Factors influencing student performance in Christian religious education at KC.S.E examination: a study of secondary schools in Emuhaya district, Kenya

Abstract

Christian Religious Education (C.R.E) is an important subject for moral and spiritual development. Despite its importance, few students select it at form three level. This is also evident in universities where few students take it as a teaching subject thereby causing a shortage of teachers in the subject. Emuhaya District has posted poor performance in C.R.E at Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (K.C.S.E) examinations. Factors leading to this situation are not yet established hence the need to carry out this study. The purpose of the study was to establish the factors leading to the poor performance of students in C.R.E at K.C.S.E examination. The objectives of the study were to examine the influence of the following variables on student performance in C.R.E at K.C.S.E examination: Teaching Load, Teacher Experience, Teachers Qualification, Teacher/Student Ratio and Learning Resources. The study was based on Education Production Function model which explains the relationship between inputs and outputs of a firm. The production function theory for this study indicated that student performance in C.R.E is derived from a combination of factors. The study was based on descriptive survey design. Its population consisted of all the 44 C.R.E teachers and all the 22 head teachers drawn from 22 secondary schools in Emuhaya District. All the schools were stratified into high performing, average performing and low performing based on their performance in C.R.E at K.C.S.E examination for the years 2007 - 2009. Saturated sampling technique was used to select all the 44 teachers and 22 head teachers. Data was collected by use of Questionnaires and Document Analysis Guide. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages. Qualitative data was transcribed and reported according to emergent themes. The study found out that C.R.E was poorly performed due to inadequacy of input variables. Out of 44 C.R.E teachers in Emuhaya District, 25 had a teaching experience of 5 years and below, 17 were untrained, 31 had large class sizes, 18 had a high work load and schools had inadequate learning resources. The study is significant because its findings will guide school stakeholders to identify ways of improving the quality of school variables so as to enhance students performance in examination.