MEM Theses and Dissertations (2022)

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    Effect of form four Students’ reading habits on academic achievement in public secondary schools in Kitui Central Sub-County, Kenya
    (Strathmore University, 2022) Mangelu, Grace Kalekye
    This study investigated the effect of form four students' reading habits on academic achievement in public secondary schools in Kitui Central Sub-County, Kenya. Form four students in secondary schools in Kitui Central Sub-County are performing poorly in the KCSE. The study objectives were: To examine reading habits of form four students in the home environment, to investigate the reading habits of form four students in the school environment, to assess the status of the libraries and to discuss the relationship between reading habits and academic performance of form four students in public secondary school students’ in Kitui Central Sub-County. The study adopted three theories of reading namely, Traditional Bottom Up-View influenced by the behaviorist’s psychology of the 1950s, Cognitive View developed in the 1960s in the cognitive sciences and the Schema theory based on the notion that experiences lead to creation of mental frameworks that help a reader make sense of new experiences. It used a descriptive research design with a sample size of 197 secondary school teachers and 335 Form Four students based on the Yamane Sampling formula. Primary data was collected using two sets of questionnaires (teachers’ and students’) containing open and closed-ended questions. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 and content analysis techniques respectively. The study established that the home environment was not promoting good reading habits in students, the school environment was supporting good reading and most schools in the region lacked library facilities and services. The study also revealed that there exists a significant positive relationship between reading habits and student academic performance. The study made the following recommendations to the various stakeholders in Kitui Central, Sub-County. The students should develop a positive attitude toward reading, be self-motivated, goal-oriented and focused to develop good reading habits for both academic and non-academic purposes. Parents must create an enabling reading environment at home, as well as promoting reading habits by purchasing books, allowing time for study, acting as mentors and role models, and supervising reading at home. The teachers in the school environment should develop students’ reading habits by supervision of reading activities, allocating reading lessons in the timetable and scheduling time for students’ private reading, among others. In conjunction with the national and local governments, the principals of public secondary schools in Kitui Central, Sub-County should construct or improve library facilities to ensure that students have access to appropriate reading and revision materials. The implementation of these recommendations would contribute to improving students’ reading habits and to enhancing their academic performance, thus increasing the likelihood that they qualify for university enrolment.
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    Effects of out-of-school suspension on students’ behaviour in public secondary schools: a case of Kyuso Sub-County, Kitui County
    (Strathmore University, 2022) Mwinzi, Esther Kimala
    The usage of out-of-school suspension has been employed by the school administration in order to address incidents of indiscipline as students’ lack of discipline continues to be a worry for the majority of educators, parents, and society at large. This came about after Kenyan government ratified the UN Charter on Human Rights and outlawed corporal punishment in schools in accordance with global trends pertaining to children’s rights. However, little is known about how out-of-school suspension affects students’ behaviour after being punished, even though principals and school administrators have continued to utilise it as a tool to combat indiscipline in schools. This study’s aim was to investigate the impacts of out-of-school suspension and behaviour on academic performance, dropout rates, and the relationship between students and teachers in public secondary schools in Kyuso sub-county, Kitui County. The study was guided by the deterrent and reformative theories of punishment and social learning theory by Albert Bandura. The theory helps to explain the identifiable cause of the behaviour and proposes how new behaviours could be acquired. The study adopted a descriptive survey design utilizing closed-ended questionnaires, randomized sample designs, and structured interviews. Data analysis for the study was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study’s empirical methodology focused on extrapolating results from a sample to the entire population. The study used a population of 450 respondents from a sample of schools in Kyuso sub-county. Prior to the actual research, a pilot study was conducted in one of the schools within the sub-county to enable the researcher to identify whether the tools for data collection were suitable. The pilot school was not part of the study. Inferential tests of regression (p) and Pearson’s correlation (r) were used to test the correlation of the two sets of responses. Alpha (p) value <0.5 and r value > 0.5 tested at a 0.05 significance level. The findings of the study revealed that there was a positive correlation between OSS and students’ behaviour. Thus, it was determined that OSS has a considerable impact on secondary school students’ behaviour in Kyuso Sub County, Kitui County. When utilised in isolation, OSS cannot control students’ misbehaviour in schools; instead, all stakeholders must work together to find the best solution.
