| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of the study was to invest
igate the influence of learner-centred
strategies on students’ biology perform
ance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary
Education in Kinangop sub-county, Nyandarua County. The study aimed to
achieve this by assessing the extent to which ASEI strategy, PDSI strategy, as
well as teachers’ attitudes towards leaner-centred strategies influenced
students’ biology performance in KCSE. Jean Piaget’s theory of intellectual
development which explains that individuals are curious, active and inventive
throughout their lives was used for the study. The study adopted a descriptive
survey design and targeted 15 public schools, 32 biology teachers and 1152
form four biology students. The study sampled 10 schools, 20 biology teachers
and 230 form four biology students. The study adopted purposive sampling
techniques for schools because only ten schools had presented candidates for
KCSE before introduction of SMASSE
INSET. Simple random sampling was
employed for teachers and students as it is simple and saves time. Before the
actual data collection procedure, a
pilot study was conducted in two schools
using four teachers and twenty students to
check the reliability and validity of
the instruments. The data obtained was used to compute the correlation
coefficient which was 0.88 for the te
acher and 0.92 for the student. Data
collection instruments included questionnaires for biology teachers and
biology students.
Data analysis involved both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Data was
presented in frequencies and percentages in
the form of tables and figures. The
study ratings revealed that only 40 percent of the schools had implemented
ASEI strategy. Majority (80 percent) of the schools were applying PDSI
strategy partially with a mean score rating of 20.9.The study further revealed
that attitude of teachers towards learner-centred strategies was positive with a
mean rating of 32.5. Among the major challenges that affect implementation
of ASEI/PDSI strategies were insuffi
cient time, large class size, heavy
teaching load and pressure to cover syllabus. The study concluded that learner-
centred strategies had influenced students’ biology in KCSE and that low level
of implementation of ASEI and PDSI stra
tegies coupled with negative attitude
of biology teachers towards leaner-cen
tred strategies has contributed to
declining trends in performance. The study recommended that readily
prepared lesson plans be provided by CEMASTEA to ensure that lessons are
delivered SMASSE way due to the fact that teachers lacked adequate time to
prepare lesson plans. The study also recommended that schools Board of
Management should hire trained teachers to supplement the ones posted by
Teachers’ Service Commission. The study also recommended that the
Ministry of Education should establish routine inspection to ensure that
ASEI/PDSI strategies are practised as expected. The study recommended that
further research be done to identify institutional factors that hinder
implementation of learner-centred strategies. | en_US |
