dc.description.abstract | This study was based on cognitive styles and academic achievement among secondary
school learners in Kenya. The purpose of the study was to find out the extent to which students‟
cognitive styles influence their academic performance in chemistry.
The study applied a quantitative research approach, descriptive in nature.
The following objectives were addressed:
• To determine the cognitive styles of students
• To determine the differences in students‟ cognitive styles among boys and girls
• To find out the relationship between the students‟ cognitive styles and their academic
achievement in chemistry
To address these objectives, 200 form three students taking chemistry responded to
questionnaires. The questionnaires contained three sections: personal information of the students,
performance in chemistry and field independence/ dependence questionnaire. Sampling was
done using stratified and systematic random sampling. Two processes of data arose: One process
on performance in chemistry from section B and the other one from section C on students‟
cognitive styles. The data collected was subjected to data analysis using statistical package for
social sciences (SPSS). The analysis involved computation of the means of scores in chemistry
tests and the standard deviations for the scores. The correlation coefficients were computed using
the Pearson Product Moment Correlational Analysis. The results show that both Field
independent and Field dependent cognitive styles are evident among the secondary school
students. The results also show that more male students were found to be field dependent while
more female students were field independent and that field independent individuals scored higher
than field dependent individuals. According to the research results the study show that cognitive
styles could have significant influence on students‟ academic achievement in chemistry and that
there could be a difference in the type of cognitive style between boys and girls. Depending on
the cognitive style one has, this could have an influence on academic achievement in a particular
discipline.However, there is need for further research with a large sample and various types of learners as well as various disciplines to make a conclusive conclusion on cognitive styles and academic
performance. | en_US |