Abstract:
Boarding secondary schools remove adolescents from family support structures for extended periods,
leaving peer relationships to carry much of the social integration function that families ordinarily
perform. Peer counselling is widely expected to discharge that function, yet in Kenya the magnitude
of its contribution to learners’ social well-being has never been quantified, nor has it been established
whether that contribution differs between boys and girls or across class levels. This study examined
the contribution of peer-counselling models to the social well-being of learners 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, Pearson
correlation, simple and multiple regression and dummy-variable regression in IBM SPSS Statistics
(Version 26), together with thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke (2006). Social well-being
was rated very high (M = 4.386, SD = .604), the strongest indicator being the perceived adequacy of
peer support, endorsed by 99.7% of learners, and the weakest the reduction of loneliness (M = 4.040).
Composite model implementation accounted for 95.0% of the variance in social well-being (B = .796,
? = .975, p < .001), and the four models jointly for 95.9%, F(4, 295) = 1,712.19, p < .001. Ranked
singly, the Peer Leadership (? = .977) and Helper/Peer Mentor (? = .975) models associated most
strongly, while the most extensively implemented model, Peer Support Group, associated most weakly
(? = .842). Gender explained none of the variance (B = .008, p = .912), whereas class level explained
44.1%, F(2, 297) = 116.98, p < .001, following an inverted-U trajectory peaking in Form Three (M =
4.820) and falling sharply in Form Four (M = 3.864). The null hypothesis was rejected. Peer
counselling in the county makes social support visible and accessible without making it transformative
of learners’ inner experience, and psychosocial provision contracts at precisely the point in the learner’s career when demand is greatest. The study recommends protected counselling time in the
terminal examination year, deliberate strengthening of relational model design, and competency-based
selection and training of peer counsellors. |
