IllllllllllllllllHIHHHIHIHIIHllHHllllllllHHIIHHIII 3 1293 01782 1509 LIBRARY Michigan State University This is to certify that the dissertation entitled AN INVESTIGATION OF THE STUDY HABITS OF FEMALE STUDENTS (HIGH AND LOW ACHIEVERS) IN RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN MURANG'A DISTRICT KENYA presented by Anne M. N. Mungai has been accepted towards fulfillment ofthe requirements for JhJ)- degree in 411110304211; Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education : Major professor Date November 1997 MSU is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution 0- 12771 PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE ‘1 NEW '1 6 2605‘ SE: 21?] 3095 1M chlRCJD‘anpflS—p.“ AN INVESTIGATION OF THE STUDY HABITS OF FEMALE STUDENTS (HIGH AND LOW ACHIEVERS) IN RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN MURANG’A DISTRICT KENYA By Anne M. N. Mungai A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education 1997 ABSTRACT AN INVESTIGATION OF THE STUDY HABITS OF FEMALE STUDENTS (HIGH AND LOW ACHIEVERS) IN RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN MURANGA DISTRICT KENYA. By Anne M. Mungai Education is the foundation of development. Yet as many as 36 million girls in Sub-Saharan Africa are missing fi'om school, and those who gain access are poorly served. While the same number of boys and girls enroll in first grade, byfourth grade, 50% of the female students have dropped out. 64% of those girls who drop out leave school before they have acquired full literacy. Most developing countries have tried to increase education opportunities for girls, and yet a great number of females drop out of school before they finish primary level education. The researcher investigated the effect of two family factors (financial, social capital) on students' study habits and achievement. The researcher also examined the study strategies of higher and low achievers to determine if they would differ in the quality of their information processing. One hundred eighty two, seventh-grade female Anne M. Mungai students from nine schools in Muranga district, Kenya, were studied. The statistical procedures included logit regression, cross-tabulations, frequency counting and chi- square analyses. These procedures were used to look at the effects of variables on each other and their effects on students' Study habits and achievement. Five students were randomly drawn from the population of 182 for the interviews which were audiotaped. Qualitative methods were also used to analyze the interviews and the students written data such as notes, summary, jottings that were generated while they studied the article. The researcher found that each of the two family factors (financial and social capital), and the school factors had an independent and significant effect on student achievement and study habits. The results indicated that a student’s academic achievement is positively influenced by the education level of both parents. The researcher also found that the father’s education had positive influence on the study habits of the females and that the higher the education of the father the fewer chores the females were assigned at home, probably because parents who had a higher socio- economic status could afford to buy books and also could afford to employ house helpers. The information derived from the interview analysis provided the same evidence confirmed in the questionnaire. DEDICATION Dedicated to my husband and best friend George, my daughters Catherine, Caroline, Lilian and Pauline. Through your prayers and encouragement I made it. I would like to recognize your moral support as I struggled through this journey. Yom' prayers, smiles and words of encouragement kept me going. You have been and are a blessing to me. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For the success of this dissertation research, I acknowledge: With gratitude the guidance of the Almighty God through Jesus Christ, my source of wisdom and knowledge. Thank you Lord for providing all the finances needed for my education. Dr. Lois Bader, my committee chairperson, for all her help, encouragement and support during my doctoral studies. Her enthusiasm for my work challenged me to aim for excellence. Dr. Stanley Trent for moral and spiritual support. Thank you for teaching me to put my ideas into paper and encouraging me to key on important points. Dr. Eugene Pemell for his invaluable encouragement during my doctoral studies. Dr. John Metzler for your comments about education system in Afi'ica. He was always available when needed and gave freely his time and advice, especially on issues related to Africa. Special thanks go to Daniel Karanja for his comments in the data analysis process. His spiritual support was a motivation. Research assistants, George Mungai, Bernard Njuguna, Jane Njuguna and Rose Waweru for helping collect data in the schools. V The headmasters, teachers and pupils of the nine schools in Muranga who collaborated in the collection of data in their schools. The prayer and support of African Christian fellowship MSU chapter. The love and prayer support of my husband and daughters. Others who supported me in one way or the other for the success of this project. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................ x LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................... xi CHAPTER I INTRODUTION AND BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 1 Introduction ....................................................................... 1 Education System in Kenya .................................................... 4 Primary Education in Kenya ................................................... 5 Primary School Curriculum .................................................... 9 Current Problems Related to the Education of Girls in Kenya ............. 12 The Direct Cost of Schooling ................................................... 12 Domestic Labor Market ......................................................... 14 Social Customs ................................................................... 15 Pregnancy and Sexual Harassment ............................................ 16 Distance of Schools .............................................................. 17 Classroom Culture ............................................................... 17 Summary .......................................................................... 18 Statement of the Problem ....................................................... 21 Purpose of the Study ............................................................. 25 Definition of Terms .............................................................. 26 CHAPTER 11 REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ..................................................... 27 Conceptual Framework ............................................................ 27 Review of the Literature ........................................................... 31 Reading Comprehension Instruction ............................................. 34 Study Skills in Reading Comprehension .......................................... 35 Instruction in the Classroom in Kenya ............................................. 37 Effects of Family and School Factors on Achievement ........................ 38 Summary ............................................................................. 44 vii CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY AND INSTRUMENTATION ............ 46 Introduction ........................................................................... 46 Sampling Procedures ................................................................ 46 Selection of Schools ............................................................... 47 Research Hypotheses .............................................................. 47 Development of the Instrument .................................................. 48 Data Collection Procedures ...................................................... 49 Pilot Study .......................................................................... 50 Interviews ........................................................................... 52 Summary ............................................................................ 54 CHAPTER IV DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS .............................. 56 Introduction .......................................................................... 56 Data Analysis ........................................................................ 58 Indicators of Social Capital .......................................................... 58 Help Students Get from Parents (HELP) .......................................... 62 Age of the Students (AGE) .......................................................... 65 Nrunber of Siblings (SIB) ........................................................... 66 Summary ............................................................................. 68 Indicators of Financial Capital .................................................... 68 Land Owned (ACRES) .............................................................. 69 Parents’ Education and Jobs (F EDUC, MEDUC, FJOB, MJOB) ............. 71 Lighting (LIGHT) .................................................................... 71 Text Books (NTEXT) ............................................................... 76 Property Owned (PROPERTY) .................................................... 77 Summary ............................................................................. 79 Indicators of Study Habits ......................................................... 80 Summary of Article .................................................................. 