ABSTRACT

This study explores the factors affecting enrolment and performance of students in physics in Gatundu District. The choice of this topic was influenced by the fact that performance and enrolment in physics in Kenya and particularly in Gatundu District has remained low over the years. There are some schools in Gatundu District that do not offer physics at Forms Three and Four levels. This study set out to investigate some of the reasons for this state of affairs. The study was carried out in 12 (twelve) schools sampled from the district, two of which were provincial schools, four district boarding schools and six district day schools. A total of 144 students participated in the study. There were four Form Two students and eight Form Three students from each school. Stratified random sampling was used to come up with the study sample. One physics teacher in Form Three was selected from each school making a total of 12 teachers. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that affect performance and enrolment in physics at secondary school level. The design of the study was descriptive survey. Data was collected using teachers’ and students’ questionnaires, class observation guide, HODs’ interview schedule’ and students’ achievement tests. These included achievement test scores, students’ gender, entry behavior, learners’ attitude towards physics, availability and use of teaching/ learning resources, teacher characteristics and teaching methodology. The data obtained was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Tables and graphs were used to display data. The study found out that availability and proper use of teaching/learning resources improved achievement in physics. There was a significant higher enrolment in schools with enough resources compared with those with inadequate resources. This could probably explain the reason why there was a higher enrolment in physics among provincial schools compared to district schools. Learners who scored good grades in mathematics had a higher achievement in physics. All students who were enrolled in physics had a positive attitude towards the subject and those who performed well had a more positive attitude than those whose performance was low. Boys performed better in physics in District Schools but this was not the case in Provincial Schools where the girls performed better than the boys in the said schools. Students whose lessons were conducted frequently in the laboratory performed better than those who were often taught in their classrooms. The study did not find any relationship between enrolment and performance. The study recommended that teachers should effectively use teaching/learning resources to improve visualization of concepts. Modern teaching methods should also be employed to arouse students’ interest and improve their attitude towards physics. Recommendations and suggestion for further research has been made at the end of the study to guide the main stake holders such as teachers, policy makers and trainers in physics.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.             Introduction

Physics is believed to be one of the oldest and probably the most developed of all the sciences (Keith1996). It addresses the most fundamental questions regarding the nature of the physical universe. It asks questions such as; what is the nature of the universe? What is matter made of? What are the fundamental forces of nature? e.t.c. Because physics is the study of these and other basic questions, it provides the underpinnings for all other physical sciences. ‘The ultimate description of all physical systems is based on the laws of physical universe usually referred to as ‘the laws of physics’ (Nathan et al 1995). Two dominant themes run through the development of physics; (1) matter and energy (2) the search for order and patterns. Secondary school physics is primarily concerned with the study of these two very important themes.

In almost every aspect of life we encounter basic concepts such as matter, heat and pressure. It is therefore not possible to ignore these very important concepts whose knowledge helps to improve peoples’ lifestyle. It is unfortunate that our young scientists, especially those in the rural areas, have ignored Physics in favour of Chemistry and Biology (Iraki 1994). The greatest worry is; why are they shying away from this very important subject? What are the consequences of this trend? Is learning the subject is not enjoyable? Is it because they do not understand the concepts and principles taught in physics, or is it because they do not understand the importance and relevance of physics in their future career?

One very important reason why physics form part of the curriculum all over the world is due to its ability to give personal intellectual and physical skills, knowledge and value to the

learner. In learning physics, students acquire process and manipulative skills that enable them to predict accurately the outcome of various events such as the occurrence of the eclipse, effect of gravity and other forces and phases of the moon. A learner with a physics background is able to think both deductively and inductively and approach new situations with a high degree of precision and accuracy. To achieve millennium development goals (MDGs) and realize vision 2030, quality teaching of physics to more young learners has become even more critical. It is with this in mind that central province secondary school heads association came up ‘effective 40’ program to effectively manage the 40 minutes lesson and hence improve performance in all subjects; physics included.

  Background to the study

Despite the fact that physics has made a significant contribution to life in today’s society, a decline in enrolment and performance has been registered over the years (KNEC 2002 to 2011). This trend is more significant especially in schools where the subject has been made optional. Probably there is luck of correlation between what is learnt in class and the real application in everyday life (AAPT 1999). This lack of or little relationship between theoretical physics and application physics may contribute towards the low enrolment and poor performance of physics among secondary school students.

