Abstract:
Boarding secondary schools remove adolescents from family support structures for extended periods,
and peer counselling is widely expected to substitute for that loss. Yet in Kenya the models through
which peer counselling is delivered have never been mapped empirically and schools continue to
sustain programmes whose comparative structure and adequacy are unknown. This study examined
the peer-counselling models implemented across school types and categories in boarding secondary
schools in Bungoma County, Kenya. Anchored on Social Support Theory (Cohen & Wills, 1985) and
adopting a pragmatic paradigm, the study employed a convergent parallel mixed-methods design
within a descriptive survey framework. Two-stage stratified sampling drew 15 schools from a
population of 60; cluster and simple random sampling yielded 300 learners in Grade 10, Form Three
and Form Four; and purposive sampling secured interviews with ten deputy principals. Data were
generated through a 47-item learner questionnaire, a semi-structured interview schedule, a document
analysis checklist and an observation checklist, and were analysed using descriptive statistics,
correlation and dummy-variable regression in IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 26), together with
thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke (2006). All four models were implemented at high to
very high levels, with the Peer Support Group Model highest (M = 4.357, SD = .682) and significantly
more extensive than the Helper/Peer Mentor (M = 4.070), Peer Leadership (M = 4.063) and Peer
Education (M = 4.038) models, all p < .001. Only two models, however, predominated in practice:
dyadic mentoring for 59.0% of learners and group support for 40.0%. Implementation differed
significantly by school type, which accounted for 23.0% to 41.6% of the variance (all p < .001), but
not by school category (R² < .02, all p > .05). The null hypothesis was therefore rejected for school
type and retained for school category. No deputy principal described a formally named model, and
three uncoordinated selection logics operated across schools. Peer counselling in the county is thus
extensive in reach but unstandardised in design, shaped by gender composition and administrative
convenience rather than by learner need. The study recommends a county-wide model framework,
competency-based selection, supervised training and a formal referral pathway. |
