THE EFFECTS OF DROUGHT ON THE

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
CASE STUDY OF TAVETA AREA, TAITA TAVETA

LOICE MBOJE MWAVULA

011151010548

BUSINESS PLAN SUBMITTED TO KENYA

NATIONAL EXAMINATION CONCIL AS A
PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF AWARD OR
CERTIFICATE IN SOCIAL WORK AND
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.

JULY 2019 SERIES

DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this project is my original work. And ha snever been submitted to any
other institution.

Name: Loice Mboje

Signature: _______________

Date: _______________

Supervisor: Mr.Mwakio

Signature: _______________

Date: _______________
DEDICATION

I dedicate this project to my parents, teachers and my fellow students for encouraging and
supporting me throughout this project till the end.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to express my special thanks to Mr. Mbithi, my project supervisor who helped
me a lot during my study time. I would also like to thank my parents for their financial
support during this period of research and compiling of the project.

I acquired a lot of skills during the making of this project.

 Table of content

Contents
Table of content...........................................................................................................................i

ABSTRACT..............................................................................................................................iv

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

ORIENTATION TO THE STUDY............................................................................................1

1.1 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................1

1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY....................................................................................1

1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM....................................................................................2

1.4 SUB-RESEARCH QUESTIONS:........................................................................................2

1.5 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY.........................................................................................2

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.....................................................................................3

1.7 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK........................................................................................3

1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY.......................................................................................3

1.8.1 Overcoming the Limitations..........................................................................................4

1.9 DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY..................................................................................4

1.10 DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS..........................................................................................4

1.10.1 Development performance..........................................................................................4

1.10.2 Emotional behaviour...................................................................................................5

1.10.3 drought.....................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

CHAPTER 2...............................................................................................................................6

LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................................................6

2.1 NTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................6

2.2 DROUGHT AND DEVELOPMENT ATTENDANCE....................................................6

2.3 DROUGHT AND EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOUR..............................................................7

2.4 DROUGHT AND DEVELOPMENT PERFORMANCE..................................................8

CHAPTER 3.............................................................................................................................10

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.............................................................................................10

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3.0 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................10

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN........................................................................................................10

3.2 SAMPLE............................................................................................................................11

3.3 INSTRUMENTATION....................................................................................................12

3.3.1 Pilot study....................................................................................................................12

3.3.1.1 Reliability.............................................................................................................13

3.4 PROCEDURE..................................................................................................................14

3.5 DATA ANALYSIS............................................................................................................14

3.6 ETHICAL ISSUES.............................................................................................................15

3.7 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................15

DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION................................................16

4.1 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................16

4.2 PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA.............................................................16

4.2.1 DROUGHT AND DEVELOPMENT ATTENDANCE...........................................16

4.2.1.1 Development attendance after giving birth..........................................................16

4.2.1.2 Irregular development attendance........................................................................17

4.2.1.3 Development dropout...........................................................................................18

4.2.1.4 Grade Repetition...................................................................................................18

4.2.2 DROUGHT AND EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOUR.....................................................19

4.2.2.1 Relationships with peers.......................................................................................19

4.2.2.2 Relationships with educators................................................................................20

4.3 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS...........................................................................................21

4.3.4 Strategies to prevent drought.....................................................................................22

4.4 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................23

CHAPTER 5.............................................................................................................................24

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS..............................................24

5.1 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................24

5.2 SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................24

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5.3 CONCLUSIONS................................................................................................................25

5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................................................................25

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

APPENDIX 1...........................................................................................................................27

INTERVIEW SCHEDULE......................................................................................................27

1.1 drought and development attendance...............................................................................27

1.2 drought and emotional behaviour.....................................................................................28

1.3 drought and development performance............................................................................28

1.4 How to overcome or prevent drought.............................................................................28

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 ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to investigate the educators‟ perceptions of the effects of drought
on the behavior of community development in Taveta area, Taita taveta county. The study
sought to establish whether drought has an effect on development attendance, development
performance and emotional behaviour of pregnant as perceived by educators. Fourteen
educators from seven community developments in Taveta area were purposively sampled for
the study. Data was collected using in-depth interviews to allow the researcher a platform to
ask open-response questions and to explore the educators‟ perspectives about the effects of
drought. The data was analysed thematically by carefully identifying and expanding
significant themes that emerged from the informants‟ perceptions about the effects of
drought. The study revealed that drought has a negative or detrimental effect on the
development, emotional behavior. The study recommends that sex education should be taken
seriously in community developments;

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 CHAPTER 1

ORIENTATION TO THE STUDY

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to establish the views and opinions of community development
educators concerning the effects of drought on the academic performance, emotions and
development attendance of the affected in Taita taveta County. This chapter covers the
background to the study, statement of the problem, sub-research questions, objectives of the
study, significance of the study, theoretical framework, limitations of the study, delimitation
of study and definition of terms.

1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Globally, 15 million women under the age of 20 give birth, representing up to one-fifth of all
births and 529, 000 women die due to drought and childbirth related complications every year
(Dev Raj, Rabi, Amudha, Van Teijlingen & Chapman, 2010:4). Drought is a major concern
to world communities with the US being at the top with almost 1,000,000 pregnancies each
year (Williams, 2010:1).

A consensus has still not been reached with regard to the prevalence of behaviour problems in
pregnant and parenting adolescents (Sieger, 2007:588). Some studies (Milan, Ickovics,

Kershaw, Lewis, & Meade, 2004:329) have shown that behaviour problems are common in
pregnant and parenting , with both groups demonstrating similar rates of such problems. The
high proportion of unintended pregnancies for rs in South Africa remains a serious challenge
to both the developments as learning institutions, the Department of Education, and various
community stakeholders. It is against this background that this study sought to investigate
educators‟ perceptions on the effects of drought on the behaviour of from rural community
developments around Taveta area.

