Wawire Chrispus KoinangeAnthony Muriithi IreriMunanu, Ruth Ncororo2023-08-082023-08-082023http://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/26619Educational Psychology Department a Research Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment for the Award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Educational Psychology), In the School of education And Lifelong Learning, of Kenyatta University May, 2023Academic achievement which is shown by the grades achieved in the examinations, is the most critical outcome of any education system. The research problem of the current study is the declining academic achievement in Meru Count, Kenya. The current study aimed at establishing, prediction of academic achievement by intelligence beliefs and task value, mediated by academic engagement. Implicit theories of intelligence and expectancy-value theories were used to understand the predictions. The research design was convergent parallel mixed methods. The sample was 813 students from 15 public secondary schools. Multistage sampling – purposive, cluster, and random sampling – were used. Collection of quantitative data was done using implicit self-theories scale, task value scale and Engagement versus Disaffection with Learning– Student Report. Qualitative data were collected using focus group interview guide. The researcher sought approval for data collection from Kenyatta University Graduate School, National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovations, and The County Director of Education office Meru County. The researcher liaised with respective principals, and the class teachers who assisted seeking consent of the students and data collection. Data were collected, coded, fed into the computer, and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Intelligence beliefs and task value had positive statistically significant prediction on academic engagement and on academic achievement. Academic engagement strongly correlated with academic achievement. Exploratory analysis using independent sample t-test, Analysis of Variance, and post hoc analysis revealed gender differences with regard to all the study variables in favour of males. Differences among the variables by school type in favour of the national schools, the second being extra-county, while county and sub-county schools held third and last position respectively. There were age differences in all the study variables in favour of the youngest category. The study recorded strong mediational role of academic engagement in the prediction of academic achievement. The level of significance was α <.05. The quantitative findings were presented in tables, while qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Interpretation and discussions of the results were made, followed by conclusions and recommendations. The recommendation were that all stakeholders in education should promote positive intelligence beliefs and task value in effort to increase students’ academic engagement of secondary school students which would in turn enhance their academic achievement.enIntelligence Beliefsask Value PredictionForm Three Students’ Academic AchievementMediatedAcademic EngagementMeru CountyKenyaThesis