Abstract

Orphan hood is a disheartening life status that no one wishes to ever occur in their family set up because of its adverse effects. Despite the vulnerability of the orphaned learners, every child in Kenya has got a right to quality education that leads to good performance and achievement of Universal Primary Education (UPE). However, limited research is available from orphan support project environments that have examined the relationships between project planning and on orphaned learners’ educational achievements. The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of resource planning on orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County. This study adopted the cross-sectional study design, with a study sample population of 313 orphaned learners, caregivers, teachers, project officers. Stratified random sampling technique was utilized in selecting respondents. Both Self-administered questionnaires and an interview guide were employed in collecting quantitative and qualitative data. Results were presented in table form. Descriptive statistics was adopted in analyzing quantitative data, while Thematic Analysis employed in analyzing qualitative data. The validity of the study was to subjectively assess the correspondence between the individual items and the concept through rating by expert judges. To ensure validity and reliability of the research instruments, pilot testing was conducted in a community-based orphan support project in the neighboring Sub-County in Kisumu. Cronbach alpha at α =0.05 level of significance was used to compute the reliability coefficient of the pre-test instruments. This study was guided by two theories, Theory of change and Bio-ecological systems theory [1,2]. The study is of significance to policy makers and development agencies in community-based orphan support projects. It will also provide critical insights into planning effective orphan support projects that focus on orphaned learners' strengths and capabilities rather than project planning orientations that are likely to reinforce and aggravate poor educational outcomes for the learners who are less advantaged. The study concluded that resource planning, significantly influences orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County. The study recommends that there is need for orphan support project managers in Kisumu East Sub County to ensure that there are strategies in place for guaranteeing orphaned learners’ provision of uniforms, learning resources, tuition materials and school meals. The study also recommends project managers to come up with project resource plan containing every aspect that pertains to every resource necessary for project from beginning to end.

1. Introduction

Since the "dark ages," the state of the orphan hood has persisted. The orphaned children have either been directly or implicitly with us. Majority of orphanhood status across the globe is as a result of conflicts, natural calamities, diseases such as HIV/AIDS, maternal death at birth due to abuse and poorly trained traditional birth attendants ³.

An1orphan is a child who is below the age of 18 years and who has in one way or another lost one1or both parents to death ⁴. There were almost 140 million1orphans worldwide during the year 2015 comprising of 61 million in Asia, 52 million in1Africa, 10 million in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 7.3 million in Central Asia and Eastern Europe ^{4, 5}. Not only children who have lost both1parents, but also those who have lost1their mother but have a surviving father or lost a father but have a surviving mother are represented by this large figure. 15.1 million of the nearly 140 million children classified as orphans have lost both parents. The data strongly indicates that the vast majority of orphans remain with a living grandparent or other member of the family. Of all orphans, 95 percent are above the age of five. From 1990-2001, the estimated number of total orphans increased, peaking at 155.4 million.

It is a high priority for both states and foreign stakeholders to address the needs of orphans and vulnerable children and to mitigate the negative results of the growing orphan population worldwide, recognizing this as a social, economic and human rights issue. Up to 40% of students in cities with the highest dropout rates in the United States repeat their ninth degree and are unable to find their expertise in high school work adequate. Over a third of all dropouts in the ninth grade are lost. Sadly, many students are not given the extra support they need to make a full transition to high school performance and are lost in ninth grade ⁶.

The orphans living in Kenya are faced with hunger, illness, poorer schooling, substance and drug addiction, housing and lack of school attendance in comparison to children with less risk. In Kenya, orphans are involved in malnutrition. Kenya has not yet conducted a detailed survey, but it is estimated by the government that about 2.4 million children are orphaned and vulnerable ^{5, 7}. Although free primary education has been implemented, Kenyan Government (GoK) recognizes that orphans and needy children do not tend to register in the state system. Considerable milestone in Kenya's child safety framework has been made since 2009. With the aid of UNICEF, the Government has conducted a mapping and review of the new Kenya framework, highlighting priority deficiencies to be resolved ⁵.