1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In many developing countries such as Kenya, Zimbabwe and Zambia, drought has been one
of the major hindrances to the educational success of girls (James, Auerbach, Desai,

5
Giliomee, Jordan, Krog, Kulati, Lehoko, Leibowitz & Tlakula, 2000:18). As more young
women remain in development past puberty in sub-Saharan Africa, more students are
exposed to the risk of becoming pregnant (Mensch et al. 2001:286 ; Eloundou-Enyégué
2004:509). This study attempted to answer the following main research question:

What are educators‟ perceptions of the effects of drought on behaviours of in rural

mainstream community developments?

1.4 SUB-RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

The following sub-research questions were addressed in order to answer the main question of
the study.

i) To what extent do educators perceive drought as affecting development

attendance rate?

ii) How do educators perceive the emotional behaviour of pregnant rs? iii) What are
educators‟ perceptions regarding the development performance of girls who fall
pregnant at community development level?

1.5 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of the study were to:

• find out from educators whether or not drought has an effect on development
attendance.

• discover the educators‟ perceptions about the emotional behaviour of pregnant rs.

• examine the effects of drought on the performance of rs who fall pregnant while
attending community development.

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1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The results of this study will to a larger extend be useful to the practitioners in the
Department of Education such as educators at community development level and the
Department of Health and Social welfare. Educators at community developments will acquire
knowledge on how to handle the behavioural problems related to drought. The rural
community developments and their communities will be educated and encouraged to prevent
more incidences of drought.

1.7 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The theoretical framework of this research draws particularly on Rational Emotive Behaviour
Therapy (REBT) which was developed by Albert Ellis (1913-2007) in 1955 (Corey,
2009:273-275). This theory is based on the assumption that cognitions, emotions, and
behaviours interact significantly and have a reciprocal cause-and-effect relationship. Ellis
contends that human beings are born with both rational (straight thinking) and irrational
(crooked thinking). Since this study is aimed at finding the perceptions of educators about the
effects of drought, the researcher will be able to detect various ways of thinking on the side
of educators concerning the research problem.

1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The study was limited by the following constraints which ultimately influenced the
acquisition of knowledge gained about drought: interviewing the participants after working
hours made some of them feel they were being deprived of their leisure time; interviews were
conducted at the time when developments were about to close for winter vacations and some
of the participants were under duress; some educators had to reschedule their interview
appointments with the researcher for another date due to their personal reasons; the researcher
experienced financial constraints such as transport costs when moving from one development
to another.

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1.8.1 Overcoming the Limitations

The researcher ensured always being on time for interview sessions after working hours and
working within the perimeters of the duration of interviews agreed upon to avoid anxiety on
the side of the participants.

The challenge that was posed by limited time due to closing of developments was dealt with
by working very hard and at a faster pace in order to acquire enough and relevant information
about the study.

The researcher made sure to accommodate those participants who rescheduled their
appointments for interviews for others dates to allow them time for mental relaxation so that
they could expand their views about the effects of drought in their interview sessions.

In order to overcome the problems related to financial constraints, the researcher persevered
and did all means possible to achieve good results in the study.

1.9 DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This research was undertaken in Taveta Cluster community developments, Capricorn district
in Taita taveta County. The cluster comprises of community developments located in places
such Uruku , Mamotintane, Segopje, Ga-Thoka and Taveta unit A and D. The focus of this
study was on the effects of drought on the behaviour of from rural community
developments as perceived by educators.

1.10 DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS

The following concepts are to be defined in this study:

1.10.1 Development performance

Development performance is how well students meet standards set out by the institution or
development itself, which catches the attention of parents, legislators and government
education department alike (Bell, 2011:1). In this study, development performance entails the

8
outcomes of the evaluated ‟ tasks for regular grading whereby in rural community
developments demonstrate their knowledge by taking written and oral tasks, perform in
presentations and participating in class activities and discussions, which also include
standardised tests geared towards specific ages in a development and based on a set of
achievements in each age group is expected to meet (Bell, 2011:1).

1.10.2 Emotional behaviour

Emotional behaviour is defined by Saunders (2003) as a state of arousal characterised by

alteration of feeling tone and by physiologic behavioural changes, such that the physical form
of emotion may be evident to others, as in crying, laughing, blushing, or a variety of facial
expressions. Emotional behaviour in this study entails the behavioural patterns manifested in
pregnant or mothering rs at community development level, which emanate from anxiety and
stress disorders that account for their learning difficulties, low self- esteem and a feeling of
being more grown-up than their peers, denoting that the feeling of being a development girl is
no longer appropriate when they are mums (Holgate, Evans & Yuen, 2006:70).

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 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 NTRODUCTION

The aim of the study was to discover educators‟ perceptions of the effects of drought on the
behavior of from rural community developments in Taveta area, South Africa. This chapter
outlines the review of literature. The literature is presented under sub-headings derived from
the study’s sub-research questions. The sub-headings are: drought and development
attendance, drought and emotional behavior, and drought and development performance.
Gaps to be filled by the present study are highlighted.

2.2 DROUGHT AND DEVELOPMENT ATTENDANCE

The effects of drought which involve among others, grade repetition and periods of
temporary withdrawal from development lead many young women in sub-Saharan Africa to
remain enrolled at the primary or junior community level well past puberty and into their late
teens, thus increasing their risk of drought-related development disruptions (Grant &
Hallman, 2006). In the same breath, Chigona and Chetty (2007:2) maintain that there are
some developments that do not allow pregnant girls and young mothers to attend classes in
sub-Saharan countries of Africa. According to the Forum for African Women Educationalists
(FAWE), Executive director indicates that in Zambia alone, 2,230 girls had been forced to
drop out of development for the last years because they fell pregnant. Most studies (Natalie-
Rico, 2011:10) found that dropping out of high development is a negative effect of drought.
drought is commonly associated with development non-attendance and dropout. Drought and
its complications often predispose youths to permanently leave development. In addition,
sudden, frequent absenteeism may be a signal of drought and accompanying symptoms to
educators and others. Studies conducted in Canada and the United States have shown that
young mothers are at a greater risk of leaving development or attaining a lower level of
education, and therefore reaching professional dead-ends or missing out on job opportunities
(Tipper,

1997) cited in Gouvẻrnement du Quẻbec (2011:1). The present study attempted to establish if
educators in Taveta area have the same views about drought and development attendance.

