| dc.description.abstract | Women and girls in Kenya constitute more than 55 percent of the country’s
population and their full participation in science and technology at the leadership
and research level is crucial for realization of Kenya development Vision 2030.
In view of this, girls enrollment in physics nationally and particularly Kisumu
district, is of a great concern since many girls will be technically not eligible for
many university and polytechnic science courses where physics is a requirement.
Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the factors influencing girls’
enrollment in physics in public secondary schools in Kisumu district. The study
was guided by four research objectives which include: To determine extent to
which teachers professional training influences girls enrollment in physics in
Kisumu district, to examine the extent to which teaching and learning resources of
physics influence girls enrollment in physics in Kisumu district, to examine how
the attitude of students toward physics influences girls enrollment in physics in
Kisumu district and to examine how guidance and counseling of students on
career choice as influenced girls enrollment in physics in Kisumu district. The
study employed cross-sectional descriptive survey design. To gather both
qualitative and quantitative data. The research instrument used was questionnaires
which had both closed ended questions and open ended questions. A sample of
20 schools, 20 headteachers, 24 physics teachers and 400 students were used in
the study. Quantitative data and descriptive data were used to analyze and
generate frequencies and percentages while qualitative data was analyzed
according to themes and was converted into frequencies and percentages where
necessary and also reported as a narrative. The study revealed that the
professional training of teachers had no influence on students enrollment in
physics since all teachers were trained to teach in secondary schools. Teaching
and learning resources had no influence in physics enrollment since even those
schools that had inadequate resources, the enrollment was still low. The study also
revealed that girls’ attitudes toward physics were positive. Career masters and the
counseling departments were found to be very ineffective and had a great
influence on girls low enrollment in physics. The researcher concluded that there
was low enrollment of female students in physics in public secondary school in
Kisumu District. The researcher recommended that more female teachers to be
trained in physics in order to demystify the notion that physics is a male domain.
The physical facilities in the district should match the number enrolled in the
schools. Teachers should be trained in career choice not only in psychological
counseling, counseling should be effective in the schools. A country wide
research study on factors influencing girls’ enrollment in physics is highly
recommended. | en_US |