A number of countries, including Kenya, have signed and endorsed the Child Rights Declaration, and have goals for education for orphaned learners by engaging in financial and technical assistance towards planning and executing projects for orphan aid, in order to demonstrate their contributions and to promote orphaned learners' education ^{8, 9}. The success of orphan support programs has been argued to depend on the extent to which the projects promote educational achievements for orphaned learners ⁸. However, the physical and psychological trauma from the death of the parent may have impact on the self-esteem of the affected orphaned learners. As a result, the affected orphaned learners risk being disempowered, excluded and unappreciated in the process of leaning. Therefore, orphan support projects are expected to effectively plan for the resources, finances, risks and quality checks while implementing programs that supports the orphaned learners. Available evidence suggests that orphan projects that are effectively planned at every stage realizes better educational outcomes ^{8, 9}.

Today's troubling number of orphans in Kenya is on the increase in the world. Provided that the number of orphans in Kenya is on the rise ¹⁰, it should be noted that those orphans are as meaningful as any other person and thus are part of a community of the country. The fact that orphans are isolated classes of people is obvious from the context. In addition, due to different reasons, their growing number continues to impair the region ¹¹. Government figures indicate that orphaned learners have increased from 20% to 30% of Kisumu East District's overall population of infants. This involves between 4,270 and 6,406 orphaned school children ¹². This may be because of a variety of causes like illnesses, conflicts, natural disasters and accidents. Orphaned students are also more likely than non-orphans to leave kindergarten. The issue is to ensure that these orphaned learners can be well integrated to progress in a holistic way in their social and personal life. The shifts in family conditions to a certain degree rob these orphaned students of the rewards in the family ¹³.

The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of resource planning on orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County. The research is expected assist policy makers in government and development organization on the benefits of supporting and implementation of educational achievement policy for orphaned and vulnerable learners in Kenya. The absence of a documented national educational achievements policy for orphaned learners has affected the integration of educational achievements goals in the planning of orphan support projects in Kenya. The development and enforcement of a national educational achievement policy would hopefully reduce and seal the gap between orphaned and non-orphaned learners across the country ¹⁴.

The study is further expected to offer critical lessons for policymakers in the nation, development partners and community-based orphan support programs on how orphan support projects would work better by relying on orphaned learners' talents and skills rather than driven by the project preparation guidelines that can reinforce and intensify inadequate education.

The study is also intended to make contributions to the project management body of knowledge and to provide input on project planning for orphaned learners. The outcomes of the study would also provide project managers with critical feedback on the most successful approaches to project creation and how overall feasibility and quality of orphaned learners’ projects in Kenya can be strengthened strategically.

The study is intended to deliver clear evidence on the importance of resource, financial, quality and risk planning when implementing orphan support projects. The study would be expected to motivate the governments of Kenya, development partners and community-based organizations involved in orphans support projects to include resources, financial, risks and quality planning when designing and implementing orphan support policies and projects.

Project planning occurs prior to the actual project work and persists throughout the whole project cycle ¹⁵. Their main agenda is to put project in schedule which minimizes the amount of time, efficiency, costs and resources available. The project management plan, which covers the project timeline and other support arrangements, tend to be the initial result of the project preparation process ¹⁶. There are some important strengths of the project preparation process. In order to create a commitment for the project and a consensus on the essence of the issue and the needed, the project brings together the partners, policy makers and technicians. MARLAP agrees that a coordination mechanism involving technical experts is required to ensure successful links between policy makers. The project preparation allows each individual in the concept of each planning stage to play a proactive role. MARLAP states the phases of project as resource planning, cost/finance planning, risk planning, procurement planning, quality planning, schedule and scope planning.

Resource planning in project planning, is conceptualized as the identification and allocation of tangible items, i.e. learning materials, tuition materials, instructional materials, school uniforms and school meals that will appreciate, recognize and affirm positively both the vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the society ¹⁷, which is beneficial factor on a wide range of outcomes such as improved educational outcomes of orphaned learners and less advantaged children ^{8, 17}.

Proper distribution of services facilitates and enhances the engagement of marginalized and disabled learners, leading to enhanced education wise achievements and academic outcomes for less advantaged learners ^{17, 18, 19}. Innovative paper on participation of children in the learning process, discovered that projects that bolster and sustain children in educational activities are ought to be characterized by well-planned resources during programming and implementation. In his assessment, vulnerable and disadvantaged children possess low self-esteem and the vital means through which participation in learning could be improved is by allocating the basic resources to them ¹⁷.

