Influence of gender and perceptions of motivating factors on student’ achievement in secondary school physics in Tinderet Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

In Kenya, the performance of secondary school students in physics is a matter of great concern to the Ministry of Education because physics is among the key subjects expected to make Kenya realize vision 2030. The performance at secondary school level has been poor for a long time. It is possible that gender influences performance of physics as a subject since there is a long standing belief that physics is a domain of male students. This study focused on the Influence of Gender and Perceptions of Motivating Factors on Students’ Achievement in secondary school physics in Tinderet Sub-county, Kenya. The theoretical framework adopted for this was Self-worth theory which suggests that people whether male or female are largely motivated to do what it takes to enhance their reputation in various areas. The research design used for the study was cross sectional survey. The study population was the physics students in the public secondary schools within the study area. It was based on a sample of 300 physics students in form four. Multi-stage sampling was applied in the study to ensure that all types of students were well represented in the study. Data was collected using closed-ended questionnaires and a physics achievement test administered to the students. The validity of the questionnaires and the achievement test were established by three lecturers involved in research because of their vast experience in supervision of post graduate studies. The reliability of the questionnaires were established through a piloting process undertaken on the basis of a sample of 15 students in Nandi East Sub-county and was estimated using Cronbach’s co-efficient test. The questionnaires were dully modified to the required standards before they were used to collect data. The data was coded, edited and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences on basis of descriptive and inferential statistics. All the findings were subjected to significance testing at an alpha level of 0.05.The study added some knowledge to the empirical research by revealing that boys performed better than girls in the Physics achievement test. Factors that were significant in influencing students’ achievement in Physics were: school type, career expectations, love for Physics and student gender. The study also established that access to text books and lab facilities were very significant in motivating students towards achievement in Physics. Other factors that motivated students were other students’ cooperation, students’ obedience/ discipline and love for Physics. The study recommends that there is need for schools to encourage girls towards performing better in Physics through active guiding and counseling departments. Motivation factors such as access to text books and lab facilities should be enhanced so as to improve the performance of secondary schools in Tinderet Sub-County. The findings may provide a solution to the unbalanced performance in physics at KCSE level. It would also be of benefit to secondary school teachers and students in planning, setting and implementing performance targets in physics.