Abstract:
In a school setup, the pupils and teachers come from different socio-economic
backgrounds. Socio-economic background and attitude have been identified as some of
the factors affecting the participation and performance of pupils in school either
negatively or positively. This study investigated the effects of students' socio-economic
background and attitude on academic performance in Kiswahili language. The study
adopted ex post facto research design and it was guided by the General System Theory by
Ludwig Von Bertalanffy. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, four specific
research objectives were addressed, that is, to find out the socio-economic factors
affecting learners performance in Kiswahili language; to determine the effects of socioeconomic background on learners' performance, to examine the effect of attitude of
students towards Kiswahili language and to suggest ways of improving the students'
performance in Kiswahili language.A total of 270 respondents participated in this study.
Multi-stage sampling was used whereby schools were selected proportionately from the
four divisions in the area of study. Headteachers, HODs of languages, and Guidance and
counseling from the selected schools were automatically selected for participation in the
study. Form three students were also selected through random sampling for inclusion in
the study sample. The study used questionnaire, interview schedule and document
analysis in data collection. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistical
techniques like percentages, means, frequency tables and modes, as well as inferential
statistics in which the Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient and chi-square
were used.The study findings revealed that lack of school fees, inadequate relevant
learning materials; negative attitude towards Kiswahili; use of 'sheng' and mother
tongue; language policy in schools and inadequate teaching staff in Kiswahili language
negatively affected the performance of Kiswahili language. The study therefore
recommends that poverty reduction strategies need to be adopted through introduction of
reliable sources of income to supplement agriculture; in addition, policies should be
reviewed to increase credit facilities for the poor. There is also a need to sensitize parents,
teachers, school management and the entire community/society on the need for
embracing positive attitude towards Kiswahili language. Finally, teachers who teach
Kiswahili language should regularly attend in-service courses to keep themselves abreast
of the emerging issues in Kiswahili language