During the phenomenological investigation on the role played by resource planning in education experiences of students in Swedish secondary schools ¹⁸. They established that educational resources with healthy and affirming teacher-student interactions resulted in more effective learning achievement. Students displayed positive ethical decision-making that led to better educational outcomes. According to the findings of this study, students who are appreciated and have strong interactions with one other make better ethical decisions and feel more in charge of their learning ¹⁸.

Empirical studies has also shown that resource allocation has a positive impact on student achievement in the classroom. An experimental study on the effects of resource planning as well as positive affirmations established that students who believe they can succeed in challenging activities are more likely to believe in their own abilities ²⁰. Findings also revealed that resource planning and positive affirmation have a favorable impact on learners, according to a recent study. To achieve optimal learning results, educational interventions must take resource planning and positive affirmations into account ²⁰.

A beneficial effects of resource planning and positive feedback on the educational outcomes of learners was discovered ²¹. The researcher observed that learners who had enough learning tools and got favorable feedback had higher educational accomplishment scores. Ample resources and timely feedback, according to the researcher, had a favorable impact on the students' self-esteem and self-belief in their potential which resulted in positive educational achievements ²¹.

Major challenges encountered by orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) such as limited resources to cater for their basic needs like shelter, food, social and developmental outcomes leading to in attendance and lower school performance, they struggle more to concentrate during lessons as a result of stress, they experience higher levels of stigma and bullying at school, education and health care, negative health,, they are also more likely to be abused or mistreated as well as have a low self-esteem ²².

This study was guided by the Theory of Change (ToC) model and Bio-Ecological Systems Theory ^{1, 2}.

Theory of Change (TOC) ² if extended to mechanisms of systemic transformation, it provides a thoughtful contrast to other more rigid approaches to strategy and reasoning. A transition theory describes the required parts and measures for reaching a long-term target. It also defines the kind of interventions which yield hoped-for results. A change theory involves theories that stakeholders use (often backed by research) in the change process to explain ²³. According to the Transition Hypothesis, a variety of expectations and abstract team participants consider that in the near future truth may be untold. Based on a practical overview of the current context, an auto-evaluation of its process facilitation capabilities and an explicit and necessary assessment of this report, group engagement in planning processes that helps to track individual as well as collective thought consciously and objectively ²³.

It is not a theory of change, but a theory to predict change in the design of a project in planning processes and how improvements can be caused by intervention strategies. The theory of changes explains how changes can take place. The study considered the philosophy of transition to be more fitting, since it is an awareness-raising exercise that encourages initiative partners to concentrate attention on individual potential realities that are not only beneficial but also feasible and inevitable when solving social or community problems, such as school feeding schemes. Theory of change therefore will serve as a basis for the influence of project planning and orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub-County, Kisumu County Kenya.

The theoretical basis of the theory of bio-ecological systems of Bronfenbrenner that this creation represents the influence of different environmental systems. Bronfenbrenner concepted the environment of the child as having nesting different interconnected layers with agents which affect the development of the child at different levels of directness ^{1, 24}. There is a direct effect on the socialization of children in the microsystem from parents, grandparents, education staff, hierarchical systems and practices, careers, and the family. The infant connects face to face with his/her family at this stage. The institution, donors, mentors and community form a system that socializes with the child in an attempt to affect its growth (educational achievements). In this situation, system addresses the ties and ties between the mentors, school and sponsors. Help for orphaned students by parental/guardian and NGOs is closely linked to the children's success in school and at home.

Theory of bio-ecological systems affirmed that the family impact of language, diet, protection, health and belief on all facets of a child's development. A kid who goes to school is also a result of the home. The relationships children build in school because of the time they spend in school are important for their positive growth ^{1, 26}. In school children for the first time establish relationships with people outside their homes. These relationships allow children to grow socially and cognitively ²⁵. The challenges they face both at home and in school are likely to have a negative impact on their education, but they cannot have such an advantage. An orphan. Hence, calling for assessment on project planning on orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub-County, Kisumu County Kenya.

