Even though youth make up a large portion of Kenya’s population, many lack opportunities for full development, which limits their social, economic, and personal growth. This study explored how out-of-school youth mentorship is associated with positive youth development (PYD) among secondary school students in Kibra, Nairobi County. The focus was on mentor support and individual traits. We used a cross-sectional convergent parallel design targeting 3560 youths enrolled in ten community-based mentorship programmes. A total of 349 programme participants and 102 non-participants took part. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression. Qualitative data from 10 key informants and seven focus groups were thematically analyzed. The findings showed that high mentorship participation is linked to higher PYD: 97% of highly involved students reported high PYD versus 33% among low-involvement students. Programme involvement was a stronger predictor (β = 0.287) than community engagement (β = 0.243). Mentorship also boosted traits like school connectedness (97.4%), goal orientation (95.1%), motivation (94%), collaboration (91.4%), and faith (98.3%), with school connectedness, goal orientation, and collaboration being the strongest predictors (β = 0.32, 0.21, 0.184; R2 = 0.555, p < 0.001). Qualitative insights reinforced these results, showing that structured guidance, role modelling, and parental support strengthen students’ social, emotional, and cognitive growth. The study indicates that participation in mentorship programmes, alongside parental support, appears crucial for fostering holistic PYD among secondary students in urban informal settlements in Kenya.
Cite this paper
Wafula, C. W. N. , Wamuyu, T. and Koome, P. (2025). Out-of-School Mentorship and Positive Youth Development among Secondary Students in Kibra, Nairobi, Kenya. Open Access Library Journal, 12, e14451. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1114451.
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