Determinants of academic performance of girls in secondary schools in Mt. Elgon Sub County, Bungoma County Kenya

Abstract

Education of girls is critical for sound economic development of any country. Despite this realization, there has been an outcry about the participation and academic performance of girls in secondary schools in Mount Elgon Sub County. The objectives of the study were: to determine the effect of family economic background on girls’ academic performance, to investigate the effect of socio-cultural practices on girls’ academic performance, to find out the effect of geographical location on girls’ academic performance, and to identify the effect of school type on girls’ academic performance in secondary schools in Mt. Elgon Sub County. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was 28 secondary school principals, 276 teachers and 8310 students from girls’ and mixed secondary schools. Stratified random sampling was used to sample out the respondents from each category of schools. There were 14 principals, 365 students, and 169 teachers who were randomly selected from 14 secondary schools. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview guides. The reliability of the research instruments was determined using test-retest method using the data collected during the pilot study. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings of the study shows that poverty, teenage pregnancies, early marriages, distance from school, lack of learning and teaching facilities in the schools affect learning and academic performance of girls in the area under study. This shows that economic, socio-cultural, geographical, and the type of school factors affect the academic performance of girls in the sub county.