Abstract:
Subject choice leading to post-secondary school career choice for school leavers in
Kenya has become more challenging in the light of competition for admissions to
relevant University, tertiary institutions’ courses and access to job opportunities.
Many students miss relevant placement for agricultural courses and employment
opportunities due to wrong subject combinations in secondary school. The problem
that was investigated was the reasons for the decline in enrolment in Agriculture
subject in secondary schools especially in Nakuru and whether there was a
relationship between the low enrolment and variables like; performance of agriculture
subject in the previous KSCE results, availability of teaching and learning resources
and the category of the school on the students’ choice of agriculture in secondary
schools in Nakuru County, Kenya. The study used an ex-post facto research design.
The target population composed of 7955 Form Three agriculture students and 18
agriculture teachers in Nakuru County. A sample of 367 Form Three agriculture
students was selected using stratified random sampling technique. The different
school categories formed the strata. Two sets of questionnaires were developed for the
study. One set was used to collect data for the students and the other set was used to
collect data for teachers. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS). Pearson Moments Correlations (r) and Spearman’s (Rho) tests were
used to examine and analyze relationships among study factors. Hypotheses were
tested at 0.05 alpha levels. The study revealed that several factors including schools
are related to students’ choice of agriculture subject. The study recommended that the
subject should have relevant resources and facilities to reflect its practical nature and
promote subject choice. The findings of the study may be useful to curriculum
developers and policy planners in developing policies and strategies that will increase
and sustain secondary school students’ interest and participation in agriculture subject
in Nakuru County and the entire country, Kenya.
