Research Report
Research Report
LECTURER: MR SAMWANGALA
Despite putting in place measures to help the students in their quest totattain a diploma
through extension studies, this task is still challenging and problematic. For example the un
equal participation of rate between internal and extension study students.There are also
unequal gradudating rates between internal and extension study students and unequal tution
fee rates as well as contact times with the lecturers. This study , therfere , sought to establish
the challenges and problems faced by the implementation of extention study policy on the
college and their possible solutions.
RThe purpose of the study to make an inquiry into the challenges faced by david livingstone
college of education students in the extention studies
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This chapter describes procedures and strategies that were used in the implementation of the
proposed study. It covers the research design; study population, sample size and sampling
procedure, research instruments, validity and reliability of the instruments and an outline of
the methods used to collect and analyse data.
This study adopted the descriptive survey design which involves asking questions often in the
form of a questionnaire to a large group of individuals either by mail, by telephone or in
person. This design was most suitable for this research because it involves a large group of
students and lecturers and has the advantage of providing a lot of information from a large
sample of individuals.
Creswell (2002) observes that a descriptive research design is used when data is collected to
describe persons, organizations, settings or phenomena. The study aimed at describing the
behaviour of the subjects under study without influencing them in any way and therefore
descriptive survey research design was the most appropriate for this study.
The target population is the population that the researcher uses to generalize the findings of
the study (Mugenda & Mugenda, 2003).
The researcher arrived at a smaller manageable number of students representing the entire
population as outlined in figure. Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) propose that a researcher
should take at least 10% of the total population when the population sampled from is
relatively large and 30% for a relatively smaller population depending on time and resources
available to the researcher. The researcher sampled ten (10) public secondary schools
representing 31.25%. According to the researcher, a population of thirty two (32) schools is a
relatively smaller population. The researcher employed stratified random sampling technique
to identify the actual number of schools in different school categories that were involved in
the study. According to Mugenda & Mugenda (2003), stratified sampling is a probability
sampling technique where the researcher divides the entire population into different
subgroups or strata, then randomly selects the final subjects proportionally to form a random
sample.
The research instruments were designed based on the objectives of the study. The students‟
questionnaire was administered to form three (3) students in the sample population. The
questionnaire had three (3) main sections. Section one (1) captured students‟ demographic
data while section two (2) captured data on students‟ socio-economic background. Data on
socio-economic background was meant to satisfy objective four (4). Section three (3)
captured data on learning resources and was analyzed to give information relating to
objective one (1).
The questionnaire for lecturerss had four (4) sections. Section one (1) captured teachers‟
demographic data. Section two (2) was designed to gather data on teacher related factors.
This data was intended to satisfy objective three (3). Section three (3) was designed to
capture data on instructional leadership. This data was analyzed to give information on
objective two (2). Section four (4) had been designed to gather data on learning resources and
was meant to capture data on objective one (1).
Validity is the degree to which the empirical measure or several measures of the concept
accurately measure the concept (Kothari, 2008). It is essentially concerned with establishing
whether the questionnaire content is measuring what it purports to measure. For the purpose
of this study the content validity was checked through piloting of research instruments. Three
(3) schools were involved in the pilot study where three (3) principals, twelve (12) teachers
and sixty nine (69) students were included to participate. The three (3) secondary schools
which were used in piloting were not used in the actual study. After the analysis of the
responses, it was necessary to revise and modify some items. The pilot study helped to
improve the face and content validity of the instruments. The researcher also consulted with
the supervisors who gave their expert opinion.
3.7 Reliability of the instruments
According to Mugenda & Mugenda (2003) reliability is a measure of the degree to which a
research instrument yields consistent results or data after repeated trials. Reliability in
research is influenced by random error, of which if it is high, reliability is low and vice versa.
The Pearson‟s Product Moment correlations coefficient formula was used The
questionnaires were subjected to a single test administration for reliability and the following
alpha coefficients were obtained. For students questionnaire, the Cronbach alpa was 0.71,
while that for the teachers it was 0.87 and 0.73 for
the principals. Since these coefficients were more than the required threshold of
The researcher, after being authorized to collect data, visited the sampled schools and
introduced himself to the schools management to obtain their consent to administer the
research instruments. On finalizing the administrative arrangements, the researcher proceeded
to administer the instruments and guided the respondents appropriately. Filled in
questionnaires were collected after completion.
