Factors perceived to influence academic performance of students in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examination in Nyeri Central District in Kenya.

Abstract

This research was set to examine the factors that influence students' KCSE performance despite the government and community heavy investment in education. Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education is the entrance to private and public universities as well as to colleges. Those who fail in the KCSE examination are most likely to join the high number of unemployed youngsters who look for informal jobs in a country that has few of them. Hence, good performance in the KCSE is crucial for the future of every child thus parents and indeed the nation as a whole invests a lot of resources to ensure that this happens.

However statistics show that in spite of this heavy investment, performance at KCSE all over the country has been wanting. Over one third of the students' who took the examination in 2006 to 2010 had scores that would not let them enter the university. In 2008, half (112) of the candidates who sat for KCSE scored D+ at a time when the cut-off point for the University entry was B plain. This is a study with a main objective to determine the factors that contribute to the mentioned students' performance in KCSE examinations in Nyeri Central District (NCD), Kenya. The research reviewed related literature according to the following Subtopics; general view of KCSE performance, discipline factors, teaching/learning resources, teaching approaches and the influence of motivation on performance.

The study adopted descriptive survey design; it targeted a population of 1560 respondents. A sample of 330 respondents was drawn using Stratified random sampling. Data was collected using three sets of questionnaires; principals', teachers' and students' questionnaires. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented in frequency distribution tables. According to the study findings KCSE performance in Nyeri Central District was highly related to discipline, lack of motivation as well as factors related to teaching methods.

The benefits of this study will inform policy makers in education, principals, teachers and students on the factors that influence KCSE performance and hence use them as starting points for improvement. The findings can also be used by other districts in the country to improve KCSE performance. The study recommended that a similar study be carried out in other districts and also in private schools for comparison purposes. It also recommended that further study be carried out on discipline issues in schools.