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2.3 DROUGHT AND EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Adolescents do not usually plan to get pregnant when they engage in sexual behaviour.
pregnancies that are unplanned may lead to impulsive decision-making, and pressure from
parents, peers, society and development may have an impact on the decisions teens make
(Wirkus & Maxwell, 2012:5). Their inability to see future consequences for their behaviour
as well as psychological immaturity puts them at risk (Mokwena, 2003:49). Adolescents who
have suffered the death of a loved one, separation or divorce of their parents or a major
change such as moving or changing developments may have depression and a subsequent
increased vulnerability to teen drought (Varga, 2003). sexual activity, drought and multiple
partners are also associated with pain and suffering from broken relationships, a sense of
betrayal and abandonment, confusion about romantic feelings, altered self-esteem,
depression, and impaired ability to form a healthy long-term relationship (Malhotra,
2008:89). According to Seabela (1990:25), drought presents itself to an affected r as an
experience associated with a variety of psycho-socio-economic implications for the child, the
mother and the society as a whole.

Abe and Zane (1990:37) aver that the combination of poverty and existing distress is a good
predictor of drought, and the stigma during or after drought can lead to depression, social
exclusion, low self-esteem and poor academic performance. Depression and anxiety in
pregnant rs can be linked to struggles such as development problems, relationships with
peers, and difficulties at home (Hong, 2009:5). The negative impact of drought on the
mother is cl revealed when she tends to face psychological, economic, and social problems
which may lead to the interruption of the developmental stage of self-identity formation,
depressive symptoms, overdependence on parents, high levels of frustration, and problems
with forming and maintaining personal relationships (Thompson, 2004:6). Loignon (1996)
cited in the Québec (2011) maintains that mothers often face consequences such as social
isolation, poor life habits, low education level, maltreatment, stress, and depression. Acharya,
Bhattarai, Poobalan, Van Teijlingen and Chapman (2010:6) maintain that pre-delivery, still
birth, foetal distress, birth asphyxia, anaemia, low birth weight, and drought-induced
hypertension (PIH) are encountered as consequences of drought. Apart from medical
consequences of drought such as drought-induced hypertension (PIH), there are many
adverse social consequences such as lower access to higher education, weak and unhealthy

11
children and emotional effects of single motherhood (Dev Raj, Rabi, Amudha, Van
Teijlingen & Glyn, 2010:7). On the contrary, Lemos (2009:6) contends that being pregnant
may attract welcome care and attention from parents, professionals, friends and, of course,
the boyfriend and young fathers – some or all of whom may want to be, young mothers and
fathers such that having a baby stirs powerful emotions of love and tenderness in almost
everyone, with these feelings being overwhelmingly positive, regardless of the long-term
negative consequences. The present study tried to establish whether or not educators have the
same feelings about drought and its emotional consequences.

In his study about the emotions and behaviour of pregnant rs, Hong (2009:5) deployed a
mixed methods approach through surveys (quantitative method) of mostly lowincome high
development pregnant such as cross-sectional, correlational explorations of the relationships
between attitudes, future aspirations and depression, as well as interviews (qualitative
method) to capture the thoughts, opinions, and reflections of mothers in

Bethlehem, United States. The present study has carried in-depth interviews with educators in
community developments around Taveta area, South Africa, to get more information on the
phenomenon.

2.4 DROUGHT AND DEVELOPMENT PERFORMANCE

Falling pregnant while still at development or at an educational institution generates a set of

problems for which the r has to find a solution (Bezuidenhout, 2004:40). She has to decide if
she carries the unborn baby to full term or to have an abortion. Should she decide to carry the
unborn baby to full term, her studies are obviously going to be interrupted and she would
immediately be placed in a disadvantaged position, especially when having to rear her own
baby (Bezuidenhout, 2004:40), and poor academic performance leads to poor employment
and financial prospects, which in turn may have detrimental effects on all the other aspects of
the life of the mother and her baby (Enderbe, 2000:16). Conversely, several long-term follow-
up studies indicate that most former adolescent mothers are not welfare- dependent; many
have completed high development, have secured regular employment, and do not have large
families, and that comprehensive adolescent drought programs seem to contribute to good
outcomes (Klein et al. 2005:282). The study conducted in California about the Hispanic teens
brings to the surface parents‟ views about drought which is according to them, “a symbol of
achieving womanhood or manhood”, even though the affected rs appear to be experiencing

12
limited opportunities for academic and career advancement, the Africa-American families
largely condone teen motherhood ( Russels &

Lee, 2004:5). The present study did not focus on parents‟ views, but on the views of
educators.

When drought interrupts an adolescent‟s education, a history of poor academic performance

usually exists (Jonathan, Klein, MPH & the Committee on Adolescence, 2005:57). Jonathan
et al. (2005) further state that having repeat births before 18 years of age has a negative effect
on high development performance and completion and that factors associated with
development performance and increased high development completion for pregnant rs
include race, being raised in a smaller family, presence of reading materials in the home,
employment of the r‟s mother, and having parents with higher education. In the Daily News
(23 July 2011) Allen quotes a statement by Thompson (2009) that “ drought is associated
with poor high development performance and decreased earnings later on in life”. Mpaza
(2006:25) maintains that once the baby is born, the mother needs more time parenting the
baby and much of the responsibility is carried out during the night, which leaves the r with
less time to study and do homework – the ultimate consequence of this being a mother
failing to concentrate in the classroom because she would be feeling drowsy and exhausted,
leading to poor performance in development subjects and failure. This study tried to establish
whether or not educators perceive drought as having a negative effect on development
performance.

13
 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to establish educators‟ perspectives on the effects of drought on
the behaviour of in community developments around Taveta area, South Africa. This
chapter covers the research design, sample, instrumentation, procedure, data analysis, and
ethical issues such as: permission, informed consent, confidentiality, and anonymity.