86 Indicators of Achievement ......................................................... 87 Model Specification and Variable Choice .......................................... 9O Regression Analysis Results ....................................................... 91 Analysis of Personal Interviews ................................................... 92 Question Number 1 ................................................................... 93 Question Number 2 ................................................................... 93 Question Number 3 ................................................................... 94 Question Number 4 ................................................................... 94 Question Number 5 ................................................................... 94 Question Number 6 ................................................................... 95 viii CHAPTER V SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................. 96 Summary of Findings .................................................................. 96 Summary .................................................................................. 99 Implications for Practice and Policy .................................................. 102 Limitations of the Study and Directions for Further Research ..................... 104 APPENDIX ..................................................................................... 106 REFERENCES ................................................................................... 120 ix 1.2 2.1 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.1 l 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 LIST OF TABLES Number of primary schools in Kenya, 1963-1990 Average hours spent in domestic chores by the working population Categories of social capital variables Frequency distribution of achievement Frequency distribution of chores Cross tabulation of chores by achievement The response distribution for help Frequency distribution of age of students Cross tabulation of achievement by number of siblings Indicators of financial capital Frequency distribution of the land ownership Frequency distribution of parents’ education and jobs Frequency distribution of lighting (LIGHT) Cross tabulation of lighting by achievement Frequency distribution of text books availability Frequency distribution of property Cross tabulation of study skills by property Frequency of chores and fathers’ education Frequency of chores by mothers’ education Cross tabulation of study habits by mothers’ education Cross tabulation of study habits by fathers’ education Cross tabulation of possession of books and study habits Frequency of summary of article Cross tabulation of possession of books and study habits 41 60 61 63 63 65 67 69 70 73 74 75 76 78 79 83 83 84 85 86 87 92 1.1 2.1 2.2 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 LIST OF FIGURES Graph of primary school enrollments in Kenya: 1963-1992 The nuclear family and its environment Flow chart summary of factors that affect girls’ education Bar chart showing frequency distribution of achievement Graph of chores done by students afier school Graph of the distribution of chores and achievement The distribution of responses for help Graph of the fiequency distribution of age of students Graph of achievement by number of siblings Graph of frequency distribution of land ownership (acres) Graph of frequency distribution of mothers’ education Graph of frequency distribution of fathers’ education Pie chart of distribution of lighting Graph of frequency distribution of text books availability Graph of frequency of the importance of study habits Graph of study habits by mothers’ education Graph of study habits by fathers’ education xi 10 28 45 61 63 64 65 66 67 70 73 74 75 77 81 85 86 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY "Girls were wealth Daughters brought home bride wealth which the sons used to marry the daughters of other clans. They extended the kingship networks. Their children were allies. Therefore she should grow roots, for if she were to remain the only link between the two clans, on her death, this link would be severed " (Kabwagyere, 1975). Introduction Traditional education in Africa dates back to the formation of Afi'ican societies, and was largely informal learning that did not take place in a classroom. Incidental learning occurred by imitation in and out of the home and also through lullabies or popular songs. Training in specific skills was also acquired through apprenticeship, as when a girl learned homecraft from her mother or fiom female relatives and when an adolescent male learned the art of warfare from the experienced warriors of the group. The whole community was involved in the education of the individual. Traditionally, women were brought up to value the roles of wife, mother, and cultivator. Children were also seen as additional farm labor to help the women. Women were responsible for all household and child-related tasks. In the last seventy years, traditional societies have undergone considerable change, and a shift in the division of labor between the sexes has created a feeling of insecurity among women. As more men take jobs away from home, many women are left with more responsibilities at home. 2 In 1846 the Church Missionary Society established a school at Rabai near Mombasa in the Coast Province. This was the start of formal “western” education in Kenya. The school was built to promote Christian evangelism, but later developed into an instrument to produce skilled labor for the white settlers' farms and clerks for the colonial administration. Education in the colonial era was racially stratified. There were separate schools for Whites, Asians, Arabs, and for Afi'icans. Up to independence in 1963 there was great disparity in education level between males and females but also between the different races. Females did not participate in the education system as the men were being trained to work for the colonial government and this agreed with the indigenous culture of the people where women were seen as housewives or mothers (Bogonko, 1992). Consequently, girls in Kenya as in other Sub-Saharan African countries have had different educational experiences than have the boys. Staudt (1984) has studied colonial schools for girls in Afi'ican countries and found that they were concerned with preparation of food and other household activities. Rogers (1980) says in his report that it was the boys who were singled out for formal education in colonized countries, while the missionaries taught the females domestic skills. A national survey of attitudes and school achievement among students in Botswana found strong support for the notions that women should be primarily responsible for domestic work (Duncan 1989). In addition, she found that a gender ideology that defined various subjects as male or female was a significant factor in determining achievement. She also found a consistent negative association between femininity and achievement, which implies that many girls are forced to choose between competence and femininity. 3 Kagia (1985), found that the choice of curricula according to perceptions of female fields of study in Kenya limits the range of opportunities for employment. In addition, Kagia (1985) concluded that lower performance levels for girls than boys in Kenya were due mainly to poorer quality of many girls’ schools. The sharp distinction between male and female socialization in most Afi'ican Moslem countries according to El-Sanabary (1989), has a negative effect on girls' self-esteem and aspirations that is reinforced by their experiences at school. Tinker and Bramsen (1975), writing of students who attend Moslem schools in Nigeria, noted that these girls do not ask questions neither do the teachers ask them. Currently, one area of concern is women's access to education. On the whole, the disparity between the sexes in education is partly historical and partly economical. Men had a head start in education during the colonial years, and the lead is still continuing. Until recently, rural parents have been unwilling to invest in their daughters' education, because they consider such an investment wasteful (Davidson, 1993). Moreover, given the nature of Kenyan society, once a parent has been paid the bride wealth, he relinquishes all rights to his daughter, and her future earnings benefit her husband's family. For rural families, sending daughters to school implies a greater cost in terms of foregone contribution to the farm and home (Davidson and Kapakasa 1992). Following the attainment of political independence in 1963, the Kenyan government embarked on a massive expansion of the educational system to make education accessible to all people who could not get it during the colonial era. The Kenyan curriculum was changed to reflect Kenyan cultural values after 1963 but it still centers around passing national examinations. Education System in Kenya Long before the coming of Western education there were traditional Afiican and Islamic education systems practiced in Kenya. The education was on actual life experiences, moral values and skills necessary for life. Education was viewed as a life long experience. The Afiican indigenous education conserved and transmitted knowlegde and wisdom from one generation to another. Western education was introduced in Kenya in mid 19th century by Christian missionaries. For the Afiican people school disrupted the balanced indigenous economy without giving quick returns. The first schools that the missionaries opened were prayer houses meant to teach Christianity. School was, therefore, used as a means of evangelism. The missionaries concentrated on industrial education in agriculture and technical training. Academic learning was never the agenda of the missionaries (Bogonko, 1992). The mission schools did not offer education beyond the third or fourth year of elementary education. These mission schools were called "village schools". The white settlers needed "educated " labor in the form of masons, carpenters and other trades and therefore did not encourage literary learning. By 1920 education was well established in Kenya. (Eisemon, 1988) After independence, the Government tried to restructure the education system so a to relate it to national needs and aspirations. Education was seen as a vehicle to: 0 train more human resources to enhance economic development; 0 distribute national income; 0 bring national unity; - and ameliorate of national disparities. In trying to achieve the above ends the government of Kenya defines the objectives of education as follows: 0 Education must serve to foster national unity. 