2. Methodology

This study used cross-sectional design because the time for this analysis is comparatively small, and the control effect is reduced because participants participate only one time and the broad, representative sample allows distinction between different classes. The design was appropriate for the study because the data was collected in a single point among project managers, orphaned learners, care givers (guardians) and public primary school teachers from diverse geographical locations ²⁷. Cross-sectional design was also the most appropriate design since the target population is diverse and has individual differences, in terms of gender, age, education. The research participants were orphan support project managers, orphaned learners, care givers and public primary school teachers. However, members of each of the target population has their differences in terms of age, gender, education, among other differences. Cross-sectional design was appropriate technique as it afforded every respondent from the various strata the chance to be interviewed faster.

Target population is the entire group of people who were vital to research study ²⁸. The target group for this study included orphaned learners, caregivers of orphaned learners, project officers, social workers, community workers, class teachers of (grade 5-8), school headteachers and the deputy headteachers that gives a target population of 1690.

Orphaned learners are the prime population target for this study because available evidence suggest that they experience bad grades in comparison to non-orphaned learners ⁸. Orphan Support Project managers, social workers and community workers are chosen as the target population in this study because they are responsible for designing, planning and implementing orphan support projects and for the overall management of these projects. Care givers are also chosen as the target population for the study because they are responsible for taking care of and monitoring the overall welfare of the orphaned learners and there is a strong policy recommendation that every orphan should have a care giver ⁸. Primary school teachers are selected as the target population for this study because the dependent variable in this study is educational achievements (participation in co-curricular activities, class attendance, ensuring school and learners’ discipline, assigning, and marking homework and ensuring learners’ grade progression). Kisumu East Sub- County is chosen as the geographical location of this study because available data and evidence show that the county has a surge in orphans and orphaned learners due to the high incidence of adult AIDS mortality in the county ⁸.

The study used Krejcie and Morgan table for determining the sample size. The entire target population for this study was 1690. For the 1690 target population, Krejcie and Morgan table gave a sample of 313 people at 95% confidence level ²⁹.

Stratified random sampling procedure was used in this study. The stratified random sampling approach is, according to Macmillan and Schumacher ²⁷, a method for sampling that involves splitting the population into smaller, so-called strata. For them, the strata are formed based on common traits or characteristics of the member in a stratified random sampling or stratification. Stratified random sampling guarantees a proper representation of each subgroup of a given population. The sample size for each stratum is equal to the population size of the stratum using a proportional stratified method. The scale of each stratum is not equal to the population in a disproportionate sampling process. This analysis followed a proportional stratified system. The key benefit of layered RS is that the population attributes of the survey are obtained ²⁷. This approach also creates features proportionate to the population as a whole. The diverse locations of the orphan support projects, and the different demographic profiles of the targeted population justifies the adoption of cross-sectional design. Purposive sampling was also used in the selection of the project managers responsible for the design of orphan support projects, and for selecting teachers responsible for teaching and managing orphaned learners in class 5-8.

The study employed Demographic Questionnaire for Orphaned Learners, Demographic Questionnaire for Project Managers, Demographic Questionnaire for Care Givers, Demographic Questionnaire for Primary School Teachers, Macmillan and Schumacher describes research instruments such as questionnaires or scales, to obtain information on a subject which is of importance to the researcher (s) ²⁷. Apart from the demographic questionnaires had positively worded statements and negatively termed elements as suggested by ^{30, 31}. They concluded that including positive and negative comments in a questionnaire minimizes discrimination because certain items decrease the pace and facilitate cognitive justification in subjects ^{30, 31}.

The pilot test applies to the small-scale experiment, in which a few examiners take the test and remark on the mechanics of the test, and where the test guidelines and questions or declarations are not explicit. Pilot testing involves deciding whether the research instrument(s) are going to function in the "real world" by first testing a few persons with the same features as the sample population to which the final instruments are intended.

The research instruments was piloted in the neighboring Kisumu Central Sub County at an Orphan Support Project among 14 orphaned learners and 14 care givers. ³² recommends a pre-test sample was sufficient for a pilot analysis, one-tenth of the overall sample of uniform characteristics. Having the total number of targeted orphaned learners and care givers are 140 and 140 care givers, 14 orphaned learners and 14 caregivers are equivalent to 10% of the total sample of orphaned learners and care givers.