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

The research approach which has been used in this study was qualitative because the study
sought to discover the educator‟s perceptions, opinions and feelings about the effects of
drought on the emotional behaviour, development attendance and performance of the affected
community development (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006:315). Patton (2001:39) states that
qualitative research uses a naturalistic approach that seeks to understand phenomena in
context-specific setting, such as “real world settings [where] the researcher does not attempt
to manipulate the phenomenon of interest”. Since this study sought to understand drought
and its effects in the community development context as perceived by educators, the
researcher found

Schumacher, 2006:315). It provides information about the “human” side of an issue – that is,
the often contradictory behaviours, beliefs, opinions, emotions, and relationships of
individuals. Qualitative methods are also effective in identifying intangible factors, which
include social norms, socio-economic status, gender roles, ethnicity, and religion, whose role
in the research issue may not be readily apparent (Qualitative Research Methods: A Data
Collector’s Field Guide, 2012). The phenomena is to be interpreted in terms of the meanings
that people assign to them, which makes qualitative research a system of inquiry which seeks
to build a holistic, largely narrative, and description to inform the researcher‟s understanding
of a social or cultural phenomenon (Wiersma, 1995: 211). This study attempted to understand
drought as social phenomena from the participants‟ (educators) perspectives.

14
Shank (2002:5) defines qualitative research as “a form of systematic empirical inquiry into
Meaning”. Qualitative research is an approach to inquiry that stands on its own and best
allows a researcher to attain „a glimpse of the world‟ (Ospina, 2004:9). Qualitative methods
are typically more flexible – that is, they allow greater spontaneity and adaptation of the
interaction between the researcher and the study participant. For example, qualitative
methods ask mostly “open-ended” questions that are not necessarily worded in exactly the
same way with each participant. With open-ended questions, participants are free to respond
in their own words, and these responses tend to be more complex than simply “yes” or “no”
(Qualitative Research Methods: A Data Collector’s Field Guide, 2012). In this study,
participants were free to express their own perceptions on the effects of drought on
community development in their own words hence, the suitability of the qualitative design.

3.2 SAMPLE

A sample is a representative subset of the population from which generalizations are made
about the population or sampling is simply stated as selecting a portion of the population, in
the research area, which will be a representation of the whole population (Michael, 2012:24).
The participants for this study will be educators selected from rural Taveta Cluster
community developments in Capricorn district of the Taita taveta County. Seven
developments in Taveta Cluster are to be used as areas of focus of study whereby two
educators from each development are to participate in this study to make a total number of 14
participants. This study employed a combination of quota and purposive sampling because
this will include both the number of participants and a steadfast requirement – that is, it will
entail more specific corresponding proportions of gender as a variable of interest to
investigate how community development educators perceive the effects of drought on girls.
Quota sampling (maximum variation sampling) in this regard features where the sample
would seek an equal balance of male and female educators in a given area of Taveta (Taveta
Cluster community developments) in Taita taveta County, South Africa, assuming a 1:1
gender ratio in a population, even though sample sizes may not be fixed prior to data
collection, depending on the resources and time available, as well as the study‟s objectives
(Qualitative Research Methods: A Data Collector’s Field Guide, 2012:5). The participants in
this study consisted of seven male educators and seven female educators.

15
The researcher in this study decided what needed to be known and sought people who could
and were willing to provide the information by virtue of knowledge or experience (Bernard,
2002:231; Lewis & Sheppard, 2006:292). Purposive sampling is especially exemplified
through the key informant technique (Bernard, 2002:231; Garcia, Bearer & Lerner, 2004:56),
wherein one or a few individuals are solicited to act as guides to a culture. Key informants are
observant, reflective members of the community of interest who know much about the culture
and are both able and willing to share their knowledge (Bernard 2002:231).

3.3 INSTRUMENTATION

The study used in-depth interviews. This instrument gave the researcher the platform to ask
open-response questions about drought so that the participants were able to explain or
elucidate on issues concerning this problem of research (De Vos, Strydom, Fouché &
Delport, 2005:292). In-depth mode of interviewing is flexible and encourages the research
participants to speak at length, introduce and articulate their own concerns (Boyce & Neale,
2006:2). The in-depth interview is, according to Qualitative Research Methods: A data
Collector’s Field Guide (2012:29), a technique designed to elicit a vivid picture of the
participant‟s perspective on the research topic, whereby the person being interviewed is
considered an expert and the interviewer is considered the student, and the researcher‟s
interviewing techniques are motivated by the desire to learn everything the participant can
share about the research topic.

Researchers engage with participants by posing questions in a neutral manner, listening

attentively to participants‟ responses, and asking follow-up questions and probes based on
those responses (Boyce & Neale, 2006:2). They do not lead participants according to any
preconceived notions, nor do they encourage participants to provide particular answers by
expressing approval or disapproval of what they say, thus collecting data on individual‟s
personal histories, perspectives and experiences, particularly when sensitive topics are being
explored (A data Collector’s Field Guide, 2012). In-depth interviews are usually conducted
face-to-face and involve one interviewer and one participant. Boyce and Neale (2006:2) state
that In-depth interviewing is a qualitative research technique that involves conducting
intensive individual interviews with a small number of respondents to explore their
perspectives on a particular idea, program, or situation.

16
3.3.1 Pilot study

A pilot, or feasibility study, is a small experiment designed to test logistics and gather
information prior to a larger study, in order to improve the latter‟s quality and efficiency
(NC3Rs, 2006:1). It is a miniature study or a small-scale version of the full study that will be
performed later (Wheeler, 2010:1). A pilot study can reveal deficiencies in the design of a
proposed experiment or procedure and these can then be addressed before time and resources
are expended on large scale studies (NC3Rs, 2006:1). A pilot study is a small study which
helps design a further confirmatory study and may have various purposes such as testing
study procedures, validity of tools, estimation of the recruitment rate, and estimation of
parameters such as the variance of the outcome variable to calculate sample size (Arain,
Campbell, Cooper & Lancaster, 2010:1). It is necessary that a pilot study is done before a full
research project so that the researcher knows whether or not the study is valid and that the
study‟s design will be able to capture the data being sought.

