Factors influencing students’ choice of computer studies in public and private secondary schools in Machakos sub-county, Machakos-county-Kenya.

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing students’ choice of computer studies in public and private secondary schools in Machakos SubCounty. The study was guided by four objectives which focused on students’ aspirations, availability of computer facilities, school practices and parents influence. The study reviewed related literature that provided an overview of computer studies in secondary schools and findings from previous researches on factors influencing students’ choice of computer studies in public and private secondary schools based on the research objectives. The study used descriptive survey research design. The study embraced census sampling, purposive sampling and simple random sampling techniques to select the sample size for the computer studies students, computer studies teachers, principals/directors of the schools and the parents of the computer studies students. Data was collected mainly through questionnaires and focus group discussion. Data was analyzed descriptively by use of SPSS programme and presented in percentages and frequency distribution tables. This study established that student’s aspirations; the careers which they intended to pursue influenced their choice of computer studies in both public and private secondary schools with 58 percent and 68 percent of the students strongly agreeing to the statement respectively. Further the study found that the acquisition of skills needed in the job market and for self employment influenced students’ choice of computer studies in public and private secondary schools with 55 percent of the principals and 42 percent of the directors strongly agreeing to the statements respectively. Further the study found that availability of computer facilities, school practices and parental factors influenced students’ choice of computer studies in both public and private secondary schools though with variations. Teachers were found to highly influence students’ choice of computer studies in public secondary schools with 45 percent of the students and 46 percent of both the computer studies teachers and principals attesting so. In private secondary schools the directors were found to mainly determine subject choice as indicated by 50 percent of both the students and directors and 43 percent of the computer studies teachers. The study concluded that students’ career aspirations, acquisition of skill for the job market and for self employment influenced students’ choice of computer studies in both public and private secondary schools. Computer facilities were concluded to highly influence students’ choice of computer studies, private secondary schools were found to be better equipped with computer equipments compared to public secondary schools. Based on the findings and conclusions the study recommended that the computer studies curriculum should be designed to fully equip the students with the computer skills useful in the computer dominated job market. In view of this computer studies should be made compulsory for all the students. Further, research should be undertaken on student’s level of adaptability to the work environment after acquiring computer skills in secondary schools.