Determinants of Post Graduate Students' Research or output in Kenyan Public Universities. A case of School Education; Mol University

Abstract

Research is a core function of universities and that modem universities are expected to be generators of new knowledge through research. The problem of low research output in universities has been a subject of public debate and academic discourse in the recent years. Most of these studies have heavily dwelled in developed nations and among academicians. Postgraduate's contribution in research is critical since they form the greatest constituency of research students in universities and it is against this background that the need for this study is envisaged. This study sought to investigate the factors that influence research output among postgraduate students' in Kenyan public universities in order to provide suggestions that will make universities more productive organizations. The researcher carried out analytical literature review on factors influencing and related to research output The study employed a descriptive survey design. The researcher used stratified random sampling and purposive sampling. The study involved all the 4 departments within the school of education. A total of 285 postgraduates were selected out of an accessible population of 1148. Eight (8) postgraduate alumnae and three (3) HODS' were also included in the study. Data was collected using questionnaires, interview schedules and document analysis. A pilot study was carried out and internal consistency technique was employed to determine the reliability of the instrument. Expert judgement was employed to determine the validity of the instrument. The study was based on Expectancy theory (Vroom 1964) and Efficacy theory (Bandura 1977). Data was analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The findings of this study revealed that all the studied factors, i.e., institutional, personal, social contingency and resource/ input factor explained the low research output among postgraduate students in Kenyan public universities. The researcher recommends that the university reviews its research policies to adequately respond to postgraduate's research needs and to seriously interrogate postgraduate's research output and their contribution to knowledge creation.