According to Kothari (2008), the most commonly used method in reporting descriptive
survey research is by developing frequency distribution tables, calculating on percentages and
tabulating them appropriately. After receiving the completed questionnaires, the researcher
inspected all of them for completeness, appropriate marking of responses and suitability for
coding. The open ended questions were categorized and coded together with the closed ended
questions and were analyzed thematically.
The researcher first obtained the respondents‟ informed consent before issuing out
questionnaires. Participants were made aware of the type of information the researcher
wanted from them, what purpose it would be used for, how they were expected to participate
in the study, and how it would directly or indirectly affect them. Respondents were also
assured of their rights, including the rights to consent, protection of information, disclosure
and respect for their privacy.
CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 Introduction
This chapter focused on the questionnaire return rate, analysis, presentation of data collected
from the field and interpretation of the results thereof. In this chapter, data analysis is
presented in line with the study objectives thus: influence of learning resources;
administrative practices; teacher related factors and students‟ socio-economic background on
academic performance of secondary school students in Matungulu sub-county.
This study administered ten (10) questionnaires to principals, forty (40) to eachers and 230 to
students. Out of these, all the questionnaires were returned by principals, thirty nine (39)
were returned by teachers and 220 were returned by students. These return rates are
respectively 100 % for principals, 97.5% for teachers and 95.6% for students. According to
Babbie (2010) and Best and Khan
(2011), a response rate of 50% is considered adequate, 60% good and above 70%
very good. Therefore, the response rate from these respondents was considered to
be very good and as such the researcher proceeded to analyze the data as planned.
The study sought to find out the teachers and principals bio-data by way of age, gender,
professional qualification, and experience of the respondents. The information about this
parameter is presented in sections 4.3.1 through 4.3.4
Tables 4.1 shows the distribution in terms of gender of teachers, and principals as
shown below
.
4.3.2 Age of the respondents
This study further sought to establish the age distribution of teachers and
Table 4.4 shows the distribution of teachers and principals in terms of their
4.3.5 Gender of students The gender distribution among the form three students who
constituted the sample is as shown in Table 4.5 below
4.3.6 Age of students The age distribution among students is as shown in Table 4.6
are between the ages of 16-19 years while about 3.7% can be considered underage
Further to the KCPE mark, the study sought to find out the performance of these
students in form three. They were asked to indicate the overall mean grade score
for first term of the year 2016. Analysis of this aspect is as shown in Table 4.8.
This study was predicated on four objectives thus: to establish the Influence of
The following sections relate to the analysis of the findings in relation to the
themes as espoused in the objectives that guided the study. These include learning
and academic performance. The last section dealt with test of hypotheses that
4. 4.1: Influence of learning resources on students’ academic performance The first objective
sought to establish the Influence of learning resources on students‟ academic performance in
public secondary schools in Matungulu sub-county. All the respondents (teachers, principals
and students) were subjected to
52
the same type of questions which were measured on an ordinal scale and
with respect to each of the respondents is as shown in Tables 4.9 and Table 4.10
Table 4.9: Influence of learning resources on students’ academic performance (teachers view)
Learning Resources
Mean Std. Deviation The students always have the textbooks required 3.90 .995 Students are
overcrowded in the classroom 2.79 1.151 The school has a library 2.23 1.202 The school has
enough laboratories 2.44 1.294 Students always gets the required books in the library 2.28
1.099 The classrooms and laboratories have adequate equipment and materials 2.54 1.253
The classrooms are well ventilated and always clean 3.49 .970 Teachers have the required
and sufficient teaching aids 3.51 .970 The computer lab is well equipped 2.36 1.530 Teachers
were asked a variety of questions of which they were supposed to state
their views on a scale of 1-5 where 1 represented strong level of disagreement and
CHAPTER FIVE
County. The study was guided by four objectives thus: to establish the influence
county. Upon analyzing the collected data, the following are the study‟s major
findings:
learners. This study found that learning resources were not adequate as seen from
the view point of the respondents. In particular the students disagreed to most
statements such as the school has a library (mean = 1.83); the computer lab is well
equipped (mean = 1.97) and that the students always get the required books in the
library (mean = 1.85). Similar views were expressed by both teachers and the
76
principals alike. Overall, from the study findings, the supply and provisioning of
the learning resources in the study area were found to be inadequate, implying
performance
teachers lesson notes, records and schemes of work (mean = 4.50); and evaluating
materials and make decisions on staff development activities among others. From
the analysis, the study found out that there was a very strong positive relationship
performance.
