight students from five schools each and ten from one school
between 14-18 years, those who are above average and below.average in school will be selected
through simple random.( this will be done through checking their academic performance from
their school teachers), both male and female of the same ratio. The selected students who will
inform the researcher's sample would be taken and their names, ages and academic qualifications

22
would be noted down in a specific document to be representative of all learners considering the
uniformity of challenges encountered by adolescents in accessing educational services.

3.5.2 Sample size

The researcher will select fifty students from Group A ( from three schools each 12 students and
fourteen from one school both male and female of the same ratio) who had a total learners of
2059 students and fifty students from Group B ( from five schools each eight students and ten
students from one school both male and female of the same ratio) who had a total learners of
1300. This will result to twenty five new male students and twenty five new male students who
are below and above average in school. This will yield a sample of 100 Learners.

The following table describes the sample size (Table 1.2)

Age Number Number Number Number Sample

of of Male of of
Female students students students
students Above Below
average average

New 14-18 25 25 25 25 50
students
from
group B

14-18 25 25 25 25 50

New
students
from
group A

Total 50 50 50 50 100

23
3.6 Research Instruments
Creswell (2003) indicates that research instruments are the tools used in the collection of data on the
phenomenon of the study. The study will employ the use of questionnaires. A questionnaire according to
Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) is a list of standard questions prepared to fit a certain inquiry.In order to
collect data for the study, the researcher will use questionnaires to get information from the selected
students in Kiima kimwe ward. The questionnaire will be closed and open-ended questions. The selected
students will be administered the questionnaires because it is economical in terms of time and money
and they allow collection of data from a large sample (Gorard, 2001). Close ended questions will
help the learners who would find it difficult to provide more information. Open ended questions
on the other hand will give the learners an opportunity to give an insight into their hidden
feelings, background, deeper motivations and interests regarding opinions pertaining education
( Anderson, 2014). Open-ended questions would also give the researcher more and substantial
information that would provide additional data. The questionnaire would be used to get
information on the status of the adolescents students in terms of whether they access education
during that challenging time of covid lockdowns and the strategies that they would employ to
ensure access to education for the learners.

3.7 Data Collection Procedure

The data collection instruments will include questionnaires. Before the researcher administers the
questionnaires, permission to collect data would be sought from the university supervisor to
enable the study to be conducted without any hindrances. The researcher will also seek
permission from the Chief before embarking on familiarization of the area where the study will
be carried out. Personal visits to the schools sampled for the study would be done by the
researcher and it is here that appointments would be made with the students on when the
questionnaires would be administered. On the agreed days the researcher will administer the
questionnaires to the students The questionnaires will be collected the same day they would be
administered to avoid collusion among the respondents.

3.8 Pilot test

Pilot testing refers to a small scale-study conducted prior to conducting an actual experiment;
designed to test and refine procedures (Dikko, 2003). The study will adapt previously developed
instruments by other researchers. Gay (1992) argues that selecting an appropriate instrument
24
developed by experts with necessary skills saves time and money for a researcher who is a
beginner. Orodho (2005) also notes that one can select and adopt a method, instrument or even
replicate the entire study already used by another researcher. The adopted instruments would be
modified by the researcher to suit the study. Piloting of research instruments would be necessary
since it will enable the researcher to check whether the items were clear to the respondents,
whether they attracted the needed information and to estimate the time the respondents required
to respond to the items. The questionnaires will be piloted to four learners, two boys and two
girls from secondary and primary schools .These students would be included in the final study
and used to measure the validity and reliability of the research instruments.The comments,
suggestions and deficiencies in the instruments would be modified.

3.9. Data Processing and Analysis

Data from the study will first be edited to identify and eliminate errors made by the students.The
researcher will check the questionnaires to ensure that they are complete before the beginning of
data analysis. The researcher will employ descriptive statistical methods in order to analyze the data
collected.There will be cross checking of the questionnaires to ensure that the questions are answered
properly.The data will first be divided into themes and sub themes before being analyzed. Frequency and
percentages will be used in the analysis and presented in a tabular form to enhance interpretation of data.
The frequencies and percentages will be used to determine the impacts of Covid 19 lockdowns on the
education of adolescents.

25
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 APPENDIX 1

QUESTIONAIRE FOR STUDENTS

Section 1: BIO-DATA

1.Name

2.Sex

3.Age

4.Education

5.Religion

6.Disability status

7.Ethnicity

Section 2: Digital Electronic Gadgets

1.Kindly tick one electronic gadget that you have for learning.

Laptop [ ] Tablet [ ] Smartphone [ ]

2.Kindly tick any of the reasons that makes it hard for one to access any of the electronic gadgets.

Financial constraints [ ] insufficient devices [ ]

3.Please tick one gadget that is easy to operate.

Smartphone [ ] Laptop [ ] Tablet [ ]

4.Kindly tick one gadget that is not easy to access.

Smartphone [ ] Tablet [ ] Laptop [ ]

4.Kindly tick one challenge encountered when using these gadgets.

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 Poor network connection [ ] Poor tecnological know-how [ ]

5.Kindly indicate one way you would like those without gadgets to be helped.

Section 3: House Chores

1.Kindly tick if there is division of house chores among your siblings in your home. Yes[ ]
No [ ]

2.Kindly tick the gender that is mostly overburdened by the house chores.

Female [ ] Male [ ]

3.Kindly tick the kind of house chore that leaves no time for studying.

Laundry [ ] Dish-washing [ ] Fetching water [ ]

4.Kindly tick the kind of house chore that leaves room for studying.

Laundry [ ] Dishwashing [ ]

5.Kindly indicate one way to ensure the house chores do not interfere with studies.

Section 4: Self-learning

1 .Kindly indicate the motivation when engaging in self learning.

Parental support [ ] Reading materials [ ] Noise-Free environment [ ]

2.Kindly indicate one challenge when self learning.

Noisy environment [ ] Lack of parental support [ ] Insufficient reading materials [ ]

3. Kindly indicate how you help yourself when not understanding some concepts while self
learning.

Inquiring from fellow students [ ] Inquiring from teachers [ ]

4.Kindly tick whether your home environment is suitable for self learning

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Yes [ ] No [ ]

5 Kindly list one way to facilitate effective self learning environment .

Section 5 : Inequality in accessibility of educational services

1.Kindly tick one type of inequality faced when accessing educational services

Inequality based on gender [ ] based on economic background [ ] based on tribe [ ]

2.Kindly tick the source where this inequality was encountered.

Teachers [ ] Principals [ ] Deputy principals [ ]

3.Kindly indicate one way to prevent these inequalities.

Better services for all [ ] Better services for a few [ ]

4. Kindly tick the gender mostly affected by these inequalities.

Female [ ] Male [ ]

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APPENDIX 2

Proposed Budget of the Study (Table 1.3)

Activity/Item Amount

Travelling and accomodation 10,000

Computer Services 5,000

Stationery 6,000

Prepration and binding 8,000

Miscellaneous 5,000

Printing 7,000

Total 41,000

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