Socio-economic determinants of girls’performance in agriculture in public mixed day secondary schools of Kirinyaga Central Sub-County, Kirinyaga County, Kenya

Abstract

For many of the world’s people, agriculture is both a source of food and a means of livelihood. In Kenya, the agriculture sector has immense contribution to the economy in terms of providing food, employment and foreign exchange among other roles. Women make essential contributions to the country’s agricultural and rural economy. Besides their daily routine consisting of cooking, cleaning, and other domestic chores, women are heavily involved in all aspects of the country’s agricultural sector; from crop production to livestock rearing. Secondary school girls’ performance in agriculture is therefore vital because it determines their future ability to engage in productive agricultural activities that would enhance food security and generate income for the family and the society at large. However, girls in Kirinyaga Central Sub - County’s public mixed day secondary schools continue to perform poorly in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) agriculture examination.This study therefore aimed at investigating the extent to which parental factors, involvement in household chores, and school factors influenced girls’ performance in agriculture in the sub - county’s public mixed day secondary schools. Target population was form three girls taking agriculture and agriculture teachers in the public mixed day secondary schools in Kirinyaga Central Sub - County. Descriptive survey research design was used. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select girls for the study. Agriculture teachers were purposively sampled. Sample size included 20 teachers and 131 girls out of a population of 195 girls. Questionnaires and a standardized form three agriculture examination were used to collect data. A t-test and ANOVAat α = 0.05 were used to analyze the data. Study findings indicated that parental factors (parents / guardians’ education and parental support),girls’ involvement in household chores and school factors (teachers’ academic qualification, teachers’ experience and agriculture facilities)had a statistically significant p ≤ 0.05 influence on girls’ KCSE performance in agriculture.The study concluded that parental factors, girls’ involvement in household chores and school factors are all important determinants of girls’ performance in agriculture. To improve girls’ performance in agriculture, the study recommended: support by the parents, reduced household chores for girls, adequate facilities for teaching agriculture, and use of agriculture teachers with higher academic qualifications and experience.