0 Education must serve the needs of national development. 0 Education must foster, develop and communicate the rich and varied cultures of Kenya. 0 Education must prepare and equip the youth of Kenya with the knowledge, skills and expertise necessary to enable them, to collectively play an effective role in the life of the nation whilst ensuring opportunities are provided for the full development of individual talents and personality. 0 Education must promote social justice and morality by instilling the right attitudes necessary for training in social obligations and responsibilities. Education must foster positive attitudes and consciousness towards other nations (Ministry of education, 1994). Primary Education in Kenya Primary education is the first level of formal education provided in Kenya. The curriculrun lasts eight years and caters for those wishing to go to secondary schools and vocational training schools. Pupils start primary school at the age of six (6) years. All public primary schools maintained by a local authority are managed by the respective local authority in accordance with section seven of the Education Act Cap 211. The objectives of primary education in Kenya are as follows: 6 0 To impart literacy, numeracy and manipulative skills. 0 To develop self-expression, self-discipline, self-reliance and full utilization of senses. c To develop ability for clear logical thought and critical judgement. 0 To acquire a suitable basic foundation for further education, training and the world of work 0 To develop awareness and understanding of the immediate environment and foster positive attitudes towards other countries and towards the international community. 0 To develop a strong whole person, including the physical, mental and spiritual capacities. - To develop desirable social standards and attitudes. One important aim of primary education is to provide literacy, numeracy and manipulative skills. A presidential working party (the Mackay Report, 1981) appointed in 1981 recommended that numeracy and literacy be emphasized for the first six years, and that the last two years of primary education have a practical bias, providing children with skills necessary to modernize rural life. Industrial arts and practical subjects are stressed in the primary school curriculum. Primary education aims at preparing people to play their full role in developing the country and also to regenerate Afiican culture and enable school pupils to appreciate their own culture without discarding knowlegde of other cultures. In this respect syllabuses were localized to include Afiican culture. Furthermore, primary education is supposed to develop not only a measure of logical thought and critical judgement, but also self-firlfillment, physical, mental and spiritual capacities. 7 From 1963 to 1983 primary education was seven years, but in 1984 the government moved to implement the Working Party’s recommendation that the primary education be switched to an eight-year primary education. They also recommended a four year secondary and a four-year university (which is currently referred as 8-4-4 education system) education system. The new system would give more importance to Kiswahili and practical subjects to prepare pupils for self-employment. The seven-year uninterrupted primary school system led to the expansion of primary school as shown in Table 1.1. Table 1.1 shows a rapid expansion in the number of primary school students over that period. Between 1964 and 1968 growth was at the rate of 5.5% per annum, from 980,849 pupils in 1964 to 1,209,680 in 1968. By 1983 expansion in enrollments had more than quadrupled from 891,553 in 1963 to about 4.3 million in 1983. By 1986 primary school enrollment stood at 4,885,925 pupils. The highest rate of expansion was witnessed since 1970 and was at highest peak in 1974. This was due to elimination of school fees in the semi-arid areas and the government policy of free education for the first four years. In 1980 free education was extended to standard 7 and then to standard 8 in 1985 with the implementation of 8-4-4 system. Though education was free parents had to still pay building fund, buy uniforms and textbooks and this amounted to more than the school fees. Some problems still present even with the expansion were the unequal distribution of enrollments fiom one province to the other, repeating of classes and dropping out altogether. Tablel .1 also shows that the number of females enrolled in primary school increased during the independence era. Female pupils accounted for 29% in 1957 rising 8 Table 1.2: Number of primary schools in Kenya, 1963 -l990 Year Number of % Growth Year Number of 96 Growth Schools Decline Schools Decline 1963 6,058 1977 8,896 4 1964 5,150 -15 1978 9,349 5 1965 5,078 -1 1979 9,622 3 1966 5,699 12 1980 10,255 7 1967 5,959 5 1981 10,817 5 1968 6,135 3 1982 11,497 6 1969 6,111 -4 1983 11,966 4 1970 6,123 0.2 1984 12,539 5 1971 6,372 4 1985 12,936 3 1972 6,657 4 1986 13,392 4 1973 6,932 4 1987 13,849 3 1974 7,706 I I 1988 14,288 3 1975 8,161 6 1989 14,691 3 1976 8,544 2 1990 14,864 1 Source: Government of Kenya, Statistical Abstracts, 1963-1990; Economic Survey, 1964-1991; UNESCO, Statistical Yearbook, 1971-1988. to 48% in 1985 and then to 49% in 1990. Table 1.2 summarizes the expansion of primary schools after independence. The growth in primary school in Kenya was due to the fact that the government was aiming at achieving Universal Primary Education. Despite the growth and expansion of primary school there were problems of retaining students from one grade to another because many students dropped out. Primary School Curriculum Before attaining independence, the colonial school curriculum trained Afiicans to be hewers of wood and drawers of water. After independence Afiicans urged the Africanizing of school cunicula by teaching African culture and history, languages and literature and other aspects of African life. In 1964 the Kenya Education Commission approved the “New Primary Approach” which used English as the medium of instruction. This new approach aimed at using activity and discovery as a way of teaching and learning and the teacher would only take the role of a guide. This new approach was difficult to implement because of lack of trained teachers, lack of textbooks and teaching guides. The primary schools teachers had a poor knowlegde of English, despite having taken it for eight years. Moreover transcriptions fi'om schools classes, in science and mathematics was difficult to follow as the teachers’ language became ambiguous. Therefore in 1967, the ministry of education found that using English as the medium of instruction was not meeting the need of the Kenyan pupils. (Kenya Education Commission, 1964). It was recommended that the school should revert to using Afiican languages and English for instruction. Therefore the Ministry of Education started the "Tujifimze Kusoma Kikwetu” (Let us Learn our Language) series in 1968. At this point Kiswahili, the national language was not developed as a necessary tool for teaching. In this confusion between policy and practice the students were neither well versed in Kiswahili nor in English. 10 fiOOQOOO iOOOflOO {000000 &00Q000 ZOOOflOO Number of Students LOOODOO 1963 1965 1967 1969 1971 1973 1975 -< 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 8 ., Figure 1.1: Graph of primary school enrollments in Kenya: 1963-1992 Source of Data: Government of Kenya, Statistical Abstracts 1964-I990; Government of Kenya Economic Survey 1964-1991; Ministry of Education Annual Reports 1964 -1979. During the 1974-1978 development plan, the primary school curriculum increased emphasis on Kenyan history, geography, new mathematics, languages and cultural activities such as singing and traditional dancing. The 1979-1983 development plan reformed the curriculum to strengthen the teaching of mathematics, science and pre- vocational subjects and also emphasizes skills which would enhance income earning opportunities through self employment. This led to the implementation in 1984 of the change to 8-4-4 education system (Four years in primary school, four years in high school and four years at the university). Many rural schools were not capable of obtaining the required facilities for the practical oriented classes. The rural primary schools were not 1 l adequately prepared for the implementation of the 8-4-4 curriculum. One problem was textbooks which were not adequate to begin with and with this change they needed new books. The new primary syllabus aimed at making pupils aware that they are Kenyans and initiating them to their culture and seeing their place in society. Geography, history and civics (GHC) aim at helping the pupil to understand their place in the family, community, nation and international community. GHC is aimed at developing such values as patriotism, loyalty, self-reliance, cooperation, diligence, honesty, justice, love, respect of elders, peace and responsibility. (Ministry of Education, Kenya 1994). There are 14 approved subjects for the primary level of the 8-4-4 system. These subjects are: Kiswahili, English, Mathematics, Science and Agriculture, Home Science, Art and Craft, Music, Geography, History, Civics, Religious Education, Physical Education, and Business Education. At the end of the eight years of primary education, students take the national terminal examination and they are awarded the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) (Ministry of Education, Kenya 1994). Candidates for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education are tested in the following seven papers: Kiswahili Mathematics Science and Agriculture English Art/Crafi/Music/Home Science History/civics/Geography/Religious Education Business Education. (Ministry of Education, Kenya 1994). 