RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURAL BELIEFS AND SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN CHEMISTRY IN SAMBURU COUNTY, KENYA

African Societies have a relatively rich body of Indigenous Knowledge. This is embodied in the Continent’s Indigenous Knowledge Systems. This knowledge has been used by the African people for thousands of years to solve their specific problems. According to Kenya National Examination Council reports, secondary school students’ achievement in chemistry has been persistently poor. This has been attributed to many factors including cultural beliefs. However, it is not clear how cultural beliefs are related to students’ achievement in chemistry. The current concern in Samburu County among parents and other education stakeholders is that, students’ achievement in chemistry is poor and is likely to be affected by cultural beliefs that have a bearing on chemistry. This study was designed to investigate the relationship between cultural beliefs and secondary school students’ achievement in chemistry in Samburu County. Descriptive Correlational survey research design was used. The target population was all the secondary school chemistry students in Samburu County. The accessible population was all the Form Three chemistry students in the County in the year 2022. Cluster sampling was used to select nine secondary schools as sampling units and this included both public and private schools.  Stratified and simple random sampling was used to select a sample of 286 students. Two instruments were used for data collection namely: Students’ Chemistry Achievement Test (SCAT) and Students’ Cultural Beliefs Questionnaire (SCBQ). The instruments were validated by five experts in educational research. The reliability coefficient of SCAT was estimated using Guttman’s Lambda (λ6) formula. This yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.80. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient (α) was used to estimate reliability coefficient of SCBQ. This yielded reliability coefficients of 0.85. The data collected was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Simple Linear Regression was used to establish the relationships between the different variables in the study. All statistical tests of significance were conducted at a coefficient level of alpha (α) equal to 0.05 with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 for windows. There was no statistically significant relationship between Cultural Beliefs and students’ achievement in chemistry. The findings, however, indicate that there was a gender difference in achievement in chemistry in favour of boys. It is recommended that the Ministry of Education should initiate in-service courses for science teachers to equip them with requisite skills to enhance their effectiveness in teaching of chemistry and science subjects as a whole. The findings of this study would benefit chemistry teachers, curriculum developers, teacher educators and policy makers in addressing necessary interventions to facilitate meaningful learning of chemistry and thus improve students’ achievement in the subject in secondary schools Countrywide.&nbsp

Gender Differences in Secondary School Students’ Achievement in Chemistry in Samburu County, Kenya

The purpose of this study was to investigate the gender differences in secondary school students’ achievement in chemistry. In addition, the study sought to identify the factors that contribute to gender differences in chemistry achievement to in order to enhance the provision of equal opportunities for the learning of chemistry and all other sciences in general to both boys and girls. Cross-Sectional study design under the descriptive survey research was used. The target population of the study comprised of all the secondary school chemistry students in both public and private secondary schools in Samburu county. The accessible population were all the form three chemistry students in the county. A sample of 286 students was selected from a population of 1,238 using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Students’ Chemistry Achievement Test (SCAT) and Students’ Gender Interview Schedule (SGIS) were used to collect data. The data collected was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The statistics derived included the analysis of percentages, mean, standard deviation, students’ T-Test scores and Chi-Square Test (x2 test) used to establish the relationship between culturally accepted gender roles and achievement in chemistry. The findings show that there was a statistically significant gender difference in chemistry achievement in favour of boys. As a result, boys’ schools performed better than both girls’ and co-educational schools. Boys had a high affinity and interest towards chemistry than girls. Also the culturally accepted gender roles had an effect on chemistry achievement. It is recommended that the Ministry of Education should initiate in-service programmes for teachers in science courses emphasizing on relevant scientific skills to empower teachers to provide learning opportunities that would reduce the gender differences and the effect of cultural factors known to enhance gender differences in the learning and achievement in chemistry. Curriculum developers and policy makers need to develop curriculum materials that would help to reduce the gender gap in learning and achievement.

Effects of Computer Based Mastery Learning Approach on Students’ Motivation to Learn Biology

This study investigated the effects of using Computer Based Mastery Learning (CBML) approach on secondary school students’ Motivation to learn biology. A Solomon’s Four Group design Non-equivalent Control Group research design was used in which four co-educational secondary schools were purposively sampled in Bomet District. The four schools were randomly assigned to four groups. Students in all the groups were taught the same biology content. Teachers in the experimental groups taught using CBML approach while teachers in the control groups taught using the conventional methods. The study focused on respiration topic and involved a sample of 167 Form Two students. After two weeks of teaching, all four groups were post-tested using Students’ Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ) whose reliability co-efficient was 0.79. Data were analysed using ANOVA, t-test and ANCOVA. Results indicate that students taught using CBML approach had significantly higher scores in SMQ than those taught using conventional approaches. In addition, the study established that there is no gender difference in motivation when CBML is used. The researchers conclude that CBML is an effective teaching approach which should be incorporated in the teaching of Biology. Keywords: Computer Based Mastery Learning, Student’s Motivation, Learning Biology

Effects of Advance Organizers on Students’ Achievement in Biology in Secondary Schools in Kilifi County, Kenya

