An Investigation Into The Factors Affecting Perfomance in Chemistry in Secondary Schools in Loitoktok District in Kajiado County.

Abstract

The alarming poor performance and the general negative attitude towards chemistry in most schools is largely attributed to teaching problems. This study was initiated to find out the factors that lead to students poor performance in chemistry in Loitoktok district. This study adopted the descriptive survey research design to establish the factors that lead to students poor performance in chemistry. This study was carried out in Loitoktok district, Kenya which has total of 12 secondary schools. The target population was: 12 principals,24 science teachers and 480 students, which gives a total of 516 respondents. The population was sampled using the stratified sampling technique so that all categories of schools were included in the study. Two questionnaires were administered to the teachers and students the school principals were subjected to interviews. The data collected was analyzed using Statistical Package For Social Sciences(SPSS) Version 11.5 windows and the presented in form of frequency tables ,pie charts and percentages. Significant factors leading to poor performance included; laboratory inadequacy, student poor attitude towards chemistry, understaffing, poor teaching methods lack of support from parents, poor entry behavior, lack of role models, lack of in-service training for the teachers, in attendance of workshops, poor remuneration for teachers and inadequate time. This study is essential as its findings will be used by education policy makers and preservise training of teachers.