12 Current Problems Related to the Education of Girls in Kenya Currently, most of the financial burden in primary education is borne by parents and the local communities, who provide physical facilities, e.g. classrooms, workshops, home science rooms, libraries, textbooks, tools, chalk, exercise books and the pupil's uniform. Though Kenya has achieved a General Education Ratio (GER) of 95% nationally, in arid and semi-arid districts like Waj ir, Garissa and Mandera in the North Eastern province, the enrollment ratio is below 30%. In these districts, wide gender disparities in education persist. (W amahiu, 1994). This may be due to people holding on to their traditional beliefs and practices and not giving females a chance to go to school. It could also be due to economic factors as people in these areas are nomads. The national examinations results show that girls under-achieve in mathematics, science and technology-oriented subjects (Kainja and Chikhungu, (1994). Females dropout in greater numbers and spend less time in formal schooling. Calculations indicate that about ten thousand unmarried school girls get pregnant each year (N jau et a1., 1994). Some of the notable factors that are barriers to girls' education are: The direct cost of schooling Domestic Labor market Social customs Pregnancy and sexual harassment Distance of schools Classroom culture The Direct Cost of Schooling The trend to shift educational costs to parents in the name of cost- sharing is especially likely to work against girls’ education. (Kinyanjui 1993, Namuddu 1994) Even 13 where primary education is free, household education expenditures can be heavy. Apart from tuition, other cost items identified in the literature (Palrne 1993), include fees for registration and admission, examinations, boarding, school building fund, parent and teacher association fees, cost of uniforms, extra tutorial, provision of furniture and transport. When added together these costs are much more than the required tuition. Though the high cost of schooling affects the boys as well, girls from poor families are disadvantaged because of the social belief that educating boys is more crucial since they are the future heads of households, and therefore they have to support and provide for their families (Wamahiu et al.,1992). There is a myth that boys are more intelligent than girls and therefore they have a better chance of success. (Davidson, 1993). Boys are also seen as the heads of the house and breadwinners for the family and therefore it is crucial to educate them (Wamahiu et al., 1992). Studies show that in Ghana, Guinea, Malawi and Zimbabwe the costs associated with schooling are higher for girls than for boys. This is due in part to the cost of the girls’ uniform. Boys are more likely to go to school in torn clothes than girls. (Davison and Kanyuka 1992, Hon 1990, Kapasa 1992). Household factors such as parents’ income, the number of children in the household are significant in determining the families demand for schooling. Sometimes the females are used as a source of income usually working in the plantations, picking coffee and tea or employed as housemaids for very little income. Child labor is indispensable to some households and girls spend more time with the younger siblings than boys. Literature shows that children in rural areas spend more time working than thoSe in urban areas. As a consequence there are fewer rural girls in school than in urban areas. (Brock and Cammish, 1991; Cammish & Brock, 14 1994; Ilon, 1990; Prouty, 1991). Another argument used is that there are less jobs for females in the labor market so it is a waste of time and money to go to school. When decisions are made because of financial constraints, it is the girls who are more likely than boys to be held back or withdrawn from school. Literature suggests that girls from better homes are more likely to enroll and remain in school for longer than those from poor families. (Davidson & Kanyuka, 1992; Ilon, 1990; Kapasa, 1992). Domestic Labor Market With the rapid rate of growth in urbanization, the demand for domestic labor in urban areas has also increased. Resource- poor rural households have responded by sending their daughters into the domestic labor market in exchange for a regular cash income. This draws girls away from school (Fanta, 1991; Lange, 1994). Girls work an average of more than 25 hours per week while boys put in an average of nineteen hours per week. Research shows that girls are expected to continue performing their traditionally designated roles even as they attend school. Boys’ roles within the domestic economy are limited. (World Bank, 1990; Ilon, 1992). Therefore the labor lost in having a girl go to school will be proportionately higher for a family than will the value lost in sending a boy to school. (Ilon, 1992). Studies have shown that sometimes girls are expected to take on some other tasks like herding which was traditionally done by boys. (Ilon, 1992). In the rural areas it is common to see girls working in tea or coffee plantations and in the households they do household chores. Research by World Bank (1990) indicates that girls are expected to perform their traditional roles in the home even as they attend school. Some of the problems that occur because of these household 15 chores are frequent absenteeism, and chronic fatigue which may lead to poor performance and dmpping out of school. F ormal education has historically been linked to employment opportunities in the labor market, particularly in the civil service (UNICEF 1992). The traditional poor performance and participation of females in schools and labor market reinforces the bias that girls have fewer options than boys in the labor market (Davison & Kanyuka, 1992; Davison, 1993; Kapakasa, 1992). Social Customs Parental and familial attitudes have a strong influence on the decision to invest in children’s education. Some parents believe that it is more profitable to invest in boys' because they are more intelligent than girls. Parents also worry about girls becoming pregnant and marrying before they finish school. There is a strong belief that, once married girls belong to the other family and the parental investment is lost. (Davidson & Kanyuka, 1992; Davison, 1993; Prouty, 1991). Stereotypes linked to the interpretation of cultural beliefs and practices regarding education and the place of women in the society constitute the basis for discrimination of females in education. Some communities and parents hold a negative view of educated women. In Chad, some parents believe that education pushes girls to be prostitutes and unfaithful in marriage. (Bello et al., 1993). Some social customs like bride price, early marriage and initiation rites may have negative consequences for the schooling of girls. There is a strong belief that once girls get married they become a part of another family and therefore will not be able to help l 6 their parents financially. (Prouty, 1991). Initiation ceremonies are still important in some Sub- Saharan countries and in recent years research has shown that these ceremonies influence schooling outcomes for girls. In Malawi data indicates that initiation affects the girls school attendance as these initiations conflict with the school calendar. Initiated girls find it difficult to concentrate on their studies as they now feel that they are grown up ready for the next stage which is marriage. (Kapakasa, 1992). In Kenya though these initiation ceremonies are held during the school holidays, the process begins earlier and this leads to absenteeism. (Njau & Wamahiu, 1994; Wamahiu, 1994). Njau and Wamahiu (1994) show that there is an interrelationship between initiation ceremonies, bride price, early marriage and schooling. Pregnancy and Sexual Harassment Parents are afiaid that when the girls go to school they will forget the cultural values and indulge in pre-marital sex. Girls who are economically deprived are exploited sexually by the rich men in exchange for money. Also educational policies do not allow the continuation of pregnant girls in school or even permit their re-entry after the birth of the baby (Odaga & Heneveld, 1995). For older girls entering schools, their maturity makes them susceptible to sexual exploitation and pregnancy (Chege & Okumu, 1993). Incidents of violence against school girls, including sexual violence, serve to strengthen the parents fears about their daughters’ safety. (Wamahiu , 1994). l 7 Distance of Schools Research conducted in many African countries show a relationship between late entry of girls into school, frequent and prolonged absenteeism and drop-out. In Gambia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, the long distance