Perceptions of the impact of SMASSE Project on teaching and learning of Chemistry in secondary schools in Bomet District, Rift Valley, Kenya

Abstract

SMASSE is an acronym which stands for Strengthening of Mathematics and Sciences in Secondary Education a government intervention on capacity development in Ke~ya. It . was launched in 1998 as a pilot project and expanded to cover all the districts in Kenya in 2003. The study was used to investigate the perceptions of the impact of SMASSE project on KCSE performance in Chemistry in secondary schools. It was also used to investigate the perceptions of the influence of SMASSE project activities on learning of Chemistry. The study was carried out in Bomet district in Rift Valley Province of Kenya. A descriptive survey design was used in which data was collected using questionnaire materials given to the sampled respondents in the district. A sample size of fifty respondents out of one hundred and twenty one was randomly selected from principals and Chemistry teachers of public secondary schools in the district. The schools were stratified into boys', girls' and mixed secondary schools then taking a purposive random sampling in each subgroup. Data collected was both quantitative and qualitative and analyzed using Pearson Product Moment coefficient of Correlation, r, which is an SPSS. The results from the findings showed that there was no significant relationship between the performance during and after SMASSE training. Furthermore, there was a positive significant relationship between impact of SMASSE training on the teacher and the impact on students at 5% level of significance. The SMASSE training has impacted on the teacher through training and the student through improved classroom activities but the impact on the students through improving their performance was not significant during the study. The government through the ministry of education should continue carrying out SMASSE INSET to improve the teachers' instructional skills and capacity development.