This study investigated the effects of using advance organizers on students’ achievement in biology in secondary schools in Kilifi County. Solomon Four, Non-Equivalent control group design was used in this study. The study targeted all secondary school students in Kilifi County. The accessible population consisted of all form two students in Kilifi County. Purposive sampling was used to select four co-educational secondary schools in Kilifi County. The four schools were randomly assigned to experimental groups (E1) and (E2) and control groups C1 and C2. A total of 156 students participated in the study. Data was collected using Biology Achievement Test (BAT). The reliability of BAT was estimated using Kuder-Richardson (K-R) 20 and Cronbach’s coefficient. This yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.82 and 0.79 respectively. BAT was validated by experts in science education from Egerton University. The data collected was analyzed using mean, one-way ANOVA and t-test. The level of significance was 0.05. The findings of this study show that there was statistically significant difference in achievement between learners in favour of those taught using advance organizers compared to those taught using conventional teaching methods. The findings also indicate that there was no statistically significant gender difference in achievement

The context of using TESSA OERs in Egerton University’s teacher education programmes

The Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) consortium has developed Open Educational Resources (OERs) to support school-based teacher education and training. Egerton University has been involved in the creation and development of TESSA materials since 2005. TESSA materials are used particularly in the B.Ed. (Primary) programme for in-service teachers and are integrated into the relevant pedagogy courses. In Kenya, there have been changes in the minimum requirements for joining primary teacher education programmes. This has led to an increased interest among teachers to upgrade their qualifications, improve their competencies and the quality of their practice. There are incentives for them to do so, including paid study leave, incremental credits on salary and promotion upon completion of their studies. For in-service teachers taking a qualification, part-time and distance learning is a necessity: because they need to fit their study around their own teaching. The expectation is that periods of residential study during holiday times, materials supplied as part of their programme, and school-based assessment, provide the basis for the development of their practice in their schools. This paper explores some of the challenges of these changing circumstances. We examine, through analysis of interviews which have been carried out with teachers and teacher educators, the opportunities and the constraints offered by a qualification designed to develop teaching practice. We explore the ways in which the use of TESSA OERs help support the development of teaching practice, and we map the challenges faced by teachers and by teacher educators in changing practice and in fitting new practices into existing school cultures

Enhancing Biology Achievement of Secondary School Learners Using Experiential Computer Assisted Instruction

This paper reports a study that investigated effects of Experiential Computer Assisted Learning (ECAI) on learners’ achievement in Biology in Kenya. Solomon’s Non-Equivalent group four research design was used. Four schools were purposively sampled. The schools were randomly assigned to four groups, two experimental and two control groups. All the learners covered same content. Teachers of the experimental groups used ECAI while teachers of control groups used regular approaches. The study focused on the topic Genetics and involved a sample of 163 Form Four learners. Biology Achievement Test (BAT) was used to collect data. The instrument was validated by five experts in Educational Research. Reliability of BAT was estimated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. A co-efficient of 0.719 was obtained. The Constructivist and Experiential learning theories guided the study. Data collected were analyzed using ANOVA, t-test and ANCOVA. Hypotheses were tested at an alpha level of 0.05. The findings indicate that learners taught using ECAI had significantly higher scores than those in control groups. It is recommended that the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) incorporates ECAI in the teaching of school Biology to enhance learning. Science teacher education programmes should also incorporate ECAI to enhance its use in schools

Pupils’ Beliefs in Cultural Interpretations of ’Heat’ associated with Anger: A Comparative Study of Ten Ethnic Communities in Kenya

Emerging evidence indicates that culture influences pupils learning of science. However, the influence of culture on science learning is usually not considered when developing science curricular for both primary and secondary schools. This study investigated the extent to which primary and secondary school pupils believe in cultural interpretations of the physical phenomenon of ‘heat’ associated with anger and the influence of education level, ethnic communities and gender on cultural beliefs. Cross-sectional survey research design was used. The target population was Standard Seven, Form one and Form Three pupils in ten districts selected from Nyanza, Rift Valley, Central, Eastern and Coast Provinces in Kenya. The ten districts were selected purposively to represent 10 different ethnic communities from the five provinces. A total of 2837 secondary and 625 primary school pupils participated. The pupils were drawn from 15 primary and 31 secondary schools .A questionnaire was used to gather information from pupils. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used in analyzing data. Hypotheses were tested using the chi square ( X 2) statistic at α = 0.05 level of significance. Some of the results obtained give statistically significant relationship between pupils’ beliefs in cultural interpretations of scientific phenomenon of heat associated with anger and the communities where they come from. This implies that such beliefs are confined to specific communities studied. There appears to be no significant association between pupils’ beliefs in cultural interpretations of the scientific phenomenon of heat and level of education in some of the communities. The implication is that education reduces beliefs in cultural interpretations in such communities but does not eradicate such beliefs. There was also no statistically significant association between pupils’ beliefs in cultural interpretations of the scientific phenomenon of heat and gender, implying that both boys and girls equally believe in cultural interpretations. The findings from this study inform curriculum developers of some of the cultural beliefs that are likely to influence the learning of science. It is recommended that teachers discuss cultural interpretations of scientific concepts before introducing them in their lessons