Influence Of Selected Factors On Choice Of Agriculture Among Secondary School Students In Kisii And Nyamira Counties, Kenya

Abstract

Agriculture, a subject whose choice by secondary school students has been declining year after year, has been offered in secondary schools in Kenya for many years. It is an examinable subject in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination and a career subject in various post-secondary educational institutions. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of selected factors on the choice of agriculture among secondary school students in Kisii and Nyamira Counties. The objectives were; to determine the influence of teaching methods on the choice of agriculture among students in secondary schools, to establish the influence of gender on the choice of agriculture among students in secondary schools, to investigate the influence of students’ attitude on the choice of agriculture in secondary schools, and to examine the influence of school financing on the choice of agriculture among students in secondary schools. The study used cross-sectional survey design. Questionnaire was used to collect data. The study targeted form four agriculture students and agriculture teachers. A sample of 352 respondents was used. Simple random sampling was used to sample agriculture teachers and students,while stratified sampling was used to sample 22 schools.Data were analysed using both quantitative and qualitative approaches: For the former, descriptive statistics including frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations were used, and inferential statistics-specifically Pearson Correlation-was used to establish relationships among variables.Qualitative data, on the other hand, were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. The findings show that methods employed by teachers in the teaching of agriculture have an influence on the choice of the subject by students; students’ attitude influence the choice of the subject; but school finances and gender have no statistical influence on the choice of agriculture. It was also found out that parents, teachers, and the ministry of education have an influence on the choice of agriculture. The study recommended that teachers be monitored well in syllabus delivery so as to employ proper teaching methods to enable proper implementation of the curriculum. The study further recommended strengthening of career guidance and counselling to create awareness of career opportunities available to enable more female students choose the subject. In addition, the study recommended that students be mentored well for this will see attitude change towards agriculture. Lastly the ministry of education to increase funding to schools to enable procurement of enough teaching and learning materials for agriculture.