| dc.description.abstract | It is acknowledged that girls' education has many spill-off benefits for
the society yet, their educational achievement and performance has been faced
with diverse problems. In Kenya, especially in sciences, girls' performance has
been hindered by a myriad of factors. In Embu district girls' schools have had
poor performance in KCSE sciences, which was the central concern of this
study.
The study investigated whether science teachers' perception of their
headteachers' leadership styles is related to girls' performance. Particular factors
considered in the study included leaders' behaviour in both initiating structure
and consideration dimensions, the headteachers' age, academic level and
administrative experience, school size and school category. The literature was
broadly reviewed under: theories of leadership, leadership styles and their
influence on students' performance.
The study used ex post facto research design in which two sets of
questionnaires were used as research instruments, their reliability and validity
established during the pilot study and subsequent consultations with lecturers in
the Department of Educational Administration and Planning. The instrument's
reliability was found to be 0.92. A target population of 13 headteachers and 88
science teachers participated in the study. No sampling was done due to this
small population. The questionnaires return rate was 100% for headteachers'
questionnaire and 82.95% for the science teachers' questionnaire respectively.
The data obtained was analyzed and interpreted usmg descriptive
statistics frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviation, and the chisquare
test was used to test hypothesis one (Ho 1). Analysis of variance
(ANOYA) was used to test hypotheses two to six (H02, H03, H04, HoS and
H06). The 0.05 level of confidence was used as the standard for either accepting
or rejecting the null hypotheses. If the calculated value was found to be higher
than the critical value, then this showed that there was a significant relationship
between the variables.
The study revealed that there was no significant relationship between
science teachers' perception of headteachers' leadership styles and girls' science
performance in KCSE. Also, there was no significant difference between girls'
science performance in KCSE and headteachers' age, administrative experience,
academic level and school size. A significant difference existed between girls'
science performance in KCSE and school category.
In addition, the study identified the factors that make girls perform
poorly in KCSE sciences as: negative attitude, lack of role models, inadequate
gender sensitive facilities, previous poor school's performance in sciences, poor
mastery of concepts in sciences and poor school's management. The study also
revealed that the headteachers, science teachers, class teachers, career teachers,
students and parents were always involved in guiding girls to choose particular
science subjects to take in school. The science teachers also indicated that the
general class performance of girls in sciences was between average and poor.
Based on the findings, it was recommended that the head teachers be
trained on strategies of improving girls' attitudes, for example, by regularly
inviting science experts to their schools as guests who can be resourceful In
enhancing girls' attitudes towards sciences. Other suggestions pointed out by
respondents that can boost girls' science performance in included: guidance and
counseling, encouragement and motivation, sound school management practices,
use of role models, involvement of science teachers in evaluation of scientific
programmes, collaboration in teaching closely linked topics in sciences. In
addition, headteachers should allow science teachers and students to attend
science conferences and seminars and delegate full authority to science teachers
to manage scientific resources in their schools. Since the study found out that
head teachers were rated high in initiating structure and low in consideration.. the
Ministry of Education agencies like the Teachers Service Commission (TSC)
should provide for in-service training to headteachers in order to enhance their
skills in school leadership. The TSC should also consider appointing
headteachers who are science trained to head girls schools because by doing so
they, can serve as role models to girls and perhaps this can boost their
performance in KCSE sciences. Furthermore, more female science teachers
should be posted to girls' schools so that they too can encourage girls perform
better in KCSE sciences.
The study suggested that a study on headteachers' perception of science
teachers and its implications on girls' performance in KCSE sciences be done. It
further suggested that since this study was done in public girls' schools in Embu
District, it would be worthwhile to carry out a similar study in private girls'
schools. In addition, a study should be done on students' perceptions of their
science teachers and its effect on their performance in KCSE sciences. | en |