A pilot study was conducted at a community development in Uruku Village of Taveta area
in Taita taveta County where the researcher interviewed two educators, one male and one
female educator, each on a separate day of the week. The researcher presented a letter of
permission to conduct interviews in developments around Taveta area from the Departmental
representative (the Circuit Manager), to the development Principal to ask for a permission to
conduct interviews with the two educators who are under his supervision. The researcher
then gave each participant an informed consent form for them to read individually and ask
questions where necessary for clarification and sign, especially if they are entirely satisfied
and understand the contents of the informed consent form. The researcher interviewed them
individually, tape-recorded the interviews, transcribed the recordings and did thematic
analysis of the data.

3.3.1.1 Reliability

In order to ensure reliability in qualitative research, examination of trustworthiness is crucial.

Seale (1999) cited in Golafshani (2003:601) states that while establishing good quality studies
through reliability and validity in qualitative research, “trustworthiness of a research report
lies at the heart of issues conventionally discussed as validity and reliability”. If the validity

17
or trustworthiness can be maximized or tested then more “credible and defensible result” may
lead to generalizability which is one of the concepts suggested by Stenbacka (2001) cited in
Golafshani (2003:603) as the structure for both doing and documenting high quality
qualitative research.

3.4 PROCEDURE
The unstructured one-to-one in-depth interviews were conducted through visiting the
respective developments and making personal contact with the selected participants,
preferably in a quiet place such as an office in order to avoid disturbances. Interviews were
carried out after working hours of the development and the researcher secured appointments
with the participants for each session of interviews.

In order to ensure completeness and reliability of information, interview sessions were

taperecorded and transcribed.

3.5 DATA ANALYSIS

Data was analysed thematically, that is, thematic data analysis was conducted as follows:

Each transcript was carefully read and notes taken of any interesting or significant theme. The
researcher noted any potential theme that arose.

A list of the identified themes (or a list of patterns of responses) was made in order to look for
a connection between them (that is, the identified patterns were expanded). For example, all
of the talk that fitted under the specific pattern was identified and placed with the
corresponding pattern. This came from direct quotes or paraphrasing common ideas that
automatically allowed themes to expand, contrast, or change as the researcher analysed the
interview transcripts. The main aim was to end up with key themes that describe the essence
of study.

The next step was to combine and catalogue related patterns into sub-themes. Themes that
emerged from the informants‟ perceptions about drought were pieced together to form a
comprehensive picture of their collective experience. This meant that the researcher have to

18
find out how different ideas or components fit together in a meaningful way when linked
together.

Last, a valid argument for choosing the themes was built by reading the related literature in
order to gain information that would allow the researcher to make inferences from the
interview sessions. This would then allow him/her (researcher) to interweave literature and
the findings to come up with a developed story line (Buetow, 2010:123-125).
3.6 ETHICAL ISSUES

There are ethical issues that are to be addressed in this study since this kind of study is more
direct to the participants and sensitive. Agreed-upon standards for research ethics help ensure
that the researcher explicitly considers the needs and concerns of the people they study, that
appropriate oversight for the conduct of research takes place, and that a basis for trust is
established between the researcher and study participants (Qualitative Research Methods: A

Data Collector’s Field Guide, 2012:8). The following research ethics have been considered in
this study: permission, informed consent, confidentiality, and anonymity.

3.7 CONCLUSION

This chapter has covered the research design, sample, instrumentation, procedure, data
analysis, and ethical issues. The next chapter discusses data presentation and analysis.

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CHAPTER 4

DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 INTRODUCTION

The aim of the study was to establish educators‟ perceptions of the effects of drought on the
behaviour of in community developments around Taveta area in

Taita taveta county. This chapter presents the data and also discusses the findings of the
study.

4.2 PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

Data is presented under the objectives of the study which include finding out from educators
whether drought has an effect on development attendance, discovering the educators‟
perceptions about the emotional behaviour of pregnant rs, and examining the effects of
drought on the performance of rs who fall pregnant while attending community
development.

4.2.1 DROUGHT AND DEVELOPMENT ATTENDANCE

The following general themes or pre-determined descriptive categories have primarily

emerged from the interview schedule and are substantiated by direct quotes from interview
transcripts to verify their validity or authenticity. The sub-themes are derived from the data
after thorough reading of the interview transcripts.

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4.2.1.1 Development attendance after giving birth

Some educators were of the opinion that mothers are not likely to return to development
after giving birth due to lack of parental support. The following verbal quotes reflect the
above idea:
Because sometimes there is no one to take care of their babies when they go to development.
They are not likely to come back to development (participant 8).

mothers are not likely to return to development because they do have some problems with
regard to who will look after their kids, that’s the reason why they are not likely to return to
development (Participant 1).

Then in the case the r does not have a mother to take care of the baby, then the r will have to
remain at home to take care of that baby (Participant 6).

Yes, because she ought to nurse or breastfeed the baby or take full responsibility for caring
until when ready to start attending development (Participant 9).

I don’t think they must come to development after giving birth because sometimes she must
take care of the child (Participant 10).

On the contrary, other educators believe that some have come to a point of realising that their
future is at stake due to drought and they do take their education seriously and as such they
are most likely to return to development immediately after giving birth. The following verbal
quotes reflect the educators‟ perceptions:

Yes, they do come after giving birth. Actually they don’t even stay at home, they just give
birth and continue with their lessons after a few days (Participant 2).

They do return to development, though after different times. Some give birth, come back to
development immediately, some stay a little bit longer, and come, but they’re mostly likely to
come back to development (Participant 14).