to school is a deterrent to participation and achievement especially in the rural areas (Ilon 1990, Nangurai 1994, World Bank 1991). A study by Chege et al. (1994) revealed that the mode of transportation available to school girls in Nairobi revealed physical danger and sexual harassment. In study done in Rwanda, Nzamutuma (1992) found that the farther the students lived fi'orn the school, the more negatively their performance was afl'ected. Classroom Culture The school environment, teacher attitudes and pedagogy, and the gender bias in learning materials, all affect female performance and attainment in schools. In Kenya the government schools have better qualified teachers than Harambee (community) schools. The government schools also score better in national examinations than Harambee schools. A study in Kenya showed that with regard to persistence in school, dropout rates were found to be higher in rural areas, especially at the primary level. The study also suggested that the smaller the female population the higher the drop—out rate. (Ministry of Health! GTZ Support Unit 1988). The literature suggests that teachers’ attitudes, behavior and teaching practices have perhaps the most significant implications for female persistence and academic achievement. Evidence from Malawi, and Rwanda indicate that both male and female l 8 teachers believe that boys are academically superior to girls (Davison and Kanyuka 1992, Prouty 1991). In classroom observation in Kenya Malawi and Rwanda, teachers paid more attention to boys than to girls, or completely ignored the girls. Classroom observations and text-book analysis indicate a process of explicit and implicit gender typing and discrimination resulting in the internalization of poor self- image by girls (T chombe, 1994; Wamahiu, 1994; Obura,l991). The images girls face in school are powerful in shaping their perception of themselves. In her study, on Portrayal of girls in textbooks, Obura, (1991), states that the images that Kenyan textbooks portray are very powerful in shaping how the girls see themselves. However women and girls are almost invisible in textbooks. The other hindrance is the use of english as the language of instruction in schools while students use their native language at home. Though this is successful in helping learners acquire a command of the English language, it is insufficient to help students develop critical thinking and analytical skills (Johnson,l990). Eisemon (l 98 8), argues that school acquired literacy does not necessarily promote problem-solving skills if it is oriented towards preparing students to recall information for national examinations. In Kenya, a recent analysis of student performance in the primary and secondary promotion national examinations indicate that female achievement is lower than that of males except in languages. (Makau 1994). Summary Although impressive quantitative expansion has occurred, access to educational opportunities is still not evenly distributed between the gender and sharp differences in performances on the national examinations can be observed. Females have not been l 9 given opportunities to develop themselves to their firll potential. According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP, 1992) the mean years of schooling for females in Kenya was 1.3 years as compared to males of 3.2 years in 1990. In the 1979 and 1980, girls represented only 23.6 % of the total number of students in primary schools (Keino, 1985). According to statistics, Gachukia et al.(1995) in the Forum for Afiican Women Educationalists (F AWE) report at present females constitute nearly 50% of the children enrolled in standard one but only 34% complete standard eight as compared to 70% for boys (Gachukia, et a1. 1995). In the past women have not been encouraged to seek higher learning as their role is seen more as mother and wife. A female is supposed to learn from an early age what it means to be a "good” woman. This is defined as being hard working at home, at the farm, able to fetch water and be a good cook and most important of all be able to bear many children. (Wamahiu, 1994). Prouty (1991) in her study on women and education in Francophone central Africa, noted that some parents discourage their daughters from schooling, saying that education will influence their moral behaviors and their pre-arranged marriage. Most people believed that females should stay at home where they were sheltered by the older women, until they were ready to get married, then they would be sheltered by their husbands. Though this belief has changed, women do not seem to be given as many chances as the men in the area of education. Part of this could be because many women were led to believe that all they need is the "kitchen education". A number of women are now finding out that they need at least basic education to survive in the society. In Kenya and 20 Rwanda, a significant number of the mothers interviewed preferred to invest in girls’ education for a more secure family and old age support. (Davison 1993, Prouty 1991). According to UNDP (1992) the purpose of women's education is to enhance their role as contributors of economic and human development especially in developing countries. A case study of Gambia indicates that the level of women's literacy in Sub- Saharan Afiica helps economic and human development (Browne and Barret, 1991). Floro and Wolf (1990) show in their study that educating females ensures long term economic growth of developing countries. The socio-cultural and socio-economic factors that constrain girls’ education at the household and community level are closely interwoven. The literature shows that female education is lowest in the rural and marginal areas where there is poverty and where there are limited opportunities to generate income. (Odaga et al.,1995). The orientation of primary school instruction to national examinations has been the subject of much complaint in Kenya. The examinations have been criticized for favoring children in urban schools and for requiring recall of factual information and for contributing to the rigidity of instruction. At the primary level, the students spend several years preparing for the examination and this influences instruction. Because a national examination at standard eight determines whether a student will go to high school or not, it is important for students to be competent in studying texts. To be able to do this students need to use effective strategies as they read and study. 2 1 Statement of the Problem In Kenya, of all the girls who enroll in standard one, only 34% complete standard eight as compared to 70% for boys. (Gachukia et al., 1995). In 1990, in Kenya there were 2,626,000 girls in primary school and 2,766,300 boys. In secondary schools, the enrollment was 264,766 girls against 353,695 boys while the number of women at public universities was 5,806 against 15,031 men (Economic Survey, 1992). Due to the daily demands of farming activities, childcare and housework, rural women lack the time to obtain formal education and therefore their educational status in comparison with urban women is comparatively low. Approximately 30% of rural Kenyan males do not have a formal education, compared to 66% of rural females (Were & McAdoo, 1987). They report that in many cases, families continue to give boys preference over girls. The general performance of girls compared to boys is low in both primary and secondary schools and drop-out rates are also higher for girls. The dropout rate of girls in primary schools is al least three times higher than that of boys. For instance, between 1975 and 1984, the drop-out rate among girls in primary school was 26% compared to 7% among boys (Eshiwani, 1985). It has been shown that girls drop out at a higher rate than boys, and this multiplies their disadvantages. A recent survey in Baringo, Kenya showed a completion rate of 40% for girls and 75% for boys. In total, of the 417,425 girls who enrolled in 1984, 58.4% dropped out. GOK, Economic Survey, 1991). There are many factors that might lead to students dropping out including the inability to pay non-tuition fees: poor health; cultural practices; pregnancies and 22 marriages but there are no data indicating to what extent each factor contributes to drapout rates. A study done in Nairobi and Siaya, Kenya focused on the identification of causes of gender disparity, and the policies that have been effective or ineffective in closing the gender gap in education. Abagi and Wamahiu (1995) found that financial constraints were the single most important factor in the non-completion of school by children in the slum areas of Nairobi. (Out of the 64% of the respondents who dropped out 61% were females who dropped out because they were unable to pay tuition). They also found out that a higher percentage of girls were withdrawn fi'om school for child labor than boys were. Forty-two percent of parents interviewed preferred to give priority to boys if they did not have enough money for school expenses. This is due to traditional belief that men are the heads of the household and therefore must bring in the income. This study also found that 75% of matrilineal households sent their daughters to school compared to 64% of the patrilineal1 households. This study failed however to look at household factors that affect the girls participation in academic pursuits. Discriminatory practices in the educational system is the major cause of the low academic standards of women. For instance, basic text books depict men engaged in business and other high profile work while women are depicted as performing domestic chores (Obura,l991). Attir (1985) analyzed textbooks used in primary schools in Libya in the 19708 for representations of males and females. Among the illustrations that depicted teachers in 1 Matrilineal—tracing decent through the maternal line; the female as head of household. Patrilineal—tracing decent through the paternal line; the male as head of household. 