Influence schools of Njoro sub county, Nakuru County, Kenya of management of laboratory facilities on students’ physics achievement in secondary

Abstract

Physics is a science subject that provides the foundation of industrial, technological and economic development of any country. The ministry of education Kenya has been dispersing to schools Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE) funds amounting to 22,240 for schools to buy laboratory equipment among other needs which are important in the practical approach of teaching. Despite this, student’s achievement in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination (KCSE) physics in Njoro Sub County as from 2014 -2017 has been below a mean grade of C. The poor performance may perhaps be due to Management of Laboratory Facilities (MLF) among other factors. The study examined influence of MLF on students’ achievement in physics of public secondary schools in Njoro Sub County. The study adopted the cross-sectional research design. The target population of the study comprised all the 8229 students and 60 physics teachers in public secondary schools in Njoro Sub County. The accessible population was all the 60 physics teachers and 2385 form two students in the 35 public schools in sub-county schools. A sample size of 343 form two students and 53 physics teachers was obtained through stratified random sampling from 12 co-educational schools in Njoro Sub County. A student’s physics practical achievement test (SPPAT), Laboratory Facility Observation Checklist (LFOC) and Physics Teacher Laboratory Facilities Management Questionnaire (PTLFMQ) were used to collect data. Content and face validity of LFOC and PTLFMQ were examined by experts from the department of Curriculum, Instruction and Educational Management, Egerton University while that of SPPAT was validated by five experienced secondary school physics Kenya National Examination Council Examiners (KNEC). Reliability of SPPAT was estimated using the Kuder-Richardson formula (K-R21) while that of the PTLFMQ and LFOC were determined using the Cronbach Alpha. The instruments yielded reliability coefficients of 0.988, 0.933 and 0.801 respectively which were all above recommended 0.7 thresholds. Data were analysed with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS -22) programme. Frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations were used to describe and summarise data. Hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 level of significance using simple linear regression. The findings of the study are expected to improve students’ achievement in physics through Planning for laboratory facilities, organization of laboratory facilities, coordination of laboratory facilities of physics teachers and leadership in laboratories which are significantly related to students’ performance in physics practical. The research recommends the ministry of education to consider coming up with training programmes for enhancing the managerial skills of physics teachers. The ministry of education may come up with training programmes for enhancing the managerial skills of physics teachers in areas of planning, organization, coordination, leadership and control of laboratory facilities. The study may also offer guidance to the Teacher Service Commission (TSC) on the Teacher Performance Appraisal and Development (TPAD) which monitors the students learning and teaching especially through the lesson observation. Students will also benefit from the study through enhancement of teacher managerial skills of laboratory facilities and therefore improving their performance.