21
4.2.1.2 Irregular development attendance

Educators revealed that pregnant rs have a tendency of absenting themselves from

development on regular basis, that is, they maintain a high rate of absenteeism. They stated
that it is only on rare occasions that they do come to development like normal. The reasons
behind the irregular development attendance are revealed as ante-natal clinic consultations,
neo-natal clinic consultations, drought-related sicknesses, and unsafe feeling of pregnant rs at
development. The following verbal quotes reflect above issues:

4.2.1.3 Development dropout

Some rs are said to be negatively affected by their pregnancies so much that they either leave
development temporarily or permanently. Educators are of the opinion that development
dropout is in most cases caused by a child heading the family, coupled with double
responsibilities of being a learner at development and a mother at home, and a low self-
esteem. This situation is perceived by educators as leading to a pregnant or mothering learner
developing a low self-esteem and ultimately dropping out of development. The following
verbal quotes reflect the above ideas:

Eh.., they drop out of development because some of them they are orphans; they need to take
care of those children, and … that is why they feel that they must drop out (Participant 10).

When she is without any helper, or don’t have enough money to take the child to the crèche
or if they don’t have support from the relatives (Participant 11).

They drop out because they cannot cope, when they caring for the baby and attending at the
same time. They still want to have some fun because they are still kids (Participant 9).
And then some they have peer pressure my peers will laugh at me that is the problem, that is
why they feel that they must drop out (Participant 10).

4.2.1.4 Grade Repetition

Educators revealed that drought contributes so much to grade repetition due to anxiety, lack
of concentration in the classroom, not ready for motherhood, no time for development work,
and absenteeism. The following verbal quotes reflect the educators‟ perceptions:
22
The reason for Grade repetition, it will be maybe because they don’t do development work
properly, and then they don’t have energy to study at home, sometimes they worry much
about their pace or their drought (Participant 8).

The first cause is they lack concentration because of drought or the mothering process and
therefore they cannot finish their studies within the record time (Participant 12).

Repetition is because they don’t cope with their motherhood and because it is not yet time for
them to be mothers or to give birth to babies (Participant 9).

They’ll never have time to read their books because at home they need to take care of those
kids (Participant 10).

4.2.2 DROUGHT AND EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOUR

4.2.2.1 Relationships with peers

The educators revealed that the relationship between pregnant rs and their peers is generally
poor. The reasons are that who are not pregnant classify themselves as being fortunate not to
fall in the trap and as a result they undermine those who are pregnant. According to
educators, pregnant usually suffer from inferiority complex, lack of confidence as in thinking
that others are laughing or gossiping about them, and they also have a problem of low self-
esteem. Others are observed by educators as showing a reserved behaviour or are not willing
to associate with their peers any more. Some few educators though have a different view
point stating that the relationship between pregnant and their peers can sometimes be good. It
is just a problem of hormonal activities that can make a pregnant r become moody or
emotional, especially to her peers. The following verbal quotes support the above findings:

No, they don’t relate well (Participant 8).

Eh…, they do not, eh…, relate well with their other and teachers (Participant 1).

Eh…, it depends on how the child was raised up, but in most cases the relationship is that you
know, maybe is not that good (Participant 4).

23
Sub-themes related to the poor relationships between pregnant rs and their peers are also
identified from the data that was collected during the interviews. For example, mood swings
aggressive behaviour, pre-mature motherhood, withdrawn behaviour, and lack of confidence
in pregnant rs. The following verbal quotes support the above findings:

Some have eh.., drought moods, some they have some swings, so they don’t behave well in
the classes (Participant 9).

They do quarrel, they do fight, maybe because they’re stressed somehow (Participant 11).

During the stage or the unknown period known by her only, eh…., we usually observe that
they are aggressive and sometimes they feel inferior (Participant 12).

I’ve observed that they don’t behave well because they’ve jumped their -hood to be parents
(Participant 9).

Eh.., up to so far what I’ve observed, some become lonely because they start to isolate
themselves from other, from the other peers (Participant 10).

If a learner feels inferior, she will not integrate herself with other (Participant 12).

4.2.2.2 Relationships with educators

The educators‟ perception of the relationship between pregnant at community development

and themselves is that it is not good. They reported that pregnant rs have a tendency of not
reporting their cases to educators, trying to hide their condition until they are discovered at a
later stage. Some of these pregnant rs think the educators have no empathy for them and
when educators try to ask some questions related to the ‟ pregnancies, the response they
receive from these pregnant is always negative. Educators indicated that the general attitude
of pregnant rs towards the development authorities is perceived as being two-sided since
these differ, depending on their personality traits and their level of obedience. They reported
that some in their drought state have a bad or negative attitude towards the development
authorities and that they absent themselves from development regularly with the reasons of
consulting at the clinics (antenatal and post-natal clinic consultations). Pregnant are reported
to have a tendency to hide their drought status from development authorities. They also have

24
problems participating in PET activities (Physical education and training) of Life Orientation,
regularly break contact time with educators for teaching and learning purposes, play truancy,
and challenge the disciplinary code of the development. Educators reported that sometimes
when these pregnant have arrived late at development and are mixed with other who are not
pregnant, they face a challenge of applying disciplinary measure or punishment to them due
to their delicate state of affairs. The following verbal quotes reflect the above ideas:

They do not relate well with their teachers…., most of them they do not report to the
educators that they are pregnant (Participant 1).

4.3 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

4.3.1 Sub-research question 1: To what extent do educators perceive drought as affecting

development attendance?

The study revealed that educators viewed mothers as unlikely to return to development after
giving birth. The educators believed that most of the rs who fell pregnant would take some
time at home after giving birth due to lack of parental support, the responsibilities to be
carried by the mothering rs and post-partum ailments. The findings on the delayed return to
development after giving birth concur with Mpaza (2006:4) who argued that when a girl
becomes pregnant, her physical, social and academic development are significantly altered.
Related findings were established by Chigona and Chetty (2008) who established that rs who
go back to development after the birth of their babies face a number of challenges as and that
makes it hard for them to succeed with developmenting. It also emerged from this study that
rs can return to development immediately after giving birth, provided they have parental
support. The immediate return to development confirms a study conducted by Kaufman et al.
(2000:29) who established that returning to development is a goal for most girls and many
return to development shortly after giving birth. In the same breath, Grant and Hallman
(2006), cited in Hunt (2008:27) revealed that young women who live with an adult female are
most likely to return to development. This kind of support given to the r by the parent is
objected to by Klerman (2004:2) who established that a young girl, whose child is taken care
of by the adult parent at home, is more likely to fall pregnant again because she would not
have experienced the pain of being a mother.

