factors influencing academic performance in kenya certificate of primary education in kiminini sub county, trans nzoia county, kenya

Abstract

Recent research indicates that Kenya is experiencing poor performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) within the context of free primary education adopted in 2003. The consequence of this is that majority of pupils cannot progress to the next level of education creating wastage. The purpose of this study was therefore to establish factors influencing academic performance in KCPE. To achieve the purpose of the study, four objectives were addressed; to assess the influence of learner factors on pupils’ academic performance in primary schools, to determine the influence of school factors on learners’ academic performance in primary schools, to establish the influence of teacher factors on learners’ academic performance in primary schools and to evaluate the influence of parental socio-economic factors on academic performance in primary schools. This study was guided by the Systems Theory developed by Bertalanffy (1968). A descriptive survey design was adopted in the study. The study was conducted in Kiminini Sub-County of Trans Nzoia County involving 33 public and 12 private primary schools. There were 256 respondents comprising of 13 head teachers, 108 teachers and 135 pupils selected using simple random and stratified sampling techniques. The data of the study was collected using questionnaires, interview and document analysis. The questionnaire was tested for reliability by the use of Cronbach alpha coefficient that found 0.81 reliability. The data was analyzed using descriptive and Inferential statistics. The One-way Anova established that learner factors, school factors, teachers’ factors and parents’ socio-economic status in public primary schools were significant in determining academic performance of pupils in both public and private primary schools. The study concluded that learner factors negatively affected academic performance in public primary schools. It was further concluded that lack of physical resources, poor leadership and administration in public primary schools do affect academic performance compared to private schools. Parental socio-economic status also negatively affected academic performance in both public and private primary schools. The study recommended that pupil characteristics, school factors, teacher related factors and parental socio-economic should be considered in the development of policies to enhance improved academic performance in primary schools. The study further recommends on the home situation of pupils, school facilities and teacher training in academic performance in public primary schools in Kenya. The findings of the study would be useful to the school management, ministry of education, parents and donors in policy making and implementation.