performance
This study found out that teacher satisfaction (mean = 4.28); teacher qualification
(mean = 4.08); heavy work load by the teacher (mean = 4.15) and opportunities
77
extent. On the other hand, teacher absenteeism influenced academic performance
teacher related factors and academic performance. The R square value of .474
also shows that teacher related factors accounted to nearly 48 % of the total
performance
extent. In particular the effect of learner with step parents was greater (mean =
4.60), followed by learner with both parents working (mean = 4.40) and learner
with both parents and not working (mean = 4.40) and finally learner with few
siblings (mean = 4.10). This implies that the conditions surrounding the learner
from the family setting are very critical in influencing the performance of the
economic background of the learner and academic performance (r=R= .688). The
R square value of .474 also shows that socio-economic background of the learner
In this study, the factors that were being investigated include learning resources,
78
5.2.1 Influence of learning resources on students’ academic performance
This study found that the supply and provisioning of the learning resources in the
study area was inadequate. Since learning resources are critical determinant of
performance, the inadequacy of these materials in the study area is likely to affect
a great extent.
performance
This study found a strong positive and significant relationship between academic
dependent. Thus a conclusion was made to the effect that academic performance
records and coordinating school activities, then the academic performance will
greatly improve.
This study found that teacher related factors were positively related to academic
were critical in determining the performance of the learner. Also teacher related
79
performance. It was therefore concluded that teacher related factors and students‟
performance
dependent. This implies that the environment where a child hails from plays an
5.4 Recommendations
learners, the study recommended a need for all stakeholders to ensure schools are
ensure that relevant materials are procured for use by both the students and
teachers. Also parents can be asked to support the initiative through buying
80
textbooks for their children to ease the burden of the schools in availing the
teachers to ensure adherence to the dictates of the professional records. This effort
Commission (TSC) should ensure that terms of teachers pay are improved to
1. A similar study can be replicated in other counties to find out if the same
learners.
81
REFERENCES Adeyemo, D. (2005). Paternal involvement interest in schooling and school
environment as predictions of academic self-efficacy among fresh secondary school students
in Oyo State, Nigeria. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 5-3.
Ainley, J., Brian, G., Long, M. & Batten, M. (1995). Socio-economic status and school
education. Canberra. DEET / ACER
Amram, O., Abernethy, R., Brauer, M., Davies, H., & Allen, R. W. (2011). Proximity of
public elementary schools to major roads in Canadian urban areas. International Journal of
Health Geographics, 10, 68. doi: 10.1186/1476-072x-10-68
Andersen, S. (1999). The relationship between school design variables and scores on the
Iowa test of basic skills. Georgia. University of Georgia.
Ayres, P. (1999). Exploring the relationship between high school facilities and achievement
of high school students in Georgia. Athens, GA. University of Georgia.
Berk, L. (1997). Child development. (4th edn). Massachusetts. Allyn and Bacon.
Best, Khan.V (2011) Research methods in education. Prentice hall pvt. New Delhi
Bossert S., Dwyer D., Rowan B. & Lee, G. (1982). The instructional management role of
the principal. Educational Administration Quarterly, 6, 34 – 64.
82
Cantu, I.S. (1975). The effect of family characteristics, parental influence, language spoken,
school experience and self-motivation on the level of educational attainment of Mexican
Americans. Michigan. University of Michigan.
Cash, C. (1993). A study of the relationship between school building condition and student
achievement and behavior. Virginia. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Cole, G. (2002). Personnel and human resource management. (5th Ed). London: Guildford
and kings Lynn
Crosnoe, R., Monica, K. J. & Glen, H. (2004). School size and the interpersonal side of
education: An examination of race / ethnicity and organizational context. Social Sciences
Quarterly, 85(5), 1259-1274.
Daggett, W. R. (2005). Successful schools: From research to action plans: Paper presented at
June 2005 Model Schools Conference. New York. International Center for Leadership in
Educationa.