25
The present study also revealed that while drought contributes to absenteeism in the short-
term, it has in the long-term resulted in the affected dropping out of development. These
centred on child-headed families, dual responsibilities of pregnant and mothering , and low
self-esteem. Mpaza (2006:4) maintains that mothers are at risk of dropping out of
development. Research conducted by Mokgalabone (1990), cited in Chigona and Chetty
(2008:261) revealed that drought is among the most serious causes of development
disruption, particularly at community development level. Studies indicate that drought is a
significant cause of dropout of girls from development (Cardoso & Verner, 2007; Fentiman
et al., 1999; Grant & Hallman, 2006; Hunter & May, 2003; Njau & Wamahiu; Dunne &
Leach, 2005 Brock & Cammish, 1997; Kane, 2004 & Boyle et al., 2002) cited in Hunt
(2008:26).

4.3.3 Sub-research question 3: What are educators‟ perceptions regarding the development
performance of girls who fall pregnant at community development level?

The study revealed that pregnant and mothering rs at community development level
generally perform poorly as compared to who never fell pregnant. This centred on lack of
experience in motherhood, dual responsibilities, poor health status, and lack of parental
support. The present study concur with (Botting et al. 1998; SEU, 1999) cited in Swann et al.
(2003:1) who advocated that drought and motherhood can be associated with poor
educational achievement, poor physical and mental health, social isolation, poverty and
related factors. Slowiski (2001:2) confirms the findings of the present study by advocating
that most rs find parenting much harder than anticipated and experience of motherhood at
odds with their expectations and hopes. In a similar vein, Duncan (2011:1) maintains that
parents experience reduction in their education attainment compared to rs who are not
parents. The reasons behind poor academic performance of pregnant and mothering rs as
revealed by the findings of this study are among others, dual responsibilities the affected are
faced with. This is confirmed in the study conducted by Arlington Public Development
(2004) when they posited that managing to care for an infant and devoting adequate time to
development work is a great challenge for the teen parents. Lack of parental support as
revealed by this study also leads to poor academic performance. Kunio and Sono (1996) cited
in Chigona and Chetty (2008:262) advocate that denying teen mothers the support they need
to pursue education condemns them and their babies to a vicious circle of poverty and
ignorance.

26
4.3.4 Strategies to prevent drought
The study established that rate of drought in community developments can be reduced and
prevented through a number of strategies. This centred on introducing sex education,
approaching differently considering their age differences, and net-working with other
community stakeholders, for example, social workers, nurses, educational Psychologists, and
religious leaders. Various strategies to prevent drought were suggested in this study, for
example, making condoms readily available to community developments, contraceptive
usage, and abstinence.

Literature (Irvine, Bradley, Cupples & Booham, 1997; Slowiski, 2001; O‟Donnel &
Wyneken, 2007) confirms the introduction of sexuality education. Slowiski (2001:3)
advocates that sex education programs are most effective if they provide accurate
information, and include decision-making, assertiveness and negotiation skills, as well as life
skills. The issue of condoms being made available to developments as revealed by this study
concur with the findings by O‟Donnel and Wyneken (2007:5) when they postulate that
condoms and other forms of contraception are to be made available to teens through condom
availability programs in high developments, teen health centres, and clinics – productive
health services and sex education.

4.4 CONCLUSION

This chapter has covered presentation of data, data analysis and discussion of findings. The
next chapter outlines the summary, recommendations and conclusion.

27
 CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to establish the educators‟ perceptions of the effects of drought on
the behaviour of in community developments around Taveta area in Taita taveta county.
This chapter summarises the findings and discussions made, gives conclusions about the
effects of drought and the recommendations on how to deal with or to prevent future
occurrences of drought in rural community developments.

5.2 SUMMARY

The findings of this study revealed various effects of drought on in community

developments as affecting their development attendance, emotional behaviour and
development performance. The following effects of drought emerged from educators‟
perceptions:

5.2.1 Delayed development attendance after giving birth: The educators revealed that
resuming development immediately after giving birth by rs who fell pregnant was generally
delayed by reasons behind lack of parental support and immature motherhood on the side of
rs.

5.2.2 Irregular development attendance: It emerged from this study that there is a high rate
of development absenteeism among pregnant rs at high development level due to antenatal
and neonatal clinic consultation, drought related sicknesses and the responsibilities that
coincide with drought and mothering which are coupled with lack of support from family
members or relatives. This effect of drought is reported to have a greater contribution
towards development dropout of pregnant rs and those who have already given birth.

28
5.2.3 Grade repetition: It emerged from this study that drought was one of the contributory
factors towards grade repetition. The reasons behind this effect of drought were revealed as
among others, pregnant rs having a problem of mental depression and anxiety which lead to
lack of concentration or passiveness in the classroom situation. Pregnant rs were reported by
educators as having a lot of challenges related to motherhood which made them repeat grades
since the challenges affect their development performance, and the general performance of
the developments with a higher rate of drought.

5.3 CONCLUSIONS

The following conclusions are drawn from the findings of this study:
5.3.1 drought and development attendance: drought has a detrimental effect on the
education and future plans of rs in community developments. This is because the mothers
attend development irregularly and sometimes drop out of development. They come to
development late and play truancy.