To ensure measurement errors are kept to a minimum. The properties of the measure, which gives confidence in the proper functioning of the device, must be calculated. The first property is the validity of the measurement by an instrument. The second is usability, if a method can understand various conditions accurately (26).

Validity refers to how well a research instrument measures what it aims to measure; the extent at which the instrument measures right elements that need to be measured (15). In this study, both construct and content validity were facilitated with the involvement of the panel of experts (project supervisors) who are well versed with the variables and the indicators employed in study variables. The validity of the instrument determines how well a testing instrument tests its argument according to Macmillan and Schumacher, whether a variabling operational concept represents the true theoretical importance of the building and whether the system measures the construct adequately (15). A thorough literature review of the examined variables and a review and recommendations by the project managers who are specialists in questionnaire design have helped to promote research validity of this report. Content validity or logical/ rational validity, is the approximation of how much an instrument or measure is compared to every single element of a construct. Content validity of the research instruments was ensured through the use of appropriate measures and indicators for each of the variables in the study (15). The research instruments applied proper grammar for all participants. The questionnaire statements were clearly designed and to the point. The instruments were checked by the supervisors who are very conversant with questionnaire design. The supervisors reviewed the questionnaires and make recommend on what should be included to avoid vagueness among participants.

Reliability is the degree of consistency of a measure or scale and posited that a test is reliable when it gives the same repeated results under the same conditions (15). Reliability of the research instruments were facilitated through pretesting of the instruments with orphaned learners and care givers in an orphan support project in the neighboring Kisumu Central Sub County. Pre-testing of the instruments were conducted to 16 orphaned learners and 16 care givers were randomly sampled. To determine the internal accuracy of the instruments' items/scales, the alpha of Cronbach was used. Cronbach's alpha is determined by matching the scale to the cumulative score for each scale item and measuring this difference for each item scale.

The research letter was issued by the school of post Graduate studies, the University of Nairobi, National Commission for Science technology and Innovation (NACOSTI), then take a copy of letter to the Sub County Commissioner of Kisumu East to obtain permission for collecting data from the selected orphaned leaners and caregivers. The researcher then linked with the NGO Board to get a list of organizations which support orphans to map out the appropriate respondents to be included in the study. The researcher then proceeded with data collection with the assistance of 5 data collectors.

Quantitative data from structured questionnaires were coded and recorded for computation of frequencies and percentages. The SPSS v.22 was used to produce frequency distribution and percentages. Following George and Mallery’s (2003) recommendation, tables were also used to summarize and present data (13). Quantitative data was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics.

The qualitative data was analyzed by use of Thematic Analysis (7). This involves the grouping of interview data produced in conjunction with the study aims and a long quantitative presentation recorded in narrative form. To complement quantitative data, the qualitative data was used.

The study was reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Education before its execution. The respondents had the freedom of choice either to participate or not, without coercion. Explanation on the nature and purpose of the study was made prior to the commencement of data collection process (see Appendix III). The researcher also had to seek for informed consent of the head teachers (or managers of the sampled learning institutions) before the exercise starts (see Appendix III). Confidentiality and anonymity were ensured by ensuring that all gathered information in the course of the study are confidentially preserved and not availed to any individual who are not involved directly in the study.

3. Results

The study sought to determine the influence of project planning on orphaned learners' educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County, Kisumu County. This chapter covers findings for the study as per the objectives. The sections in this chapter include: questionnaire return rate, reliability analysis, background information findings, descriptive statistics and lastly regression analysis meant to test the hypothesis of the study. The findings are presented in Tables.

The questionnaire return rate was computed to ascertain whether it was adequate for analysis. The findings were as shown in Table 1.

From the findings, 313 questionnaires were administered to the respondents from which only 303 questionnaires were fully filled and returned. This gave a response rate of 96.8%. This was significant response rate for statistical analysis since it is above 50% as per ³³ recommendations.

The reliability of the instrument was conducted by use of the split half method and then calculated using spearman brown correlation formulae to get the whole test reliability. The findings were as shown in Table 2.

The findings show resource planning had an alpha value of 0.821, financial planning alpha value of 0.840, risk planning alpha value of 0.833, quality planning alpha value of 0.702, social capital alpha value of 0.775 and orphaned learners’ educational achievements alpha value of 0.758. The above shows that all the six variableswere reliable as their reliability values surpassed the prescribed threshold of 0.7 as per Macmillan and Schumacher recommendations ²⁷. This meant that the research instrument was reliable and therefore did not require any amendments.

