| dc.description.abstract | This study is concerned with the effects of nomadic lifestyles on the performance of
KCSE and Mathematics in particular. The people of North Eastern Province of Kenya,
which is the target area of this research, are nomads. They move from place to place
in search for pasture and water for their livestock. This adversely affects the
performance of students in secondary schools. They take too long to trace for their
families during the school holidays in order to sell some animals for fees. By the time
they return to school, they are late for two weeks or even sometimes one month.
The absence of more than two weeks every holiday accumulates to one term every
year and one year and one term for the four years course. This means that by the
time the students are doing their KCSE, they are equivalent to form three second
term, hence the poor performance. The rough roads and unreliable transport also
leads to opening the schools late and early closer, especially during the rainy season.
The objective of this study is to relate the performance of KCPE and KCSE in
Mathematics and suggest ways of improving teaching, learning and performance of
the subject. It also looks into how the performance of an individual changes as one
progress to higher levels.
The data collection methods involved visit to the Kenya National Examination Council
(KNEC) to obtain the mean scores of the subject for both KCPE and KCSE as well as
questionnaires that were filled by form three and four students in schools. There
were also questionnaires for the mathematic teachers.
The data collected was fed into the computer and analyzed in terms of lifestyle, sex
and form. The trend of the performance as one progress to higher levels and the
negative attitude towards mathematics was clear from the data collected but there
was no clear distinction between the performances of the different lifestyles. This is
thought to be due to lack of seriousness of most schools in the beginning of the term.
There is need for all stakeholders in education to join hands to improve the
standards of education in nomadic communities. The finding of the study is expected
to be useful not only to North Eastern Province where research was conducted but all
areas that have similar situations. | |