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    Influence of parental involvement on student’s academic achievement in public mixed day secondary schools in Yatta Sub-County, Machakos County
    (Strathmore University, 2022) David, Dominic Muthami
    Research shows that parental involvement in schools is closely linked to better student behavior, higher academic achievement and enhanced social skills. The influence of parental involvement on student’s academic achievement can be investigated through various forms. However, the forms of involvement that have the strongest effect on the student's academic achievement are not clear. Based on varying forms of parental involvement, different scholars have drawn different findings and conclusions with some concluding that there exists no relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement. This study sought to advance the investigation of the influence of parental involvement in academic achievement in mixed-day secondary schools in Yatta sub-county, Machakos County. Specifically, it focused on the influence of parental involvement on supervision of the learner's homework, communicating expectations and target setting, and participation in school activities. The study adopted Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory focusing on the Micro-system, Meso-system, Exo-system and Macro-system. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews. The study sampled 15 schools from 29 public mixed-day secondary schools in the sub-county. The study also targeted school principals, Class teachers, Form Three parents and Form Three students of the sampled schools. Quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28, while the qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. There was a significant positive correlation between homework supervision and academic achievement, the communication of expectations together with target setting and that academic achievement, and finally, the participation in school activities and academic achievement. The study established that parental involvement is positively influencing academic achievement. The study recommends the formulation of a policy framework that provides guidance and direction in reference to parental involvement. The strategy will guide and enhance homework taking, create links with parents to provide the necessary information, and motivate students to take homework. Further research can be done to establish the reason why many schools did not have a school policy on parental involvement and other socioeconomic factors influencing parental involvement.
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    Parental involvement in the formation of school and family partnerships in the implementation of Competency Based Curriculum: a study of public primary schools in Lang’ata Sub County
    (Strathmore University, 2022) Wairimu, Nancy Lucy
    One of the aims of the change by the Kenyan government from 8-4-4 system of Education to Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) was to ensure that education is practical and responsive to the needs of the people. This was also in response to the need for whole-rounded education that would develop learners’ technical skills and individual talents. This journey, however, has not been smooth: it has been plagued by many challenges including the lack of parental involvement in the reform process and in its implementation. Parental involvement is crucial in creating partnerships among parents, schools and communities, hence should be given attention in curriculum implementation. Such partnerships help in improving learning outcomes and aiding in the success of the curriculum being implemented. This study, therefore, sought to investigate parental involvement in formation of school and family partnerships in implementation of CBC with a focus on public primary schools in Lang’ata Sub County. The study used Epstein’s theory of influence and explored the following objectives: communication, level of awareness of parents where learning at home is concerned; constituents necessary in structuring school and family partnerships through decision making; governance and advocacy activities where the implementation of the CBC is concerned; and finally, the challenges facing parental involvement in formation of these partnerships. The study adopted a mixed method approach whereby quantitative data was analysed using SPSS 20 while qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis. The study found that there was a positive correlation between variables in parental involvement and implementation of CBC curriculum. However, public primary schools in Lang’ata Sub County had a challenge where communication was concerned. For example, the diary as a major communication tool was limiting because it was mainly used for assignments. In terms of parental awareness, parents engaged in assisting children with homework but were not involved in other curricular activities or decision making where school issues were concerned. On structural constituents of school and family partnerships, the public primary schools under study had Parent Associations’ that allowed some form of participation from the parents. The study however found out that independent advocacy groups did not exist. There were also no sufficient networks to link families with parents’ representatives. Finally, the study found out that some factors such as parent and family issues, and parent and teacher affected parental involvement. The study makes several recommendations to counter the above challenges, key among them being the need for the Kenyan Government to create policies that encourage advocacy groups to participate in public primary schools as a way of creating an independent voice in decision making. The study also proposes that schools should run parenting and family support programs to equip parents and sensitize them on the importance of their involvement beyond assisting in homework.
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    The Role of deputy principal in enhancing students’ academic performance in secondary schools: a case study of schools in Bungoma South Sub-County, Kenya
    (Strathmore University, 2022) Wafula, Ernest Sisa
    The administrative duties performed by the deputy principals tend to obscure their academic responsibilities. The purpose of this study was to explore the deputy principals’ role in enhancing students' academic performance in secondary schools, in Bungoma South Sub-County, Kenya. A student's academic performance is the sum of all curriculum implementation achievements as depicted from formative, continuous and summative evaluations, both internal and external. This study was necessitated by the need for an elaborate framework that could be used to operationalize the academic functions of the deputy principal's office in secondary schools. The study was grounded on Elger’s Theory of Performance of 2006, Hargreaves’ Capital Theory of School Effectiveness and Improvement of 2001, and Glasser’s Control Theory of 1985. From the findings, the mean of all the responses to the three research questions was 3.9773 out of 5, which was an equivalent 79.55% agreement with suggested academic performance enhancement indicators. The Pearson’s correlational coefficients between the independent variables and the dependent variable ranged between 0.005 at 0.01 confidence level and 0.023 to 0.029 at 0.05 confidence level. This implied that a significant correlation between students’ academic performance and the role of deputy principals in secondary schools in the Bungoma South sub-county was found to exist. The findings of the study have implications for policy, research and practice.