Effects of learning environment on academic performance of pupils in public primary upper primary schools in Langata District, Nairobi-Kenya

Abstract

Academic performance in Langata Public Primary schools has not been impressive for the last five years in KCPE level majority of pupils have not been able to achieve the required cut off marks to join national and provincial secondary schools. The blame has been wholly put on teachers and administration and this has created unending misunderstanding between the parents, teachers and school administration. This study therefore explored the effects of learner environment on academic performance in public upper primary school when other factors are held constant. This study was tailored to elucidate the relationship between the learner environment and academic performance.

This study adopted survey research design which facilitated use of questionnaires and interviews in a target population of 2,200 people comprising of 2,100 pupils and 100 teachers in 15 public primary schools. The study used stratified random, simple random sampling and purposive methods to select a suitable sample population comprising of 300 respondents comprising 250 pupils and 50 teachers. Data collected was analyzed and interpreted in order to provide explanations to the questions under investigation. Percentages, pie charts and frequency tables were used to interpret and present findings.

The findings revealed that home environment, school environment, pupil's characteristics and teacher characteristics had significant influence performance of upper primary pupils in Langata District. However, each factor does not affect performance in isolation but complement each other. These findings seem to suggest that unfavorable home environment; school environment and teacher characteristics coupled with personal attributes of pupils collectively have been the cause of poor performance in Langata. The study findings seem to suggest that research in other areas related to the effects of environment on academic performance should be carried out. These areas include: impact of school location on academic outcomes of upper primary school pupils; relationship between pupil's family background and academic outcomes.