Performance in Science, Mathematics and Technology (SMT) subjects among students in Kitui County, Kenya has perpetually been unsatisfactory. The aim of this study was to look into the extent to which teacher qualification influenced students' academic performance in SMT subjects. The study applied ex-post-facto survey research design. Random sampling was used to select eight secondary schools in Kitui County. It included eight head teachers, 40 teachers of SMT subjects and 600 candidates who sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in the year 2012. Data were collected using questionnaire and document analysis. It was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tools. The study found that there was no significant difference in means between teacher qualification and students' performance in SMT subjects at form four level F(1,37)=0.017, P>0.05. The findings of the study further revealed that majority of the teachers of SMT subjects were trained graduates, most of them had attended in-service or refresher courses which resulted in slight improvement in the students' performance in SMT subjects. Recommendation is made for organization of more regular in-service and refresher training of SMT subject teachers to enable them embrace and conform to the emerging technologies in pedagogy.
Students’ exposure to electronic media facilities and lack of parental supervision has led to indiscipline among students globally. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of students’ exposure to electronic media facilities in their homes on parental involvement in management of students’ discipline in public day secondary schools in Kitui County, Kenya. The hypothesis was: there is no significant difference in means between students’ exposure to electronic media facilities and parental involvement in management of students’ discipline. The sample consisted of 70 principals, 86 Form three class teachers and 354 Form three students. The instruments were questionnaires and focus group discussions. A pre- test was used to validate the questionnaires while a test-re-test method was used to determine reliability. Instruments reliability coefficients were 0.78 for head teachers, 0.75 for class teachers and 0.82 for students’ questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized for data analysis while the level of significance was set at alpha = 0.05. Based on the results of ANOVA, F (4, 146) =85.548, P = 0.087, the hypothesis was accepted. It was concluded that students’ exposure to electronic media facilities influenced parental involvement in management of students’ discipline although this was not significant. It was recommended that parents should monitor and control the use of electronic media facilities by their children at home to control students’ discipline at school. This paper was drawn out from a study conducted in the year 2016 and 2017 in Kitui County, Kenya.
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