INFLUENCE OF SAFETY STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES IMPLEMENTATION ON TRANSPORTATION SAFETY IN PUBLIC BOARDING SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KITUI COUNTY, KENYA

There a current concern caused by rampant tragedies in secondary schools in Kenya which demands for the need to look at the school safety system. The aim of this research was to look into the implementation of safety standards and guidelines on transportation safety in public boarding secondary schools in Kitui County. The objective was to find out the influence of transportation safety implementation. The investigation was led by the securitization and disaster managing theories. The mixed methodology approach was adopted and the design was concurrent triangulation. Targeted population was 16,875 which included; 1,940 teachers and 14,903 students, 16 education officers and 16 senior police officers. The sample was 650 participants which included: 240 teachers, 400 students, 5 education officers and 5 security personnel. Stratified sampling was used to get 5 schools from each of the 8 constituencies; then random sampling was used to get 20 schools. Principals and deputies were purposively sampled. The researcher used random sampling for teachers and leaners and purposive for education and security officers. Likert scale surveys were utilized in the case of teachers and learners. Interview schedules were used for education and security officers and an observation checklist was used too. The data collection tools were tested in 2 boarding institutions which were not included in the last study sample. The specialists examined data collection tools for validity and test retest technique was done for reliability with coefficient of .902. For credibility, simultaneous triangulation was employed. Quantitative data were evaluated in expressive data using tables, frequencies and percentages. Chi-square was employed to find out the degree to which the variables related with one another. Qualitative data were explained through narrative form. The study established that there was need to check the use of safety belts and overloading among other issues. It was recommended that strict measures be put in place to safeguard learners using school vehicles. Further research was recommended in security in tertiary institutions and universities. Article visualizations: