Relationship between students’ self-efficacy, gender, perceptions of teaching methods and academic achievement in kiswahili languagege skills in public secondary schools Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

Kiswahili language plays an important role in communication among people and promotes cohesiveness in Kenya and the Eastern African region where it is spoken. It is an official language alongside English in Kenya. It is also a compulsory subject at both primary and secondary school levels. Despite this, secondary school students’ academic achievement in Kiswahili language has continually been low especially in Nakuru County. This could be due to leamer characteristics such as; attitude, motivation to leam, their gender or their perceptions of teaching methods among other factors. This study investigated the relationship between secondary school students’ self-efficacy, gender, their perceptions of teaching methods, and academic achievement in Kiswahili language. The study adopted a correlational research design. The target population was 158,619 students of all public secondary schools in Nakuru County. The accessible population was all the 43,190 fonn three students in Nakuru County. Stratified proportionate and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 394 students who participated in the study. Data was collected using Students’ Questionnaire (SQ), Kiswahili Language Skills Achievement Test (KLSAT) and an Observation Schedule (OS). The reliability of SQ and KLSAT were estimated using the Cronbach’s Alpha method and the Kuder-Richardson (KR2l) formula. SQ and KLSAT were deemed reliable since their reliability coefficients were .812 and .756 respectively. Simple and multiple linear regression were used to test the study hypotheses at .05 level of significance. A statistically significant relationship was observed between students’ self-efficacy and achievement in Kiswahili language skills. The relationship between gender and academic achievement in Kiswahili language was statistically insignificant. A statistically insignificant relationship between students’ perceptions of teaching methods and Kiswahili language skills achievement. The findings further showed a statistically significant relationship between students’ self-efficacy, gender, perceptions of teaching methods all combined and Kiswahili language skills academic achievement. This statistically significant relationship implies that teachers of Kiswahili should consider a more holistic approach to teaching/learning process rather than focusing on content delivery. The findings will infonn educators and policymakers that they should consider these psychological and social factors when designing and implementing Kiswahili instructional programs. Additionally, these results show the need to enhance students’ self-efficacy, being aware of their perceptions of teaching methods may contribute to improved academic achievement in Kiswahili language skills and overall academic achievement.