Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.11, No.11, 2020 13 The Influence of Family Based Determinants on Implementation of Re-Admission Policy of Girls After Teenage Pregnancy in Public Secondary Schools in Kitui County Elizabeth Kalee Musili 1 Jonathan Muema Mwania 2 David Musyoki Mulwa 3* 1.South Eastern Kenya University, Kenya 2. Senior Lecturer, Department of Education Psychology, South Eastern Kenya University, Kenya 3. Senior Lecturer, Department of Education Management and Curriculum Studies, Machakos University, P. O. Box 136-90100, Machakos, Kenya Abstract This study sought to investigate the influence of family based determinants on implementation of re-admission policy of girls after teenage pregnancy in public secondary schools in Kitui County, Kenya. The study objectives sought to determine the influence of; socio-economic status of parents, principals’ opinion on socio-economic status, family size and girls’ awareness of the policy on implementation of re-admission policy. The study was based on the critical theory by the Frankfurt school in German. The target population was 275 principals, 275 guidance and counseling teachers and 275 head girls in the 120 girls’ schools and 155 co-education schools in Kitui County, Kenya. The study also targeted the County Director of Education and all the 16 sub county directors of education in Kitui County. Using stratified and simple random sampling, a sample of 83 principals, 83 guidance and counseling, and 83 head girls were selected for the study. The County Director of Education was purposively selected while four sub-county directors of Education were selected using simple random sampling. Data was collected using questionnaires. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study established that; there was a statistically significant association between socio-economic status of parents and implementation of re-admission policy of girls after teenage pregnancy. The family size, principals’ opinion on the re-admission policy and girls’ awareness of the policy significantly determined the implementation of the re-admission policy of girls after teenage pregnancy. The study recommends that; Parents should be sensitized on their role to educate girls the same way they would do to the boy child. This would enhance the implementation of the re-admission policy of girls after teenage pregnancy in public secondary schools in Kitui County, Kenya. Keywords: Co-education school, Re-admission Policy, Socio-Economic Status Teenage Pregnancies DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-11-02 Publication date: April 30 th 2020 1.0 Introduction Policies that support access to education for girls who drop out of school after teenage pregnancy are not only important to the Kenyan government but have been of a major global concern (Omwancha, 2012). Education is basic human right and provides holistic development of all round person (Muema, Kasivu & Mwanza. (2019). Schools are established with the aim of imparting learners with skills and knowledge to enable them fit in the society even after some learners drop from the school system. Girls are disadvantaged in education and therefore deserve special attention as they drop out more easily than boys because of various reasons, including early marriage, teenage pregnancy, traditions, domestic violence and sexual harassment in the school setting. Girls should therefore be given opportunity to continue with education, which offer them the opportunity to compete favorably with their peers whose school life went uninterrupted. Schools in the 21 st century are therefore avenues for transforming learners to better individuals despite the challenges faced during the schooling period (Nguli, Kasivu & Kamau, 2018). As girls transit the turbulent stage of adolescent, they increasingly seek to be free from their parents and gain more autonomy (Njagi & Mwania, 2017). In order to prevent girls from dropping out of school because of pregnancy, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) committee recommends measures to ensure that pregnant teenagers are given the chance to complete their education by not excluding them and by developing special programs (Mieke, 2006). According to the United Nations Children’s Fund report (2010), tens of millions of girls are not getting basic education across the developing world and especially in the rural and poor areas of Sub Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South Asia due to pre-marital pregnancies among other things. This is because of economic, social and cultural barriers that keep large number of girls in poor countries out of school after teenage pregnancies. In line with supporting pregnant girls, Inziani (2013) study revealed that socio-economic problems are, to a great extent, precursors rather than penalties of pre-marital motherhood. He then suggested that policies need to give emphasis to support services for the young mothers to enable them to recover from social disadvantage.