Factors that lead to poor performance in social students at KCSE in public primary schools in Makuyu division, Murang'a South district

Abstract

ABSTRACT Social Studies play a vital role in individual, national and global development. It aims in providing learners with knowledge, skills and desired attitudes and value necessary in preparing them to live appropriately in the physical and social environments. However, over the years it has been one of the most poorly performed subjects in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). This study investigated the factors that led to poor performance in Social Studies at KCPE in public primary schools in Makuyu Division, Murang'a South District. The study was to determine the school management related factors that affected pupils' performance in Social Studies, teacher related factors that affected the delivery of content and pupils' related factors that affected them in Social Studies performance and establish the strategies that could be adopted to improve performance in Social Studies. The study targeted the Makuyu Division of Murang'a South District which was purposively selected among the other three education zones namely Kamahuha, Nginda and Ichagaki due to its large population in terms of schools, staff and pupils. The target population for this study was 32 head teachers, 1560 Standard Eight pupils, 232 teachers and one Zonal Quality Assurance and Standards Officer (ZQASO) of 32 primary schools of Makuyu Division. This study expected that its findings would be of great help to the learners, government, teachers, stakeholders, school managers and donors. Using the simple random sampling, 7 head teachers, 46 teachers and 70 pupils were sampled. One Zonal Quality Assurance and Standards Officer was sampled through purposive sampling method to form the study sample. To gather the data, questionnaires were administered to the head teachers and teachers, while the interview schedule was used to gather data from pupils and the educational officer. Reliability and validity was tested by subjecting the instruments to a pilot study through the split-half technique and then Spearman Brown Prophesy formula was used to compute a reliability coefficient where the study achieved a coefficient of 0.713 for teachers' questionnaires and a coefficient of 0.700 for the head teachers' questionnaires. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics after data cleaning and coding. The data was computerizeds using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and reduced them to simpler summary. Quantitative data was analyzed using frequency counts and percentages while qualitative data was analyzed by tallying the numbers of similar responses. Results of data analysis were presented using frequency distribution tables and bar graphs. The study established that factors related to school management, teachers and pupils led to poor performance in Social Studies at KCPE where inadequacy of learning resources took a leading role, attitude, pedagogical skills, workload, and subject content and over enrolment. The study therefore recommends for employment of more teachers to cater for the increasing pupils population, provision of more learning resources, revision of the syllabus and change of attitude towards the subject.