Earthman, G. I. (2002). School facility conditions and student academic achievement. New
York. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Edmonds, R. R. (1981). Search for effective schools. East Lansing, MI. The Institute for
Research on Teaching, College of Education, Michigan State University.
European Union Monitoring Report (2013). Students‟ performance and parents‟ education
level. Retrieved from http://www.socialsituation.eu
Hochschild, J. L. (2003). Social class in public schools. Journal of social issues Vol.59,
No.4, pp.821-840.
Kathuri, M. J. (1986). Factors that influence the performance of pupils in CPE: KERA
research report. Nairobi: Kenyatta University, Bureau of Educational Research.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. (2009). Population and housing census report.
Government Printer. Nairobi. Kenya
Kigotho, W. (2012, March 5). District schools register poor performance in KCSE exams.
The Standard Newspaper.
Kimani, N. G., Kara, M. A., Njagi, W. L. (2013). Teacher factors influencing students‟
academic performance in secondary schools in Kenya.
84
Kirk, D. J. & Jones, T. L. (2004). Effective schools assessment report, San Antonio, TX.
Pearson Education.
Kothari, C.R. (2008). Research methodology: methods and techniques, (2nd Ed). New Delhi.
New Age International (P) Publishers.
Lackney, J. (1999). Assessing school facilities for learning / assessing the impact of the
physical environment on educational process. Mississippi. Mississippi Design Institute.
Lezotte, L. (1991). Correlates of effective schools: The first and second generation. Okemos,
MI: Effective Schools Products, Ltd.
Lezotte, L. W., Skaife, R. D. and Holstead, M. D. (2002). Effective schools – only you can
make a difference. Mississippi. All Star Publishing.
Macneil, A. (1992). Principal instructional management and its relation to teacher job
satisfaction. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.
Retrieved from ERIC database. (9239066)
Maundu, J. N. (1980). A study of the relationship between Kenyan Secondary School Pupils’
performance need to achieve and their performance in school subjects. Nairobi. University of
Nairobi.
85
Ndirangu, P. (2007). An investigation of the relationship between test anxiety and academic
performance in secondary schools in Nyeri district, Kenya. Nakuru. Egerton University.
Ngware, M. (2015, April 17). Teacher absenteeism: The hidden facts. Daily Nation
Newspaper.
Njuguna, B. W. (2011). The extent, causes, and effects of students’ absenteeism on academic
performance in public day secondary schools in Nairobi Province. Nairobi. Kenyatta
University.
Okoye, N. S. (1998). Factors affecting teaching and learning. The teacher, subject matter and
environment dimension in Ughamadu. Abuja. KMENSUD Educational Publishers.
O‟Neill, David, J. (2000). The impact of school facilities on student achievement, behavior,
attendance, and teacher turnover rate in Central Texas middle schools. Texas. A&M
University.
86
Osman. (1989). Poor performance in KCPE in North Eastern Province. A case study based
on some schools in Wajir and Garissa Districts. Nairobi. Kenyatta University.
Pearson, H. (1988). The teaching of language skills: listening, reading writing. Nairobi:
Oxford University Press.
Rafiq, W. M. H., Fatima, T., Sohail, M. M., Saleem, M. & Khan, A. M. (2013). Parental
involvement and academic achievement; A study on secondary school students of Lahore,
Pakistan. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 3 No. 8
Reche, N. G., Bundi, K. T., Riungu, N. J., Mbugua, K. Z. (2012). Factors contributing to
poor performance in Kenya certificate of primary education in public primary schools in
Kenya. International Journal of Education and Research: Vol 2 No. 5.
Simiyu, & Simuyu, P.C. (2002). Student’s performance in CRE, KCSE and attitudes towards
CRE in Lelan Division, West Pokot District. Nairobi. University of Nairobi.
Smith, J. & Tomlison, A. (1989). The school effect, Policy Studies Institute. London. Oxford
University.
Soft Kenya. (2016). KCSE Results 2014 Released. Retrieved On Tuesday 12th, 2016 from
http://softkenya.com/academic/academic-results
87
Sparkes, J. (1999). Schools, Education and social exclusion, Case Paper 29, Centre for
Analysis of Social Exclusion. London: London School of Economics.
Sullivan, S., and Glanz, J. (2000). Supervision that improves teaching. Thousand Oaks, CA.
