Effects of teachers' personal characteristics on students' performance in Geography in public secondary schools in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was set to examine the effects of teachers' personal characteristics on student performance in Geography in public secondary schools in Nairobi County. The objectives of the study included: To determine how teachers motivation influences student academic performance in geography in public secondary schools in Nairobi County, to establish how teachers' interest influences students' academic performance in geography in public secondary schools in Nairobi County, to assess the extent to which teachers' expectation of learners influences students' academic performance in geography in public secondary schools in Nairobi County and finally to establish the extent to which teachers' gender influences students' academic performance in geography in public secondary schools in Nairobi county.

The design adopted in this study was descriptive survey. The design was identified as the most appropriate and could ensure that data obtained gave answers to the research questions. The research targeted the 74 public secondary schools in Nairobi County with a total of 1,086 registered geography students in form four in 2011 and 222 geography teachers. Stratified random sampling was used for this study. The study grouped the target population into relatively homogenous subgroups then random sampling was applied within each stratum. Questionnaires were administered on registered geography students in form four year 2011 and focused interview carried out on geography teachers.

The data was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages and interpreted. The results showed that there was a significant influence of teachers' personal characteristics on student performance in geography. There was a significant relationship between positive teachers personal characteristics measured in terms of motivation, interest and teachers' expectation and improvement in geography. majority of the teachers interviewed reported that there was no influence of teachers' gender on students' performance in geography. On the contrary the student respondents reported that female geography teachers had positively improved their academic performances in geography. The study recommends that continuous in-service training of geography teachers to be stepped up to create awareness of the role their personal characteristics play in determining student academic performance in geography in public secondary schools.