This minor field study describes the situation for the boy-child in rural Kenya and thepossible effects that can be seen after years of focus directed mostly on the girl-child,both in school and through non-governmental organizations (NGO). This study is doneby going in to the field of rural Kenya and meeting people who can give their opinion onwhat is going on for the boy-child in Kenya. This is a qualitative study based on semistructuredinterviews with six social workers. The method of using open ended questionswill give a hint of what is going on in the day-to-day life in the social worker´s context.During the analysis of the interviews it became evident that there is a need to payattention to the boy-child. There is also a slight difference in focus depending onwhether the informant is a woman or a man. Furthermore all social workers have spokenabout the risks that the boy-child and young teenaged boys are facing. The social workersin this study express their perception that the boy-child is vulnerable. Three major areascould be recognized: vulnerable by the neglect of professionals, vulnerable by the Africanculture and vulnerable by exposure to hazards. At the end of this study there will be adiscussion around the findings and analysis of the interviews. The discussion will alsobring up the aspects of manhood, masculinity and the importance of language as a way toconstruct perceptions as well as how the general construction of gender can be a part ofwhat makes the boy-child vulnerable.

Family and school contexts have always been pivotal for shaping children’s behavioural conduct. They are associated with a laboratory where children are expected to learn about freedom, safety, socialisation and good behaviour. A family context lacking the provision of safety, security, love and happiness is tantamount to encouraging negative behaviour to children. The researcher utilized a qualitative research approach and gathered data by conducting face to face interviews with participants likely to inform the study. The researcher also utilized the purposive sampling technique to assemble a sample. Eight steps for qualitative data analysis as proposed by Tesch in Creswell (2009:186) were utilized for data analysis. Criteria for developing the trustworthiness of a qualitative inquiry as outlined by Lincoln and Guba (in Polit & Beck, 2008:539) were also used. The findings reveal that teacher-learner relationships in schools seem to play an important role in the development of behavioural conduct among learners. Learners who have close relationship with teachers appear to demonstrate social and academic competence at school in comparison with learners with distant relationship with teachers. Furthermore, strong family relationships were found to protect children from poor behavioural outcomes, whereas conflictual parentchild relationships and sibling rivalry interfered with children’s social relationships. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Work)