Students’ Academic Performance in STEM Subjects and Related Factors: A Case of a STEM Model Boys’ School in Nandi County, Kenya

Abstract

This study aimed at establishing students’ academic performance in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and Related Factors in a STEM-Model Boys’ School in Nandi County, Kenya. The purpose of this study was to examine how students perform in internal examinations and during National examination, with more emphasis on STEM subjects (Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology and Physics). The objectives of the study were to establish: the extent of students’ academic performance in a STEM-Model Boys’ school in Nandi County, Kenya; the relationship between students’ discipline and their academic performance; the relationship between students’ performance in internal examination and their performance at National Examination and the relationship between students’ performance in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and their academic performance at Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in a STEM-Model Boys’ school in Nandi County, Kenya. This study was guided by Causal Comparative Ex-post Facto Research Design. The target population of the study was: 239 students who were at form four in 2020 academic year; the Director of Studies (DOS) and the Deputy Principal. A sample size of between 5 and 30 students was used, depending on the analysis that was done. The sample was obtained by use of simple random sampling technique. The DOS and the deputy principal automatically participated in the study.  A questionnaire, an interview schedule and a document analysis schedule were used to collect data. Piloting of the instruments was done to validate them while test-retest method was used to test for the reliability of the research instruments. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. It was found out that the school averagely performs well as the mean-score of form 4 class was above 7.0 (KCSE 2020) and that no A (plain) grade has been achieved for over five years. Quality grades are yet to be achieved as the school had the leading student with grade A- (minus), with average grades in STEM subjects. Majority of the students scored between grades C+ (plus) and D+ (plus) in examinations. Students’ performance in STEM subjects  are below a mean of 6.0 and this indicate that most learners are not able to secure STEM careers at post-secondary levels of education. From the hypotheses tested, it was established that students’ discipline also goes proportionally with academic performance; a linear relationship was found to exist between students’ performance in internal examinations and their performance at KCSE; students’ performance at KCPE and KCSE were found to have an inverse relationship where it was established that a student who scores high at KCPE tends to relax at high school and scores low at KCSE. The findings of this study will inform the Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA) and Ministry of Education (MoE) on the extent of performance of STEM-model schools in Kenya. Teachers and students too will get informed on their performance and have a projection to careers.