Drug abuse, school participation, and school-based mitigation strategies among learners in Vihiga County, Kenya

Abstract

Drug abuse can weaken learners’ attendance, classroom engagement, adherence to routines, peer relationships, and participation in co-curricular activities. Schools respond through awareness, counselling, peer programmes, policies, monitoring, referral, and collaboration, but the coverage and practical effectiveness of these measures can vary. This study determined the effect of drug abuse on school participation and examined the effectiveness of mitigation strategies used among secondary school learners in Vihiga County, Kenya. Social Learning Theory and the Person–Environment Fit Model guided the study. A pragmatist paradigm and convergent mixed-methods design were adopted. The target population comprised 29,240 Form Three learners, 112 principals, 112 teacher counsellors, and one County Quality Assurance and Standards Officer. Stratified and simple random sampling selected 395 learners, purposive sampling selected 12 principals and 12 counsellors, and saturated sampling included the County officer. Usable data were obtained from 387 learners and all 25 institutional respondents through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. Quantitative data were analysed using frequencies, percentages, and chi-square tests of independence, while qualitative evidence was analysed thematically. Most respondents reported that learners who abused drugs did not attend school regularly (90.4%), did not participate actively in class (82.2%), did not follow school routines (92.2%), and did not relate well with peers (85.5%). Chi-square results showed significant associations between drug abuse and attendance, extracurricular participation, class participation, routine adherence, problem solving, and maintenance of responsibilities (p < .01). Guidance and counselling (86.3%), awareness talks (80.9%), peer counselling (68.2%), and prevention clubs (65.9%) were commonly reported. However, treatment or rehabilitation referral (45.5%), sensitization of new learners (46.0%), and formal policy implementation were less consistent. The study concludes that drug abuse is significantly associated with reduced school participation, while school interventions show broad institutional commitment but uneven coverage and limited outcome evaluation. Schools should strengthen confidential counselling, referral pathways, peer-led prevention, attendance monitoring, parental engagement, community surveillance, and systematic evaluation of programme outcomes.