Influence of Classroom Dynamics on the Perfomance of Mathematics in Secondary Schools in Kilifi County, Kenya.

Abstract

In my study the focus was to ascertain effect classroom dynamics have on the performance of mathematics in secondary school in Malindi. Classroom dynamics entails what makes a classroom and how the factors that make a classroom affect the performance of the students. In a classroom setup there is a teacher a student and above it there is an environment in which the learners are learning in. in the environment there is a background to the information they have gathered so far, their behavior to the subject being taught their orderliness in class and their capacity to comprehend the content being taught by the teacher and lastly their personal efforts towards achieving the target of learning in that classroom. This are the main facets of learning dynamics that occur in a classroom setup. A lot of studies have been done on the effect of classroom management and how it affects not only performance in mathematics but other subjects as well. Learners in Malindi Town of Kilifi County have continuously registered poor results in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination Mathematics examination. Research shows that the learners have a very basic knowledge of mathematics concepts and that can be traced back to the interactions they have had in the classrooms. No study has been carried out to determine the variation of results and the comparisons of the results in a class where the right dynamics have been carried out and implemented in the classroom. The main aim of this study, therefore, is to analyze the effect of implementing good dynamics in the classroom and how they will influence the results in mathematics as a subject and its general contribution to the learning of mathematics across schools in Malindi subcounty. This study is based on memory storage and retrieval strength theory and the Social Development of Learning Theory by Lev Vygotsky. The collection of the data was through the use of filling the questionnaires and by observation, which was made on the variables of interest. Data was collected from three high schools which were sampled using sampling for the purpose of this project. The population sample consisted of 40 students from forms one, two and three and four including their teachers. The students were selected using random sampling which served the purpose of ensuring that every student that were in the accessible strata had an equal opportunity for being selected.