Effects of educational resources on students' Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education performance in public schools in Mukaa district, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of educational resources on students' performance in KCSE in public schools in Mukaa district. The study was guided by the following objectives: to determine whether availability of teachers affects students' performance in KCSE; to determine whether teachers' training and qualifications influences students' performance in KCSE; to investigate the effects of teacher experience on students performance in KCSE; to establish the effects of instructional materials on students' performance in KCSE and to establish the effects of physical facilities on students' performance in KCSE.

An ex-post facto design was used. The target population consisted of 16 secondary schools in Mukaa district that had presented students for KCSE examinations for the last four years. The sample population was 80 students, 64 teachers and 16 headteachers. The researcher developed the instruments and administered the questionnaires and an observation checklist. A pilot study was conducted to determine the instrument validity. To test the reliability of the instruments, test-retest method was used. The study used descriptive data analysis method to organize, summarize and interpret qualitative information collected. Data were then presented in form of frequency tables and charts where applicable.

The findings of this study found out that there was a weak relationship between availability of teachers and students' performance in KCSE. Teachers' training was found to influence students' performance in KCSE. There is a weak effect of teachers' qualiflcation on students'. performance. There was a relationship between teacaers experience and students performance in KSCE. Availability of public facilities was positive correlated to students' performance in KCSE. The following were the conclusions. With a weak relationship between availability of teachers and students performance in KCSE, it was concluded that this was why students performed poorly. Refresher courses are important for all teachers because teachers gain knowledge on subject matter, pedagogical skills and language of instruction. The ANOV A results indicated that students' performance did not vary significantly with teachers qualifications. Teachers' work experience is important on students' performance. Instructional materials and physical facilities were found to be significant on students' performance.

The following recommendations were drawn from the study. It is recommended that headteachers should request TSC to deploy more teachers in their schools so as to address the low teacher, students' ratio. in the district. It is also recommended that regular in- service courses for teachers in the district be planned. The TSC should remunerate teachers well in order to keep the experienced teachers from quitting their profession.