23 the classroom, only 18% of the teachers were females in spite of the fact that 44% of primary school teachers during that period were females, hired from other countries. Only 10% of the names mentioned in the book were female. Primary schools are also affected by lack of text-books, and other teaching materials. This is especially difficult for females if they have to share a textbook for assignments to be done at home as they still have to do their usual chores at home. An evaluation completed in 1990 showed that text-books were at a short supply at the ratio of 7:1 (Education Sector Adjustment Credit, 1991). UNESCO, and the world leaders have committed themselves (March 1990, Thailand: World Conference on Education for All) to "universalizing access and promoting equity". Also there is a trend towards eliminating gender stereotypes in education (WEEFA/Declaration/Pro.9, March 1991). School enrollment and retention of girls in education is crucial if we will be able to address the problems of gender stereotypes. Females drop out of school in Sub-Saharan countries, due to lack of A textbooks and this caused them to fail the national examinations and therefore drop out of school (Mungai, 1994). Various micro and macro level factors combine to produce achievement in education. While the students intelligence is important it alone cannot guarantee success within the education system. External forces from family, school, community and educational policy influence each other and together determine educational achievement and non- achievement. Some students move easily through school achieving academic success, good grades, admission to high school and eventually go to college. Others stumble year after year, repeating classes, developing negative images of themselves and eventually fail the 24 national examination. These low achievers are the unfortunate victims of either their genes, cultural bias or social and economic backgrounds. School success is explained in terms of Intelligence Quotient "IQ" and students' background, but there are other factors that influence students' achievement: 0 The student's self-irnage of herself or himself as a successful learner. o The student's motivation to learn. 0 The student's ability to manage certain key competencies necessary for school learning. Though teachers have no control over family and social class they can teach study skills that will enable students to take control of their own learning. It is important that teachers deal with each student as an individual and work with the student to remedy the student's weak areas. Most teachers do not teach students to control their own learning by using good study skills. This is partly due to the nature of the national examination which demands a lot of recall of facts. Therefore the students are taught to memorize facts and not to critically think through issues. Students need to be taught how to think and how to motivate themselves to learn (Weinstein & Mayer, 1985). Because there is a great emphasis on the national examination in the Kenyan system of education, students need to be taught and encouraged to use study skills to study for these examinations. Researchers have recently focused on promoting cognitive skills that facilitate students' transitions from elementary school to the more complex and high school environment (Ganz & Ganz, 1990; Garner, 1987). On the other hand the National Examinations 2 5 deters teachers from concentrating on these issues, as they struggle to drill their students to be able to regurgitate the materials taught. Purpose of the Study Traditional beliefs and ways of life especially in the rural areas where people have not changed their traditional ways affect the educational of the females where they are forced to conform to the traditional beliefs and at the same time achieve in western education. This study was designed to examine two issues: the role played by two family factors (financial capital, and social capital) in influencing the study habits and achievement of female students. The researcher sought to discover how much the study habits and achievement depend on financial, social human capital and social roles of the family. Specifically, the study looked into factors that help or disrupt the study habits of female students and therefore influencing their success or failure in school. Secondly the study was designed to examine the study strategies of high and low achievers to determine if the high achievers would differ in the quality of their information processing fiom the low achievers. The results of the study will be used to pioneer an effort to inform parents, educational policy makers, teachers and government authorities concerning the important role of the traditional beliefs and practices on the family and the effect these practices have on the success of the or failure female education. The results will also be used to show the effect the socio-economic status of the family has on study habits of the females. 26 Definition of Terms Financial capital is defined as wealth, which can be broken down further into property such as livestock and land that the parents own. Also this category is defined by parents' education and occupation as this provides good facilities for study. Social capital and social role is defined as the relationship between parents and their female children. Or relationship between children in the family and this includes those chores that the females are required to do after school for example fetch water, or milk the cows etc. Study Habit is defined as a process which facilitates performance of a task (in this case studying). Achievement is defined as the level of academic performance with performance being evaluated using examination results and classroom progress as the yardstick. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND CONCEPTUAL FRANIEWORK Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework adopted for this study derives from two theories. The first theory adapted for this study emphasizes the importance of environmental factors in influencing children's achievement. Siegel (1 98 8) provided a conceptual fi'amework that includes social and cultural concepts needed for studies of family background. In his model, the quality of mother-child interactions, with some help from the father, is seen as the primary influence on a child's development of academic competence though the school and the cultural norms also play an important role. In this model the mother is seen as the key figure though it acknowledges the support of the extended family network and other institutions especially the school, church institution and cultural norms. The relationships and linkages of this model are shown in the chart in Figure 2.1. A theoretical strategy for looking at the environmental variables that affect a student's achievement was developed by Coleman (1987; 1988). Coleman suggested that the family background can be separated into three components: human capital, social capital and financial capital. Human capital is measured by parents' education, occupation, and educational support e.g. a home library, a good place to study. Social capital refers to the relationship between children and their parents and maybe other members of the family; 27 2 8 financial capital is measured by the family's wealth or income: this is the source of physical resources that can aid achievement. Nuclear Family and its Interaction Figure 2.1: The nuclear family and its environment. Adapted fiom commentary by Sigel (1988) As can be seen in the above model the nuclear family is the core and it has its own interactions but there is a lot of influence fiom the extended family and the society at large. The society is also fully immersed in its cultural beliefs and practices. Since the mid 19603, research on family background and student achievement has resulted in many controversial findings, especially in developing countries. In a study done by Heyneman (1976) in Uganda, he suggested that family background played an small role in student 2 9 achievement compared to the effect school quality bad. This was contrary to some studies done in developed countries, where the student’s socio-economic background has in most western countries been demonstrated to have more impact on academic achievement than qualitative variations in the instruction the student receive. Research in the developing countries showed that school quality had a much greater influence on academic achievement than factors in the home and family environment. (Heyneman 1975; 1979; Heyneman and Loylex 1983).Many researches in 19808 in developing countries found that family background played an important role in achievement. Each of these previous researchers examined variables related to student achievement under the three factors mentioned above namely, social, human and financial capital. But no researcher has yet looked at how these factors affect the student's study habits and how the study habits affect achievement. In this study, the researcher examined the effects of family characteristics on study habits and achievement of female students in primary schools in Muranga district, Kenya. The second theoretical framework that the researcher used adopted for this study relates to the importance of good study skills to higher achievement. Pressley et a1. (1989) provide a model for good information processing. This model specifies the characteristics of competent thinkers. Good