Influence of Selected School Factors on Performance of Secondary School Students in Mathematics in Nyahururu and Laikipia North Sub-counties, Laikipia County, Kenya

Abstract

Performance in Mathematics is valued in all societies due to its strong foundation for a country’s scientific development. Therefore, performance in Mathematics has become a major issue of concern at secondary level of education globally. However, performance in Mathematics in Kenyan secondary schools has not been outstanding and especially in Nyahururu and Laikipia North Sub-Counties. Hence, this study examined the influence of school culture, school resources, school type, and students’ social attributions on students’ performance in Mathematics. The study employed descriptive survey research design. Data was collected from a sample of 377 respondents that comprised of 345 students, 16 Mathematics’ teacher and 16 secondary school principals’ from Nyahururu and Laikipia North Sub-Counties. The Central Limit Theorem was used to select 16 secondary schools. The study applied stratified random sampling technique in order to distribute student respondents proportionately from different types of schools. Thereafter, simple random sampling technique was employed to select students to participate from each stratum of secondary school by school category. Data was collected from both students and their Mathematics teachers using questionnaires while personal interviews were utilized to collect data from school principals. Students’ Focus Group Discussions were also employed for the purpose of triangulation of data. Research instruments’ reliability was estimated using test- retest while validity was determined by approximation of expected behavior from the pilot study. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviations. Further, analysis was done using Linear regression because it was able to establish the relationship between variables of investigation and it utilized Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study revealed that a significant relationship existed between school culture and students’ performance in Mathematics with Linear Regression analysis at (r2=0.629; p>0.0404), school resources endowment and students’ performance in Mathematics with Linear Regression analysis at (r2=0.607; p>0.0314), school type and students’ performance in Mathematics with Linear Regression analysis at (r2=0.672; p>0.0384) and students’ social attributions and students’ performance in Mathematics with Linear Regression analysis at (r2=0.668; p>0.04339) which were at 0.05 level of significance. These study findings strongly suggest that all educational stakeholders should create conducive environment in terms of provision of learning resources, and appropriate school culture for performance in Mathematics.