Autonomy and Attitude towards School as Correlates of Learners’ Academic Performance in Kitui County, Kenya

Abstract

Performance of students in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in Kitui County has been consistently low and below the national mean score from 2010 to 2018. The low performance has been attributed to many factors. This study investigated how learner autonomy and attitude towards school relate to secondary school students’ academic performance in Kitui County, Kenya. The study was guided by sociocultural theory. Correlational research design was employed in the study. The study involved 165 form three students (76 males and 89 females, Mage=18.78 years, ranging from 16 to 23 years) drawn from 10 public secondary schools in Tseikuru Sub County, Kitui County, Kenya. Data were collected using adapted learner autonomy scale (Chan, Humpreys & Spratt, 2002) and attitude towards school scale (Farnsworth et al., 1991). Participants’ academic performance was obtained from their end of term examinations scores. The findings established that both learner autonomy and attitude towards school had positive significant correlations with academic performance. Recommendations on how teachers and other educational stakeholders can promote learner autonomy and positive attitude towards school are given.