information processors use strategies for academic tasks, and know how and when to use them. Some of the study strategies observed would be: summarizing an article, the ability to generate a strategy for studying, distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information, take notes, underline, among others. Developmental research on text processing indicates a general progressive pattern of children's comprehension and learning skills. From the age of ten years, young 3 0 students are sensitive to higher order component of text structure and to adapt their reading accordingly (Brown and Day, 1983; Lorch et.al.,1987 Taylor, 1980; Taylor and Samuels, 1983; Wong and Wong,1986). As the students grow older they are able to pick out what is important in the information (Brown et. al.,1983). Differences have been observed in the way good and poor readers comprehend and learn expository text in the study by Wong and Wong (1986). The students' comprehension of the passage was also examined. The aim was to see individual differences in the quality of text-processing strategies. Children's cognitive development in the early school years is marked by an increasing sophistication in the use of comprehension and learning strategies. By the fourth grade the children should be able to select the main ideas and to retain the essential information effectively for later recall. Readers from the fifth to seventh grade read short, structurally organized and disorganized descriptive texts both with easy and difiicult vocabulary. The above average readers are most sensitive to the organization of text while learning-disabled children are more sensitive to vocabulary difficulties. In addition to vocabulary and background knowledge limit and influence the unskilled readers' comprehension. Unskilled readers have also been reported to be unskilled in their use of meta-cognitive strategies. Raphael, (1981) reported that the poor readers had greater difficulty when compared to skilled readers, judging passage difficulty and predicting performance level on a comprehension test. Poor readers have been found to use correct monitoring less fiequently, to use few strategies for monitoring and to be less aware of negative influences of lack of strategies for their reading comprehension (Paris and Myers, 1981). Unskilled readers also differ from skilled readers in the area of 3 1 decoding. They have been reported to have deficiencies in both the amount and the use of available background knowledge and scheme building processes. Like younger children, however, greater differences are noted by their failure to use comprehensive monitoring strategies. However, in most developing countries where national examinations are seen as the only way to assess a student's achievement, teachers encourage students to memorize facts without critically thinking through them. Study habits and good study skills are important for high achievement. The researcher examined the different ways different female students took control of their own learning in nine primary schools in Muranga district. The researcher also examined how these females were affected by financial capital and social capital in their study habits. Review of the Literature Very little research has been done to compare study strategies of successful and unsuccessful students in primary schools in Kenya. In a study conducted in the United States and other countries Holloway et a1. (1990) found that in the United States and Japan that family background influences the achievement of any student but a mothers’ education influence is greater in their child’s achievement. The researchers did not however look at classroom issues. There is much literature on the effect of family factors, school factors parental support on student achievement, in developed countries but there has been a lack of consensus on the role played by family factors in underdeveloped countries. It is estimated that over 26 million African girls, mostly in rural areas are out of school either 32 as school dropouts or having never enrolled in school. According to a report from UNESCO/UNICEF, (1993) the above figure is expected to increase to 36 million by the year 2000. While there has been considerable improvement in the education of girls, the gender gap has not altered significantly, and in many developing countries, it has widened. According to UNESCO's most recent estimates, the gap between school going and school age population has widened in Sub-Saharan Africa (Sohoni, 1990 and UNICEF, 1990:23). Despite constitutional mandates and laws in most countries guaranteeing universal primary education, more than 100 million children in the world are without access to primary education and out of this number, 60 million are females. In developing countries, about 60% of girls ages 5-19 are not in school. According to the 1993, Population Action International the adult illiteracy rate for women reaches 72% in developing countries. Absenteeism and drop - out rates in the developing world are higher for girls than boys. It is estimated that in the developing countries, up to three fourths of school going age children not attending school are girls (Sohoni, 1990 and UNICEF,1990:23). Of the 960 million illiterate adults in the world, 640 million are women who either dropped out or never had the opportunity to go to school. In Afiica and South Asia, four out of five women over 25 years of age have never had any schooling at all (Sivard, 1985:19-20). The content of what women study, however, has not changed. Women in most countries study 'sofi' disciplines such as languages and cultures. This choice of 'soft' subjects afi‘ects women as learners and as teachers. According to data by from 96 countries Sivard (1985) women form a majority of teaching staff at the primary level but their number decreases as the educational level rises. There is also an over-representation 3 3 of women teachers in the soft disciplines such as languages, cultural attitudes and history and an under-representation in math and science. These differences are clearly a result of stereotypes of gender roles that prevent women fiom aspiring for equality with men. Inevitably, they serve as poor role models for the future generations of females who fall into the same trap. In Japan, for example, 75% of all students in literature, arts, home economics and teacher training were women. This genderized pattern of the choice of areas of study is common to the world. In both the developed and developing countries, the proportion of men studying engineering and medicine was twice that of women (Sivard,1985:21). Females constitute between 52-55% of population in most Afiican countries (Bowman and Anderson, 1980). The enrollment statistics in Afiica show an over- representation of males in education especially at tertiary levels of education. This situation is made worse by the large number of females that drop out of school, and the number who do not go at all (I-Ierz, et a1, 1991). Between 1986 and 1989, girls primary school enrolhnent trailed that of boys by 20%. According to the 1990 World Conference on Education for All and World Summit for Children in Sub-Saharan Africa, women's share of the illiterate population in Sub-Sahara Africa increased from 60.3% in 1980 to an estimated 61.7% in 1995. According to a world survey conducted by UNDP (1992) on women in developing countries, two thirds of women over the age of 25 have never been to school. The male- female gaps have increased by half in the past 20-30 years. Females receive on average only half the higher (high school or university) education of males. The dropout rate innong males is lower than among females. (Dorsey 1989, Hyde 1994). Male students 3 4 perform significantly higher on examinations than females in the Primary School examination. Researchers and theorists propose some reasons for this situation. Research has shown that teachers tend to motivate boys to work harder than they do girls. Dorsey (1 98 8) in a study done in Zimbabwe writes about inequalities in the education of females in relation to the countries' development, and also the teaching methods in the schools seem to favor males. Females are not motivated to aim high because of low cultural expectations that stress that a woman's place is in the kitchen. Dorsey (1988) adds that schools normally operate according to the beliefs and practices of the society. If the society oppresses one group, the school tends to do the same though in a more subtle way. Reading Comprehension Instruction Research on classroom instruction indicate a trend of traditional approaches like teacher domination of classroom interaction, recitation, strict teacher control of students' encounters with print, over reliance on text books, and teachers' emphasis on factual textual information (Cohen, 1988; Cuban, 1984, 1990; Alverrnann and Moore, 1991). This contradicts research findings on teaching for understanding, student empowerment, fostering of critical thinking and problem-solving skills in students. In a now rather classic study Durkin (1981), found that elementary school teachers focused more on comprehension assessment rather than direct instruction. She also noted that almost all the teachers’ questions were an attempt to learn whether the children had comprehended a given selection. This left her wondering whether comprehension skills were fostered through practicing answering comprehension questions or through direct instruction. 3 5 Study Skills in Reading Comprehension A good information processor uses strategies for academic tasks. One knows when and how to use the strategies as they read, write, think and solve problems, Pressley et al.