The Effect of Inter-tribal Post Election Violence Conflict Trauma on Academic Performance among Secondary School Students in Mt. Elgon District, Kenya

Abstract

Inter-tribal conflict in Kenya has persisted for a long time and intensifies
during elections. The inter-tribal conflict in 2007-2008 in Mt. Elgon District
was apparently over land dispute between the Soy and Ndorobo clans of the
Sabaot tribe. This research aimed at establishing the effect of trauma as a
result of inter-ethnic conflicts on academic performance among secondary
school students in Mt Elgon District, Kenya. The ex-post facto research
design was used. Two questionnaires, one for students and another one for
teacher-counsellors were used to collect data. The sample of study comprised
of 90 randomly selected students and six teacher-counsellors from six
purposively sampled schools from a population of 22 secondary schools. Five
(83%) out of the six sampled schools registered a negative performance index in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination (KCSE) for the year
2008. In addition, 98% of the respondents recorded a negative performance
index in their internal examination results. More girls (70%) registered a
negative drop than boys (32%). The findings showed that 70 (78%) of the
student-respondents sought counseling services while 20 (22%) did not. It
was recommended that trauma counseling should be entrenched in the school
system.