Corwin Press.
Ubogu, R. E, (2004). The causes of absenteeism and dropout among secondary school
students in Delta Central Senatorial District of Delta State. Abraka. Delta State University.
UNESCO. (2015). Education for all 2000-2015: Challenges and opportunities. Paris. Place
de Fontenoy.
Wilson, C. (2005). Principal leadership, school climate and the distribution of leadership
within the school community. Missoula MT. University of Montana.
World Bank. (1987). School and classroom effects on student learning in Thailand.
Washington DC. Author.
World Bank. (2015). The global monitoring report. Washington DC. Author.
88
APPENDICES
APPENDIX I:
LETTER OF INTRODUCTION
Dear Respondent,
The information that you will provide will be useful to the study, will be treated in
Yours faithfully,
M.ED Student.
89
APPENDIX II
Introduction.
6. In the tables below, indicate the extent of your level of agreement on what you
90
do in your school.
Statement A S NT R N
11. Building teamwork among teachers to ensure they support one another
91
7. Kindly indicate your level of agreement with respect to the following learning
SD – Strongly Disagree.
SA A N D SD
92
8. Please indicate the extent to which the following teacher related factors affect
Teacher satisfaction
Teacher qualification
Teacher absenteeism
9. Please rate your opinion regarding the effect the following factors have on
Great effect
Moderate effect
No effect
Learner with many siblings Learner with few siblings Learner with step parents
93
10. Please indicate the extent to which the following factors influence academic
performance
Neutral
Administrative practices
Learning resources
Thank you very much for taking your time to fill this questionnaire
94
APPENDIX III
TEACHER QUESTIONNAIRE
Introduction. This questionnaire is designed to collect data for academic study, a requirement
Below 25 ( ) 26 – 34 ( ) 35 – 44 ( ) 45– 54 ( )
Above 55 ( )
above 16 years ( )
95
Section II: Teacher related factors 6. Have you participated in any professional workshop/
seminar in service course in the last?
8. Do you miss to attend school? Yes ( ) No ( ) 9. How many times do you miss school in a
school term ……………………. 10. Do you miss to attend class while you are in school?
Yes ( ) No ( ) 11. State four major reasons which contributes to your absenteeism from
school i. ii. iii. iv. 12. State four major reasons which contributes to your absenteeism from
class i. ii. iii. iv. 13. Are you satisfied with your current job as a teacher? Yes ( ) No ( ) 14.
To what extent are you satisfied with your current job? To large extent ( ) To a moderate
extent ( ) To a small extent ( ) Not satisfied at all ( ) 14. If offered another job would you
prefer to quit your current job? Yes ( ) No (
15. List four motivating and four demotivating factors of your current job
96
16. The average number of lessons a teacher has per week 15 and below ( ) 16 to 25 ( )
26 to 35 ( ) 36 and above ( )
17. Please indicate the extent to which the following teacher related factors affect
Neutral
Teacher satisfaction
Teacher qualification
Teacher absenteeism
Section III: Administrative practices 18. In the table below, indicate the extent to which your
school principal engages
Statement A S NT R N
4. Encourage teachers to benchmark/ visit other schools and learn from colleagues
11. Building teamwork among teachers to ensure they support one another
Section IV: Learning resources
19. Kindly indicate your level of agreement with respect to the following learning
98
SD – Strongly Disagree.
SA A N D SD
99
APPENDIX IV
school for use in a academic research study. The response to the questionnaire
will be treated with utmost confidentiality. Do not put your name or identification
on this questionnaire.
The questions in this section are designed to obtain personal information from
you. Please answer each question by ticking (√) in the appropriate box.
301-400: ( ) 401-500: ( )
6. Indicate your term one (2016) overall mean grade range (e.g A, A-, B- etc)
-------------------------------------------- points.....................
SECTION II: Socio-economic background 7. How many brothers and sisters (siblings) do
you have?
None: ( )
1- 2: ( )
3- 4: ( )
5 and above: ( )
100
8. I come from a
ii. What can you say about the person you have indicated about his education and
profession?
a. Level of education
University ( )
b. He/she is
Section III: Learning resources 10. Kindly indicate your level of agreement with respect to
the following learning
resources in your school.
SD – Strongly Disagree.
101
SA A N D SD