Influence of Gender on the Academic Performance of Science Subjects in Mixed Secondary Schools Curriculum. A Case of Mangu Division, Kiambu County

Abstract

The purpose of study was to investigate the influence of gender difference in academic performance of science subjects in mixed secondary school curriculum in Mangu division, Kiambu County, Kenya. Stakeholders of the education through the ministry of education have promoted secondary education performance to improve the overall livelihood of boys and girls. However, the efforts seem not to beer much fruit. This has called for carrying out this study. This study has four objectives ; to establish the relationship between boys’ and girls’ attitude towards science subjects and the academic performance, to establish if the teaching methodologies influence boys’ and girls’ performance in the science subjects, to establish the relationship of the difference in students’ entry qualification and their performance in science subjects and to establish the relationship between mathematical performance of the students and performance in sciences on the influence of academic performance of science subjects in the secondary school curriculum in Mangu division, Kiambu county, Kenya. The study employed a descriptive survey design. The sample of the study was 235 drawn from 642 form four students. The study also used 19 practising science teachers sampled from 24 teachers and all the HODs in all the schools. The data was collected from the respondents using the questionnaires and interview schedules. Reliability of the instruments was measured using the slip-half technique while the instruments were reviewed by the professional peers and the supervisor to ensure validity. The data that was collected was edited, coded and analysed using SPSS. The data obtained was analysed using descriptive statistics. Tables were used to display this data. The study found out that availability and proper use of resources improves the performance in both genders. All the girls and boys who had better performance had a positive attitude towards the science subjects. The study established that the entry qualification greatly influences the academic performance in science subjects. The girls who had high qualification to the secondary schools perform better than the boys in the same schools. The relationship between the performances in mathematics is not to be neglected on the influence of the academic performance of boys and girls of science subjects. The students that conduct class experiments more frequently have a more positive attitude and they perform better in the science subjects. Recommendations and conclusion for further research has been made at the end of the study to guide the main stakeholders such as teachers, policy makers and trainers in the sciences.