This section required the respondents to indicate their general information including gender, age bracket, marital status, highest educational qualification, how many years they have worked in the project, position they hold in the project, how many years they have been teaching, their responsibility in the school, how many orphaned learners are being taken care of at home, the number of years they have been taking care of orphaned learners, which of the parent(s) has died, how many brothers and sisters they have, who they live with, which class they are in and how long they have been enrolled in the orphan support project. This general information is presented in Table 3.

The findings showed that majority of respondents were female presented by 61.1% whereas the male were 38.9%. This indicated that the research considered all respondents irrespective of the gender to gather reliable information. From the findings in Table 4, majority of the respondents (project officers, social workers, community workers, schoolteachers and caregivers) indicated to be aged between 41 and 50 years as illustrated by 37%. Other respondents ((project officers, social workers, community workers, schoolteachers and caregivers) indicated to be aged between 31 and 40 years as illustrated by 28.6%, between 51 and 60 years as illustrated by 19.5%, between 21 and 30 years as illustrated by 9.1% and more than 60 years as shown by 5.8%. The study covered all the relevant age groups hence the data collected could be relied upon as it was from a wide scope.

From the findings, most of the project officers, social workers, community workers, schoolteachers and caregivers indicated to be married as shown by 61%. Other indicated to be widowed as illustrated by 25.3%, single as shown by 6.5%, divorced as illustrated by 3.9% and separated as shown by 3.2%. From the findings in Table 3, most of the respondents had a certificate as shown by 29.2%. Other indicated to have diploma as shown by 25.3%, secondary education as shown by 25.3%, primary education as shown by 16.9% and bachelors as shown by 3.2%. This is an indication that the collection of data cut across all the levels of education of the respondents. The data shows that majority of the respondents were learnt enough to provide information on the subject under study.

From the findings, project officers, social workers and community workers indicated to have worked in the project for 6 to 10 years which is 88.2%, 1 to 5 years is 5.9% and more than 10 years is 5.9%. This information showed that many respondents worked in the project for a long duration hence credible information was expected to be gathered on the subject matter. From findings, most of the respondents indicated to be home visitors represented by 52.9%, social workers as shown by 17.6%, program officers as shown by 11.8%, mentor as shown by 11.8% and directors as shown by 5.9%. This shows that all the respondents held prominent positions to be in a position to provide credible information regarding the subject under study.

From the findings, most schoolteachers had been teaching for 6-10 years as shown by 39.1%. Others indicated to have been teaching for more than 10 years as shown by 34.8%, for 1-5 years as shown by 21.7% and less than 1 year as shown by 4.3%. This shows that most of the teachers had been teaching for long enough to have interacted with orphaned learners to provide credible information regarding the subject under study. From the findings, school teachers indicated their responsibility to be class master/mistress (34.8%), head of guidance and counselling (17.4%), teaching class 5 (13%), teaching class 7 (8.7%), deputy head teacher (8.7%), head teacher (8.7%), teaching class 6 (4.3%) and games master/mistress (4.3%).

Most of the caregivers indicated to taking care of 3-5 orphaned learners as shown by 49.1%, 1-2 orphaned learners as shown by 28.1% and more than 5 orphaned learners as shown by 22.8%. This shows that all the caregivers have interacted with orphaned learners to be in a position to provide credible information regarding the subject under study. From the findings, the caregivers indicated that they have been taking care of orphaned learners for 1-5 years as shown by 53.5%, for 6-10 years as shown by 34.2%, for more than 10 years as shown by 7.9% and for less than 1 year as shown by 4.4%.

