An Assessment of the Influence of Availability of Instructional Media on Students’ Academic Performance in Kiswahili in Public Secondary Schools in Vihiga County, Kenya
Abstract
The use of instructional media is crucial in achieving educational goals and improving students' academic performance. Teaching and learning Kiswahili at the secondary school level has proven to be a formidable task. This has resulted in poor academic performance in the subject during KCSE exams. This necessitates early intervention by employing a diverse range of instructional media to improve the retention of information at elevated levels. Therefore, the objective of the study was to assess the influence of availability of instructional media on the students’ academic performance in Kiswahili in Public secondary schools in Vihiga County, Kenya. Constructivism theory and ASSURE Model guided this study. The study designs adopted were descriptive survey and correlational research. A sample size of 294 teachers, 367 form three students and 13 Principals were selected from 42 public secondary schools in the county. The sample size of teachers and students was arrived at by using Yamane’s formula (Yamane, 1967). To get sample of students, lists of all form three students from the 42 schools were used to identify samples to participate in the study. Only eight students were required from each school. For boys’ and girls’ schools, random selection of the eight students was done using Microsoft excel software from the list provided. For co- educational schools, students were grouped based on gender after which proportionate random selection was done. Male and female respondents were equally selected. Therefore, the total sample composed of three hundred and sixty seven students. Sample schools provided a list of all Kiswahili teachers. To get equal representation of both gender from the sample schools, Male and female respondents were divided into two groups after which proportionate random sampling was done. At least each and every school donated respondent for the study though not equally since some schools provide fewer teachers of Kiswahili than others, based their availability. Three County Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (CQASOs) also participated in the study. Two questionnaires were employed to collect data from students and teachers while data from principals and CQASOs was collected through interview. Observation schedules and document analysis were also used to collect more data. The instruments were validated using experts’ help for content and face validity and piloted in two schools. The split half method was used and the data obtained subjected to the Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient (r). The values obtained were r = 0.76 for teachers’ and r = 0.81 for students’ questionnaires. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically based on objectives and presented in narration form. Analysis of quantitative data was done using frequencies, percentages and regression. Presentation of the findings was done through frequency distribution tables and textual presentation. The findings of the study exposed acute shortage of instructional media in secondary schools in Vihiga County. The findings revealed that availability of instructional media influences students’ performance. Therefore, it was concluded that unavailability of adequate instructional media influences students’ academic performance in Kiswahili. The study therefore recommends that to realize desirable students’ performance in Kiswahili, instructional media should be availed for use. Teachers should also be encouraged to improvise alternatives where media are not available. The findings of the study are envisaged to guide educational policy makers in formulation and implementation of policies that would ensure adequate provision of educational resources in schools.
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