Physics helps the learners to develop critical thinking due to its high reliance on mathematical concepts and logics. The fact that mathematics is not a favorite subject for  most low performing students could be a reason why they shy away from physics. Students who perform well in mathematics are likely to enroll and perform better in physics; this  could be the reason why the students who enroll in physics have an overall better performance.

The performance of physics like other sciences depends on the spatial ability of the learner (Twoli 1986). Given that boys exhibit higher levels of spatial ability, this may explain the reason why there is a higher enrolment and performance in physics among boys than girls in national exams (KNEC 2010). The socialization of boys among African societies is different from that of the girls. Boys perform more vigorous activities that require activation of the mind as opposed to girls who are subjected to light jobs such as house keeping and cooking. This may explain the reason why boys are likely to develop a more positive attitude towards sciences than girls. According to KNEC (2007-2011), enrolment and performance of physics among girls is always less than that of the boys.

Enrolment of physics in KCSE is always less than that of other science subjects namely chemistry and biology. This trend is even more significant among schools in rural areas than in urban areas (MOEST 2007). Likewise, students in high performing schools are more likely to enroll and perform better in physics than low performing schools. All schools in the district are in the rural setting and enrollment in physics is significantly low as illustrated in Table 1.1

Table 1.1 Students’ enrolment in Physics in Gatundu District between 2007 and 2011

Source; Gatundu District 2007-2011 performance report

As observed in Table 1.1, students’ enrolment in physics in the district is quite low. In fact only an average of 25% of the students enrolls for physics. With the assumption that the students who enroll in physics are likely to be the bright ones, the mean score is expected to be very high compared to other sciences. This is however not the case as observed in Table

1.2. There a notable increase in enrolment in both physics and chemistry and a decline in enrolment in biology in 2011 and 2012.

Table 1.2 District mean score for mathematics and sciences from 2007 to 2011

Source; 2011 Gatundu District performance report

At the district level, performance is tabulated in terms of grades and score as opposed to marks like it is done at the national level. The highest grade that one can attain is an ‘A’ which is 12 points while the lowest grade is an ‘E’ with 1 point. It is observed that, though the mean score for all sciences is generally low, the mean score for physics is expected to be much higher given its low enrolment; which is not the case.

Schools with more physics teaching/learning resources and laboratory apparatus are likely to enroll more students in physics and records better performance than those without enough

resources. Enrolment of students in physics over the year has been quite low compared to other sciences (Table 1.1)

At the national level, the percentage enrolment of physics is slightly higher than in Gatundu District as shown in table 1.3. Gatundu District has therefore a lower enrolment compared to the average enrolment for the rest of the country.

Table 1.3 National Percentage enrolments of students in the three sciences from 2002 to 2011

Source; (2002 to 2011 KCSE Examination Report Books)

It is clear from Table 1.3 that enrolment in physics over the years is way below other science subjects. This trend is a cause of worry to science teachers, educators and the country in general. It was therefore the intention of this study to look into the probable cause of this low enrolment in physics and try to grope for possible solutions to this problem.

Another key concern in students’ enrolment is gender disparity. Table 1.4 shows a clear disparity of students’ enrolment in physics where female students’ enrolment is slightly below a third.

Table 1.4 National Enrolment of physics by gender from 2002 to 2011

Source (2002 to 2010 KCSE Examination Report Books)

Over the years there were more males than females who enrolled in physics. In fact, the number of boys who enrolled in physics each year was more than double that of the girls. Table 1.4 clearly shows there has been a gender difference in enrolment in physics over the years. This difference will ultimately be reflected in the professions that require physics such as engineering and physics education. This problem is expounded by lack of role models in the subject for the girls therefore strengthening the stereotype that “physics is meant for boys” (Torongey 1986)

Table 1.5 Performances of physics compared by gender from 2002 to 2011

Source; (2002 to 2010 KCSE Examination report)

Performance in physics and biology has improved over the years, but this trend has not been the same for chemistry which has oscillated between 22 and 30 marks (Table 1.3). Performance in physics is generally better than both chemistry and biology except in 2004 and 2007 where biology was performed better than physics. This could be attributed to the low enrolment in physics and the fact that the few students who choose to enroll in physics are the bright ones. However, considered from the fact that enrolment in physics is very low compared to other sciences, performance is expected to be far much better than other sciences, which is not the case.