From the findings in Table 3, majority of the orphaned learners indicated to be aged 13-15 years as shown by 40.9%. Other orphaned learners indicated to be aged 10-12 years as shown by 27.5%, 16-17 years as shown by 24.8% and 18 years and above as shown by 6.7%. Most of the orphaned learners indicated that the parent who have died was their father as shown by 44.3%, mother as shown by 20.8%, both as shown by 33.6% and none as shown by 1.3%. Most of the orphaned learners indicated that they have 1-2 brothers and sisters as shown by 41.6%, 3-5 brothers and sisters as shown by 32.2% and more than 5 brothers and sisters as shown by 20.8%. However, only 5.4% of the orphaned learners had no brother or a sister. Most of the orphaned learners indicated that they live with their relative as shown by 44.3%, that they live with their mother as shown by 40.3% and that they live with their father as shown by 15.4%. Majority of the orphaned learners indicated to be class 8 as shown by 35.6%, class 7 as shown by 28.2%, class 6 as shown by 19.5% and class 5 as shown by 16.8%. Most of the orphaned learners indicated they have been enrolled in the orphan support project for 1-2 years as shown by 50.3% and for more than 5 years as shown by 49.7%.

The study sought respondents’ opinions on orphaned learners’ educational achievements. Both theoretical and empirical review established that the key indicators of Educational Achievements of Orphaned Learners in Public Primary Schools include orphaned learners’ school attendance, orphaned learners’ grade/class progression, orphaned learners’ discipline, orphaned learners’ participation in co-curriculum activities and orphaned learners’ homework completion.

To measure orphaned learners’ educational achievements, five statements on the indicators were developed in questionnaires administered by the researcher on 1-5 likert scale where 1 in strongly disagree (SD), 2 is disagree (D), 3 in neutral (N), 4 is agree (A) and 5 is strongly agree (SA).

The findings are presented in Table 4.

OLEA1 findings: the mean was 4.13 and this implies that the orphaned learners attend school regularly. Out of 303 responses, 17(5.6%) strongly disagreed, 26(8.6%) disagreed, 8(2.6%) were neutral, 103(34%) agreed and 149(49.2%) strongly agreed.

OLEA2 findings: the mean was 4.327 which revealed that orphaned learners participate in co-curriculum. Out of 303 responses, 2(0.7%) strongly disagreed, 12(4%) disagreed, 12(4%) were neutral, 136(44.9%) agreed and 141(46.4%) strongly agreed.

OLEA3 findings: the mean was 4.03 and this shows that the orphaned learners behave well in school. Out of 303 responses, 6(2%) strongly disagreed, 29(9.6%) disagreed, 23(7.6%) were neutral, 137(45.2%) agreed and 108(35.6%) strongly agreed.

OLEA4 findings: the mean was 4.34 and this shows that orphaned learners pass school examinations and get promoted to the next class. Out of 303 responses on the item, 13(4.3%) disagreed, 13(4.3%) were neutral, 135(44.6%) agreed and 142(46.8%) strongly agreed.

OLEA5 findings: the mean was 3.93 and this shows that the orphaned learners always do their homework. Out of 303 responses on the item, 7(2.3%) strongly disagreed, 38(12.5%) disagreed, 22(7.3%) were neutral, 137(45.2%) agreed and 99(32.7%) strongly agreed.

The first objective sought to determine the influence of resource planning on orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County.

To determine the influence of resource planning on orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County, five statements on the indicators were developed in the questionnaires administered using 1-5 likert scale where 1 is strongly disagree (SD), 2 is disagree (D), 3 is neutral (N), 4 is agree (A) and 5 is strongly agree (SA). The findings are illustrated in Table 5.

PRPP1 findings: Provision of learning resources have a positive influence on orphaned learners’ educational achievements since the mean for PRPP1 at 4.13 is higher in comparison to composite mean of 3.815. Out of 303 responses, 15(5%) strongly disagreed, 27(8.9%) disagreed, 15(5%) were neutral, 93(30.7%) agreed and 15(350.5%) strongly agreed.

PRPP2 findings: Provision of tuition materials negatively influence orphaned learners’ educational achievements since the mean for PRPP2 at 3.70 is lower in comparison to composite mean of 3.815. Out of 303 responses, 24(7.9%) strongly disagreed, 44(14.5%) disagreed, 31(10.2%) were neutral, 104(34.3%) agreed and 100(33%) strongly agreed.

PRPP3 findings: Provision of instructional materials negatively influence orphaned learners’ educational achievements since the mean for PRPP3 at 3.63 is lower in comparison to composite mean of 3.815. Out of 303 responses, 16(5.3%) strongly disagreed, 52(17.2%) disagreed, 47(15.5%) were neutral, 102(33.7%) agreed and 86(28.4%) strongly agreed.

