Abstract:
Ensuring that refugees in camps receive a high-quality education is essential to ensuring
both social and economic growth in the host nations after repatriation and resettlement. There have
long been barriers to student enrollment at the Kakuma camp and Kalobeyei integrated settlement,
despite tenacious efforts by state and non-state actors at the international and national levels as well
as stakeholders like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, among others. Several
refugee students at Kakuma Camp and Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement do not enroll in secondary
education. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of cultural practices on refugee
students’ access to secondary education. To identify the barriers preventing refugee students in
Kakuma camp and Kalobeyei integrated settlement from accessing secondary school, the research
used an ex post facto design. The study was guided by the social justice theory which emphasizes
the necessity of addressing systemic injustices and empowering marginalized groups in educational
contexts. Nine (9) principals and 180 teachers from nine (9) refugee schools were the target
population. The study employed census sampling to determine a sample size of 189, which were
made up of 9 principals and 180 teachers. Questionnaires and an interview schedule were used to
gather data. The validity and reliability of the tools were established through a pilot study that
employed the test-retest methodology. A regression analysis was used to analyze the data. The
study established that the cultural practices have statistically significant effects on refugee students’
access to secondary education in Kakuma camp and Kalobeyei integrated settlement.