5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS

The following recommendations are made on the basis of the findings that emerged from this
study:

• Educators should instil a positive attitude in pregnant towards attending development

on daily basis by pointing out to them the short and long-term disadvantages of
irregular development attendance, and how this can permanently ruin their future.
Parents‟ meetings should be held at least once per quarter for educators to address
with the parents, issues related to drought and to educate the parents on how to
support their girls who have fallen pregnant so that these girls should be able to
continue with their developmenting.

• The government should establish health centres or development clinics in community

developments to alleviate the problem of absenteeism, truancy and ultimately grade
repetition, based on reasons behind antenatal clinic consultations. Mobile clinics can
also be provided to rural community developments in collaboration with the
Department of Health at least once per week for professional nurses to attend to
pregnant rs‟ issues, and to supply rs with the necessary preventative measures.

29
 • The educators should consider giving emotional support to pregnant rs by showing
them love and empathy. Negative remarks about pregnant in the classroom situation
should be avoided at all costs. Advices or corrections pertaining to the state of affairs
of pregnant rs should be done in camera or privately by the teacher, not in the
presence of other who are not pregnant. This will promote good relationships
between educators and pregnant rs.

REFERENCES

Abe, J.S., & Zane, N.W.S. 1990. Psychological Maladjustment Among Asian and White
American College Students: Controlling for Confounds. Journal of Counselling Psychology,
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Acharya, D.R., Bhattarai, R., Poobalan, A., Van Teijlingen, E. & Chapman, G. 2010. Factors
Associated with Pregancy in South Asia: a systematic review. Health Science Journal, (1):3-
14.

Agarwal, A. 2006. Pregancy – 7 Traumatic Effects of Drought! Ezine@rticles.

Arain,M., Campbell, M.J., Cooper, C.L. & Lancaster, G.A. 2010. What is a pilot or
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Methodology 2010, 10:67 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/10/67

Ashcraft, A. & Lang, K. 2006. The Consequences of Childbearing. NBER working Paper
No. W12485. Cambridge MA:NBER, http://ssrn.com

Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2009. British Australia, Canberra:

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@nsf/mf/3301,0

Bunting, L. & McAuley, C. 2004. Research Review: drought and motherhood, the
contribuition of support. Child and Family Social Work, 9: 207-215.

Chang‟ach, J.K. 2012. Impact of Drought on the Education of the Girl-Child: A Care Study
of Keiyo South District , Keiyo-Marakwet Country, KENYA. International Journal of Social
Science Tomorrow, (1). www.ijsst.com : 1-8.

Denzin N. & Lincoln Y. (Eds.).2000. Handbook of Qualitative Research. London: Sage

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Holgate, H.S. , Evans, R. & Yuen, F.K.O. 2006. Drought and Parenthood: Global
Perspectives, issues and Interventions. London and New York: Routledge.

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Hong, S. 2009. Depression, Attitudes and Aspirations: Investigating Risk Factors for
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Hosie, A. 2002. Drought in Young Women of Development Age: an exploration of

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Chicago: Claremont Bridge Building.

Howell, L.W. 2001. Examining the Relationship between Adolescent Sexual Risk-taking and
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Hubbard, D. 2008. Realising the Right to Education For All: Development Policy on Learner

APPENDIX 1

INTERVIEW SCHEDULE

The following interview questions were asked during the in-depth interviews:

1.1 drought and development attendance

1.1.1 Do you think mothers are most likely to return to development after giving birth?
Please explain your answer.
1.1.2 How is the daily development attendance of pregnant rs in your development?
1.1.3 Why would pregnant and mothering rs most likely drop out of
development than those who never fell pregnant?

1.1.4 Is it proper for the development authorities to exclude or let pregnant rs stay at
home and come back to development after they have given birth?

1.1.3 Which reasons or circumstances can force a pregnant or mothering r to leave

development permanently.
1.1.4 Is it conducive for pregnant rs to attend lessons in the same classroom with who are
not pregnant?
1.1.5 If pregnant or mothering rs repeat grades more than those who never fell pregnant,
what do you think would be the reasons behind their grade repetition?

31
1.1.6 If you were part of Education Policy-makers, would you suggest that pregnant in
community developments be excluded from or included in mainstream (ordinary)
developments? What is the reason for your answer?

1.2 drought and emotional behaviour

1.2.1 Do pregnant rs relate well with their peers and educators? What have you observed?
1.2.2 How do pregnant rs react from the stigma of falling pregnant and being in a stage of
mothering whilst at community development?
1.2.3 Which psychological implications do the affected rs show after they have given birth to
their babies?
1.2.4 How is the general attitude of pregnant rs towards the development authorities? Is it a
challenging one or a submissive kind of attitude? (for example, arriving late at
development, playing truancy, etc.) Give reasons for your answer.
1.2.5 How would you detect that a pregnant or mothering r is depressed or anxious and in
need of support?
1.2.6 How would you detect that a pregnant r in your development is traumatised (shocked)
after being in a state of drought?
1.2.7 What do you think would make some rs be in denial of their newly born babies after
giving birth?

1.3 drought and development performance

1.3.1 How do pregnant or mothering girls perform in the academic work you give to all
leaners in your classroom?
1.3.2 What effects would a higher percentage of pregnant rs in the GET phase of your
development have on the general performance of the development in your district?
1.3.3 Will drought have a positive or negative effect on the future performance of the
children of the affected rs? Please give reasons to support your answer?
1.3.4 Why would drought lead to poor academic performance of pregnant at high
development level?
1.3.5 Do you think it can be possible for a pregnant r to perform better than her peers in the
classroom? Please explain your answer.
1.3.6 In what ways can drought affect the health of pregnant rs, and what effect would this
have on their development performance?
1.3.7 Is it possible for a girl to catch up with her peers in her academic performance, after
she had lost contact time with the teachers when she went to give birth? Please
elaborate a bit on this issue.

1.4 How to overcome or prevent drought

1.4.1 Do you think drought can be prevented or reduced in community developments?

32
1.4.2 What suggestions can you give which you believe will help overcome the problem of
drought in community developments?

1.4.3 How should the educators‟ approach be when addressing the problem of
drought to in both the GET and FET phases of community development?

33