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Status of Youth Participation in Governance in Kenya: A Case of Tharaka-Nithi County

Received: 28 May 2022    Accepted: 13 June 2022    Published: 5 July 2022
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Abstract

Youth involvement in governance in Kenya is an issue of great concern because there have been claims that they are not engaged adequately yet they constitute the greatest percentage of the population. This study sought to investigate the status of their involvement in the country, and specifically in Tharaka Nithi County. The study will be guided by the Positive Youth Development Theory which focuses on young people’s capabilities and potentialities with an aim of influencing positive behaviours and attitudes through daily engagements. The study used a concurrent triangulation mixed method research design. In this design, the researchers conducted both quantitative and qualitative data collection phases simultaneously, then analyzes the results. Intepretation and analysis of the data was conducted using the Hoteling T Test. The findings of the research were: that majority of the respondents (more males as compared to females) admitted to have participated in governance processes for an average of three years, they had recieved some training on governance and understood its mechanisms, and that these trainings are open for all and frequently attended by youths, members of the civic society and local administrators in each of the subcounties where the study was conducted. This notwithsatnding, the youth are not suffiiently engaged in education about decision making processes by government agencies, rather, literacy on govrnance and civic matters was attained through trainings, mostly by the private sector. This research recommends that the government should be more involved in these trainings and make relevant information easily accessible to the youth and any other person who may need to access it. Finally, the drafting and implementation of governance policies should be done when all members of the society, especially the youth, are involved in all processes.

Published in Journal of Public Policy and Administration (Volume 6, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.jppa.20220603.11
Page(s) 114-121
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Youth Participation, Governance, Civic Training, Education

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Nzioka John, Lumadede Japheth, Vengi Ambrose. (2022). Status of Youth Participation in Governance in Kenya: A Case of Tharaka-Nithi County. Journal of Public Policy and Administration, 6(3), 114-121. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jppa.20220603.11

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    ACS Style

    Nzioka John; Lumadede Japheth; Vengi Ambrose. Status of Youth Participation in Governance in Kenya: A Case of Tharaka-Nithi County. J. Public Policy Adm. 2022, 6(3), 114-121. doi: 10.11648/j.jppa.20220603.11

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    AMA Style

    Nzioka John, Lumadede Japheth, Vengi Ambrose. Status of Youth Participation in Governance in Kenya: A Case of Tharaka-Nithi County. J Public Policy Adm. 2022;6(3):114-121. doi: 10.11648/j.jppa.20220603.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jppa.20220603.11,
      author = {Nzioka John and Lumadede Japheth and Vengi Ambrose},
      title = {Status of Youth Participation in Governance in Kenya: A Case of Tharaka-Nithi County},
      journal = {Journal of Public Policy and Administration},
      volume = {6},
      number = {3},
      pages = {114-121},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jppa.20220603.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jppa.20220603.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jppa.20220603.11},
      abstract = {Youth involvement in governance in Kenya is an issue of great concern because there have been claims that they are not engaged adequately yet they constitute the greatest percentage of the population. This study sought to investigate the status of their involvement in the country, and specifically in Tharaka Nithi County. The study will be guided by the Positive Youth Development Theory which focuses on young people’s capabilities and potentialities with an aim of influencing positive behaviours and attitudes through daily engagements. The study used a concurrent triangulation mixed method research design. In this design, the researchers conducted both quantitative and qualitative data collection phases simultaneously, then analyzes the results. Intepretation and analysis of the data was conducted using the Hoteling T Test. The findings of the research were: that majority of the respondents (more males as compared to females) admitted to have participated in governance processes for an average of three years, they had recieved some training on governance and understood its mechanisms, and that these trainings are open for all and frequently attended by youths, members of the civic society and local administrators in each of the subcounties where the study was conducted. This notwithsatnding, the youth are not suffiiently engaged in education about decision making processes by government agencies, rather, literacy on govrnance and civic matters was attained through trainings, mostly by the private sector. This research recommends that the government should be more involved in these trainings and make relevant information easily accessible to the youth and any other person who may need to access it. Finally, the drafting and implementation of governance policies should be done when all members of the society, especially the youth, are involved in all processes.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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    AU  - Nzioka John
    AU  - Lumadede Japheth
    AU  - Vengi Ambrose
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    AB  - Youth involvement in governance in Kenya is an issue of great concern because there have been claims that they are not engaged adequately yet they constitute the greatest percentage of the population. This study sought to investigate the status of their involvement in the country, and specifically in Tharaka Nithi County. The study will be guided by the Positive Youth Development Theory which focuses on young people’s capabilities and potentialities with an aim of influencing positive behaviours and attitudes through daily engagements. The study used a concurrent triangulation mixed method research design. In this design, the researchers conducted both quantitative and qualitative data collection phases simultaneously, then analyzes the results. Intepretation and analysis of the data was conducted using the Hoteling T Test. The findings of the research were: that majority of the respondents (more males as compared to females) admitted to have participated in governance processes for an average of three years, they had recieved some training on governance and understood its mechanisms, and that these trainings are open for all and frequently attended by youths, members of the civic society and local administrators in each of the subcounties where the study was conducted. This notwithsatnding, the youth are not suffiiently engaged in education about decision making processes by government agencies, rather, literacy on govrnance and civic matters was attained through trainings, mostly by the private sector. This research recommends that the government should be more involved in these trainings and make relevant information easily accessible to the youth and any other person who may need to access it. Finally, the drafting and implementation of governance policies should be done when all members of the society, especially the youth, are involved in all processes.
    VL  - 6
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Author Information
  • Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tharaka University College, Marimanti, Kenya

  • Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tharaka University College, Marimanti, Kenya

  • Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tharaka University College, Marimanti, Kenya

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