Determinants of quality assessment of Kenya certificate of secondary education agriculture projects in selected secondary schools of Kakamega County, Kenya

Abstract

The assessment of the K.C.S.E agriculture project work has been plagued by disparities between the school and the external based assessments; with the inception of the 8-4-4 education system in Kenya the problem has become worse. The purpose of this study was to investigate the Determinants of Quality Assessment of Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Agriculture Projects in selected secondary schools of Kakamega County from 1999 to 2003. The study endeavored to achieve the following objectives: determine the effect of teacher factors, student factors, school administration and management and KNEC marking guidelines and reports on quality assessment of K.C.S.E agriculture projects. The target population of the study consisted of 310 teachers of agriculture from 292 public and 14 private secondary schools. Simple random sampling was used to select 109 teachers of agriculture. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data. Conceptual framework and Achievement-Based Motivational Theory guided the study. Reliability coefficient value of 0.75 was obtained. The data was analyzed using descriptive, regression and inferential statistics using a Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Results revealed that teacher factors, student factors, the level of administration and management commitment and KNEC guidelines positively and significantly affected the quality assessment of agriculture projects in secondary schools in Kakamega County. Therefore, the following were the conclusions of the study: increase in the teacher qualification by in service and further education, years of experience in teaching and integrity can have a positive and significant effect on the quality assessment of agriculture projects. When the student’s interest, commitment, creativity, attendance and involvement in preparation of the project increases, then quality assessment of agriculture projects will be enhanced. For quality assessment of agriculture projects to be improved in secondary schools, the school administration and management ought to provide adequate land, equipment, security, support and understand the agriculture project curriculum, and project requirements. The following can improve quality assessment of K.C.S.E agriculture projects: KNEC project guidelines should be sent on time, should be easy to understand, students should be treated fairly and there is need to have adequate feedback. The study recommends that quality assessment of agriculture projects can be enhanced through the following: use of qualified and experienced teachers with high integrity, vetting of students, timely provision of project input and resources and timely provision of projects guidelines by KNEC. The finding of the study are significant in that agriculture is an important income earner in Kenya and therefore training and quality assessment of K.C.S.E agriculture subject is important in preparing the future managers of the economy