Effect of selected classroom interactions on learner’s academic achievement in chemistry in public secondary schools in Murang’a county, Kenya.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of selected classroom interactions on learners’ academic achievement in Chemistry in public secondary schools in Murang’a County, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to: establish the effect of teacher-learner class talk (oral) on learners’ academic achievement in Chemistry, examine the effect of learners’ written interaction on learners’ academic achievement in Chemistry, determine the effect of learners-teachers’ non-verbal interaction on learners’ academic achievement in Chemistry and examine effect of gender interaction on learners’ academic achievement in Chemistry. This study used descriptive survey design and was guided by Vygotsky Social Development Theory. The target population was, 10,010 Form 3 students taking chemistry and 300 chemistry teachers from 120 public secondary schools with mean scores of 4.0 to 6.0 in Chemistry in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education National Examination between year 2009 and 2016 which were purposively selected. Using Yamane formulae 32 public secondary schools, 32 chemistry teachers, 384 Form 3 students taking chemistry and County Quality Assurance and Standards Officer from the county were sampled for the study. The study used six research instruments to collect data: student’s questionnaire, observation schedules, document analysis guide, an interview guide, a learners’ discussion guide and a chemistry achievement test. The computer application SPSS (statistical package for social sciences) was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, means, percentages, and standard deviation were used to discuss the research findings. The study further used inferential statistics: ANOVA, Chi2, Pearson Moment Correlation Coefficient, Simple and Multiple Regression to test the statistical significance in the four null hypotheses generated for the study. The findings from the regression analysis indicated that, there was positive and significant effect of teacher-learner oral interaction on learners’ academic achievement in chemistry. It was further established that, non-verbal interaction had statistical and significant effect on academic achievement in chemistry. The regression model showed that oral and non-verbal interactions explained 33% and 58% of the variation respectively in academic achievement in chemistry. It was also found that there was no statistically significant effect of written interaction and gender interaction on learners’ academic achievement in Chemistry. The current study highlights interactive areas where teaching and learning practice may be improved. The study recommended that secondary school teachers training institutions should incorporate oral and non-verbal interaction in their programs, intensive capacity building workshops to Chemistry teachers to improve their pedagogical skills in effective class talk and non-verbal interaction. The researcher suggested a similar study to be conducted in other parts of the country for comparative purposes.