Cognitive Styles in Secondary Schools in Kenya: Comparing Gender and Discipline Areas

Abstract

This study sought to find out the patterns that arise in different subject areas taught in secondary schools in Kenyan classrooms in the context of cognitive styles. Cognitive style refers to the habitual ways in which individuals acquire and process information. It is an aspect of cognition that measures of how brain perceives, manipulates, encodes, decodes and retrieves information and not indication of the content. With the modern world requiring individuals that are selfdirected in learning, Learners and Educators need to be aware of their thinking skills and how to apply them in a learning situation. The objectives for the study were a) Determine what cognitive styles arise looking at field dependent and independent cognitive styles; b) Determine the gender perspective and cognitive styles and c) Determine patterns of learning arising from discipline areas Mathematics, English, Biological Sciences and History in the context of Field dependent/Field Independent Cognitive styles. To address these objectives, Descriptive research design with a quantitative approach was used. Random purposive sampling was done to select a homogenous classroom of form three students in each of the schools that participated in this study. Participants responded to Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) questionnaire. The questionnaire contained two sections: personal information of the students, and the GEFT. Students’ scores from Continuous Assessment Tests were also extracted and compared with their respective Cognitive Styles. Data analysis involved frequencies and percentages for the first objective. Analysis for the second and third objectives involved frequencies, percentages and t-Test analysis to test the hypotheses. The data collected was subjected to hypothesis testing at α=0.05 using statistical package for social scientists (SPSS) to determine the mean, standard deviation and t-Test results in Mathematics, English, Biological Sciences, History and Mean Academic achievement scores. Results revealed the presence of Field Dependent and Field Independent Cognitive styles among learners. Gender was found to have no statistically significant influence on learners’ cognitive style. Cognitive styles was also found to have a statistically significant influence on the students’ performance in Mathematics, Biological Sciences and Mean Achievement. However, it’s Influence on English and History was found to be statistically insignificant.