RP-Department of Educational Communication and Technology

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Browsing RP-Department of Educational Communication and Technology by Subject "Assessment"

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    Assessment of Access of Reading Resources in Bolstering Extensive Reading Habits and Composition Writing Skills in Secondary Schools in Kenya
    (International Educative Research Foundation and Publisher (IERFP), 2020) Mwangi, Francis G.
    Reading resources in schools can help in inculcating the reading culture and reading proficiency amongst students. This may help learners develop rational skills that are crucial in dealing with the current unpredictable and dynamic world. There has been a concern from educationist and researchers about the declining reading interest among secondary school learners in Kenya and one of the causes could be unavailability of reading resources amongst other determiners. This study was prompted by the lack of adequate reading resources that can bolster and sustain reading interest among secondary school learners in Laikipia County in Kenya. The study therefore sought to establish whether there existed any relationship between availability and access of extensive reading resources and development of extensive reading habits evidenced in composition writing amongst learners. The study was guided by Piaget's (1952)) Schema Theory. The study used descriptive survey research design. Fifteen secondary schools in Laikipia County were sampled using proportional stratified sampling technique in five sub-counties across the County. Purposive sampling was used to sample 30 out of 80 (37.5%) teachers of English language. A Simple random sampling technique was used to sample 327 students out of approximately 2670 students (12.24%) in form 2 and 3 in the County. The research instruments used for data collection included: questionnaire for students, interview guides for teachers and composition writing test. A pilot study of the instruments was done to ensure their validity and reliability in a co-educational secondary school in the neighbouring county that was not involved in the study. The reliability of the questionnaire and interview guide was estimated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient as 0.871 which met the recommended threshold of 0.7 and above. Analysis of data was done using descriptive statistics such as frequency, tables and percentages. T-test was done at 95% confidence level (F(2) = 80.933, P = .001) to establish whether there was statistically significance difference between availability of reading resources and development of extensive reading habits captured in composition writing mean scores of different categories of school using (SPSS) version 17. Qualitative data were organized according to the study themes and presented descriptively on the basis of the study objective. It was established that learners in secondary schools with adequate extensive reading resources performed better in composition writing than those who did not. Therefore, it was established that inadequate supply of reading resources in schools had a negative impact on development of reading interest amongst learners. The study recommended that schools should collaborate with various stakeholders to solicit reading resources so as to promote access of reading materials and reading culture in schools and consequently improve learners’ composition writing skills.
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    Influence of Curriculum Digital Content Utilisation on Learners’ Assessment and Achievement in Biology among Secondary Schools in Kenya
    (International Educative Research Foundation and Publisher, 2018-07) Jesse, Samuel N.; Maundu, John N.; Twoli, Nicholas W.
    The curriculum support materials used in an instructional process may influence assessment and achievement of learners. Curriculum support materials are both print andelectronic in nature. One of the main electronic curriculum support materials used in schools is interactive digital content. In recent years, there has been rapid expansion in curriculum digital content access and utilization in Kenyan schools. However, little has been done to establish how utilization of curriculum digital content in the instructional process influences learners’ assessment and achievement. The study reported in this paper therefore investigated the influence of curriculum digital content utilisation on secondary school learners’ assessment and achievement in Biology. It was guided by two specific objectives including to: investigate the influence of the utilisation of Biology digital content on learners’ assessment and examine the influence of the utilisation of Biology digital content on learners’ achievement. A mixed methods approach that employed triangulation design was used in this study. Data was obtained from fifteen Economic Stimulus Programme-ICT phase 1 secondary schools in Nairobi County. Three instruments including Biology teacher questionnaire, learners’ focus group discussion guide and documents analysis sheet were used for data collection. The collected data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics and presented in form of notes, tables, and graphics. This study found out that most assessment aspects improved with curriculum digital content utilization. In addition, utilisation of curriculum digital content had a positive influence on the achievement of secondary school learners in Biology. The study recommended that all schools, and not only ESP-ICT schools, be provided with proper infrastructure to enable learners and teachers access and utilize curriculum digital content in the instructional process. This would enhance assessment modes and learners achievement in secondary schools in Kenya