Extent of Students’ Involvement in Sports Betting In Public Secondary Schools in Mumias East Sub-County, Kenya (Published)
Effective curriculum implementation can be challenging in an environment where other factors are competing for the learners’ attention. One such factor in Kenya is sports betting. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of students’ involvement in betting on learning process among secondary schools in Mumias-East Sub-County, Kenya. Based on the study, this paper presents and discusses the findings on the extent of students’ involvement in betting. A causal-comparative design was used in the study. Respondents included 369 students, 206 parents and 21 class teachers obtained by stratified random sampling. Data was obtained by use of questionnaires, and analysed using frequencies, means and percentages. The study found that 30.9% (n=369) of students were involved in sports betting. Therefore, there is high student involvement in betting, with more male students involved than female students. Most parents are not aware of whether or not their children engage in betting. Majority of students who bet own personal phones. Those who bet lose their bets more times than they win. Based on the results of the study, the Kenya government should review gambling regulations and legislation to include laws that prohibit school-going students from betting, since most students who bet are aged 18 years and above, meaning that they enjoy legal protection albeit being school students.
Keywords: Extent, Kenya, Mumias, Secondary Schools, Students, involvement, sports betting