Influence of selected factors on the academic performance of secondary school students in Kuresoi sub-county, Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

Education stakeholders invest a lot of resources in order to improve the academic performance of the students. These resources are both human and materials which are usually scarce. Education investment must therefore maximize their use in order to get maximum returns. Although education is not merely passing examinations, performance grades are the most widely used indicator of quality education attainment. In Kenya, national examinations are considered to be appropriate measure for assessing the output of an education system on knowledge and skills acquired by students. However, despite the many efforts by the stakeholders and the government to improve the academic performance of students, Kuresoi sub-county continues to post poor results in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). This study therefore examined the influence of quality of teachers, home environment and school facilities on the performance of students in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in Kuresoi sub-county. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. A population of 1600 students and 320 teachers were targeted by the researcher. Stratified random sampling was used to sample 310 students and 175 teachers. Two instruments were used to collect data: Teachers’ Questionnaire (TQ) and Students’ Questionnaire (SQ). The instruments were checked for construct and content validity by a team of experts from the Department of Curriculum experts, Instruction and Educational Management of Egerton University. The data collection tools were pilot tested for reliability in three schools in the sub-county, with similar characteristics as the target schools. Internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and was found to be 0.79. The data was analyzed using a Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS version 17.0) for Windows. The analyzed data was summarized and described using frequencies, percentages and means. Hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level using the Pearson correlation. The findings of the study showed a statistically significant relationship between school facilities, home environment and the students’ academic performance. There was no statistically significant influence between quality of teachers and students’ academic performance. The findings of the study could facilitate school administrators, teachers, parents and the government of Kenya to formulate policies that may improve the education standards in Kenya and in Kuresoi sub-county in particular.