Influence of learner involvement on academic performance of secondary school students in Kenya

Abstract

Academic performance among students may be a function of many factors such as their abilities, socio-economic background and pedagogical beliefs. This study investigated the influence of learners’ involvement on academic performance of secondary school students. The study was guided by Locke and Lotham’s achievement theory which claims that setting goals and targets allow individuals to be focused and provides a sense of direction which enables individuals achieve their aims without distractions. Correlational design was adopted in the study. The target population of students was 2500. Stratified sampling was used to select 12 secondary schools while simple random sampling was used in this study to select 387 students. Content validity of the research instrument was enhanced through a pilot study using students not under the study. Reliability was determined by internal consistency method in which coefficient alpha of = 0.777 was obtained. Pearson product moment correlation was used to analyse quantitative data with the aid of SPSS version 22. A statistical significant relationship r = .17, p ≤ .05 was established between learner involvement and academic performance. The study recommended that teachers and school counselors should inculcate target setting skills on learners and that school counsellors should enhance peer tutoring to help students adjust to learning environment.