PRPP4 findings: Provision of school uniforms have a positive influence on orphaned learners’ educational achievements since the mean for PRPP4 at 4.30 is higher in comparison to composite mean of 3.815. Out of 303 responses, 2(0.7%) strongly disagreed, 17(5.6%) disagreed, 9(3%) were neutral, 134(44.2%) agreed and 141(46.5%) strongly agreed.

PRPP5 findings: Provision of school meals negatively influence orphaned learners’ educational achievements since the mean for PRPP5 at 3.31 is lower in comparison to the composite mean of 3.815. Out of 303 responses, 54(17.8%) strongly disagreed, 55(18.2%) disagreed, 27(8.9%) were neutral, 76(25.1%) agreed and 91(30%) strongly agreed.

The study conducted correlation and regression analysis to establish the relationship between project resource planning and orphaned learners’ educational achievements.

The study utilized Pearson correlation analysis to establish the existence and strength of the relationship between project resource planning and orphaned learners’ educational achievements. The findings are shown in Table 6.

As per the results in Table 6, the r=0.788 and p-value=0.018. Since the p-value was less than 0.05, the study established that there is a strong and significant relationship between project resource planning and orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County.

The study conducted regression analysis to establish the effect of project resource planning and orphaned learners’ educational achievements. The findings are shown in Table 7, Table 8 and Table 9.

The findings in Table 7 shows that R² was 0.621 which indicate that project resource planning explains 62.1% of the variations in the orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County. This implies that most of variations in orphaned learners’ educational achievements can be explained by project resource planning.

From the ONOVA table, F calculated was 492.860 and p-value was 0.000. Since F-calculated was greater that F-critical value (3.8725) and p-value was less than 0.05, the study established that project resource planning significantly explains variations in orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County. This shows that project resource planning have a significant influence on orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County.

In reference to coefficients findings in Table 9, the regression model can be substituted as follows:

Where;

Y = orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County

PRP = Project Resource Planning

The findings show that holding project resource planning constant at zero, the regression coefficient for orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County will be 0.901. The findings also show that a unit change in project resource planning would lead to 0.872 changes in orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County. The p-value (0.000) was less than 0.05 and hence the null hypothesis one was rejected and it was concluded that resource planning has an effect on orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County.

The study sought to determine the influence of resource planning on orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County. The study found that orphan support project provides school uniforms for orphaned learners and that orphan support project provides learning resources for orphaned learners. In addition, the study found that orphan support project provides tuition materials for orphaned learners and that orphan support project provides instructional materials for orphaned learners. The study established that orphan support project provides school meals for orphaned learners.

The study found that orphan support project provides school uniforms for orphaned learners and that orphan support project provides learning resources for orphaned learners. The findings concur with Shier who discovered that projects that foster and sustain children in educational activities are characterized by the way their resources are well planned during programming and implementation. In his approximation, vulnerable and disadvantaged children tend to have lower self-esteem and one of the vital means through their participation can be enhanced by allocating the basic resources to them ¹⁷.

In addition, the study found that orphan support project provides tuition materials for orphaned learners and that orphan support project provides instructional materials for orphaned learners. The study established that orphan support project provides school meals for orphaned learners. These findings concur with ¹⁸ who noted that educational resources characterized by recognition and positive affirmation by teachers to learners improved the speech and action among the learners, with demonstrated positive ethical decision making among the children which contributes to improved educational outcomes for the learners.

4. Recommendations

The study recommends that there need for orphan support project managers in Kisumu East Sub County to ensure that there are strategies in place for guaranteeing orphaned learners’ provision of uniforms, learning resources, tuition materials and school meals. This will ensure that orphaned learners remain in school for improved educational achievements.

The study also recommends that project managers develop project resource plan which contains all aspects that pertains to every resource necessary for project from the start to the end. This will ensure that all the needed resources are in place to ensure success of the orphan support project.

The study only focused only on Kisumu East Sub County. Therefore, the study recommends that future studies should look at project resource planning on orphaned learners’ educational achievements based on other sub counties in Kisumu County.

The same study should also be relocated in other counties in Kenya. The study also recommends that future studies should look at influence of project management practices on orphaned learners’ educational achievements in Kisumu East Sub County.

References