Effect of Practical Work on Students' Achievements in Physics at Secondary School Level in Murang'a East Sub-County, Kenya
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Date
2014
Authors
Muchai, Augustine Ngethe
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
This study explored the effects of practical work on students’ achievements in
Physics at secondary school level in Murang’a East Sub-County. The choice of this
study was motivated by the declining number of students taking Physics at KCSE in
Murang’a East Sub-County. The situation is dire to the extent that some schools do
not even present a single candidate for Physics in KCSE. This is despite the
fundamental role Physics as a science subject plays in the contribution of
innovations and developments required to achieve vision 2030. This study was
designed to investigate the effects of practical work in enhancing students’
achievements in Physics in Secondary schools in Murang’a East Sub-County.
Specifically the study was set to achieve five objectives namely to examine the
effects of practical work on students’ performance in Physics; to investigate the
effects of practical work on students’ attitudinal change in Physics, to assess the
influence of practical work in Physics on students’ acquisition of science process
skills; to find out whether practical work in Physics has any influence in the number
of students enrolling to take Physics in Form Three and to develop a scheme for
evaluating practical work in Physics. The study targeted 9820 students in 31 public
secondary schools of Murang’a East Sub-County. The study was a quasiexperimental
design. It comprised four mixed secondary schools purposely sampled;
two experimental groups and two control groups. The main units of analysis were
the 188 Form 2 students of the four purposively sampled mixed Day Secondary
Schools. All the four groups were exposed to the pretest. The experimental groups
were taught using the practical approach for one term while the control groups were
taught using the traditional method. The study used four instruments namely: A pretest
Physics Achievements Test, Physics Attitudinal scale, an Observation Checklist
and post-test Physics Achievements test. At the beginning of the term, all the four
groups sat for pre-test Physics Achievements test. They completed the Physics
Attitude scale. They also sat for the post-test achievements test at the end of the
term. An observation checklist for skills Acquisition (OCFSA) was used to assess
the science process skills acquired by the students. The data obtained were analyzed
using SPSS version 21. Student’s t-test was used to compare the mean of the
experimental and control groups. The significance of the results was tested at α = .05
significance level. The results of the study showed that Practical Approach resulted
in higher students’ achievements in Physics, lead to improved students’ attitude
towards Physics and resulted in higher student enrolment in Physics at KCSE. This
approach also resulted in improved students’ acquisition of science process skills.
Finally, a prototype marking scheme for evaluating practical work in Physics was
developed. The study concluded that, practical Instructional Approach towards
Physics is an effective teaching method which Physics teachers should be
encouraged to use to enhance students’ achievements in the subject. The study
recommended adoption of the teaching approach and marking scheme in all schools
in Kenya in order to boost students’ achievements, enhance acquisition of science
process skills, improve students’ attitude towards the subject and increase the
enrolment.
Description
A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Science education) in the School of Education, Kenyatta University. April 2016