(1989). The use of these strategies shows one to have the characteristics of a competent thinker. Kuethe (1968) puts it very well when he says: A student who develops efficient study methods has in a true sense earned how to learn. He has not changed his innate capacity for learning but rather discovered how to get the maximum mileage out of what ability he has. The student thus becomes more efficient at mastering academic content because has learned, to employ mnemonic aids, and to follow study with he has learned to concentrate, to organize the material he review and self-testing. Such a person has learned to learn in an effective manner that which he intends to learn. (Page 50) Udziela (1996), examined whether sixth grade students taught formal study skills would obtain higher reading achievement than those who were not taught. In this study results showed that teaching students study skills has no effect on their academic achievement. This agrees with Kuethe (1968) who said that a student has to develop their own study skills. Study skills can be broken into ten or more skill areas including: study habits, time management, test taking skills, lecture note-takin , reading comprehension, vocabulary, test anxiety, textbook reading, reading speed, and memory (Udziela, 1996). Gordon (1994), explains in his study that the study strategy concept is composed of three-factor-structure: a personality factor of personal values and feelings; a cognitive skills factor and behaviors and techniques factor concerned with the use of study skills. Studying is another form of reading which requires attentive and thoughtful examination of the text. Loulou (1995), in her book stresses that good study habits correspond to doing well on tests and earning good grades. A good student reads 36 assignments, listens and takes good notes and regularly reviews the notes; plans review time and constantly reviews their notes and creates tools to help them study. Study skills help a student to acquire, record, organize, synthesize, remember and use information which he or she learns in school (Devine 1981). Brown, Campione, and Day (1981) identified three interacting variables that affect learning fiom text and are related to study strategies such as summarizing, note-taking, outlining. In studying a learner is expected to perform a cognitive task to gain knowledge or skill. For a learner to be successful, they must be aware of the strategies to use and learn to use them to study (Armbruster, Echols, & Brown, 1983). Besides the above strategies, Georgiady et al. (1994) adds that besides the study strategies students and parents should select a place for studying that is quiet, well-lit, comfortable and has access to adequate supplies and reference materials. On the other hand Loranger (1994), in examining the study strategies of successful and unsuccessful learners found the successful learners active, purposeful, and flexible in their strategy use.. Kawakami et al. (1995) in a study in'Hawaai found that collaborative efforts by schools, parents and the community encouraged strong study habits in students. Study strategies have been identified as the key in learning how to learn (Marshak, 1979) In the past learners were seen by some educators as passive participants (Norman, 1980) but now effective learners are seen as active learners who use strategies to control their own learning (Weinstein, Butterfield, Schmidt, & Polythress, 1982). Effective teachers should therefore teach the students how to think and to take charge of their own learning, (Weinstein & Mayer, 1985). Marx, Winne, and Walsh (1985) conclude that the successful student is able to adjust their studying strategies and are able to control their 3 7 own learning. Studies conducted by several researchers (Anderson & Arrnbruster, 1984; Baker and Brown, 1984; Devine, 1987; Pressley, Goodchild, Fleet, Zajchowski, & Evans, 1989) Show the importance of study strategies such as note-taking, underlining, outlining, summarizing and question generating. Effective learners are active and use strategies to fit their needs and goals (Weinstein, Butterfield, Schmidt, and Poythress, 1982). Instruction in the Classroom in Kenya There is a current emphasis in literacy instruction in helping students to develop the ability to use higher order thinking skills. This is an area that is lacking in most teaching skills in Kenyan schools. The social-cultural perspective argues that the ways in which people come to know the world is an inherently social process. Knowledge is socially constructed and passed on through the use of language (written or read). Bakhtin (1978) describes the conversation of mankind that has been passed on through history as "Polyphony of Voices". Individuals carry with them their experiences, which can be seen as their voices. . Instruction in primary education has been viewed by some educators as an additive, linear process. In this view students are supposed to learn specific sub-skills before moving on to higher order of thinking. This kind of view led to assessments, instruction and curriculum that was geared towards learning specific sub-skills. The use of task analysis which tries to reduce tasks for the student tends to focus on deficit which the teacher should try to fix. 3 8 The important skills that girls learn from a primary education besides literacy and numeracy are essential survival skills. Klineberg (1973), in Tunisia, and Callaway (1986), in Nigeria, found that one of the important impacts of primary education for females was increased contact out of home and they found social reinforcement for their aspirations out of their home. The formal education influenced how the women saw themselves. Education can widen a woman's perspective on her life and can enable her to question traditional beliefs and this would in turn give her a sense of self-confidence and control (Smock,198 1). In Kenya, the primary school curriculum is demanding especially for standard seven students who have one more year before they take the national examination. Studies by Schwille et al.(1991) on primary schooling in Kenya and Burundi found that in rural areas some classrooms lack books and other resources so teachers present materials orally. With this kind of constraint students are not taught to take charge of their own learning. Effects of Family and School Factors on Achievement There is much literature on the effect of family factors and school factors on student achievement. Most researches suggest that school factors and family factors play a positive role in a student's achievement but there is a lack of consensus on the role played by family factors in developing countries. Research conducted in the Third World countries in the 19703 suggested that socio economic status and academic achievement were unrelated. Children from wealthy families did not perform better than poor ones. This finding was supported in studies 3 9 cited by Heyneman (1980, 1979), which were conducted in Uganda; Zimbabwe; Ghana; Papua; New Guinea; and India More recent literature since 1980 Show that the methods used in the earlier researches were not adequate. One criticism stems from the fact that; the idea of a social class was not developed in most countries until after independence. The following literature indicate parental involvement affects the children's academic performance. In a study conducted in Peru, Barber (1988) found that parents of high achieving children helped them do school work. Lanzas (1988) found in his study that relatives could influence positively the students’ achievement. In his study he looked at secondary school students who stayed with educated relatives and he found that these students achieved higher in English than those who did not stay with educated relatives. In his study on "Family Background and Student Achievement in Kenya" Maundu (1 98 8) found that socio-economic factors such as parental education and occupation reinforced by school factors, such as teaching and learning resources were important in determining a student's achievement. The idea of parental influence was also supported by Campbell and Mandel (1990) in their study on “Connecting Math Achievement to Parental Influence” in the United States. In this study the researchers examined how ethnicity (Asian and Caucasian American) directly influenced parenting, which in turn affected student achievement. Parental influence included such variables as parental pressure, parental support, parental help, press for intellectual development, and time management. These authors found that Asian-American parents provided moderate levels of pressure, help, and monitoring, which enhanced achievement. On the other hand, for the Americans, the parental factors that led to achievement were low levels of pressure, help, and monitoring but higher levels of psychological support and help. Chen, (1988), 4 0 compared American and Chinese students, and found that Chinese cultural values and more parental involvement in their children’s homework than their American counterparts helped explain the superior performance of Chinese children in cross- national comparisons of mathematics achievement. In the context of parental involvement, Epstein (198 8) used data from teachers, parents, and students in the United States to explore the correlates of homework activities and the effects of homework on elementary school students’ achievement and behavior in school. She examined six variables namely: homework time, homework appropriateness, student attitudes, teacher practices regarding parental involvement in learning activities at home, parent abilities and resources and other student background variables. Epstein (1988) found that, achievement was associated with more time spent on doing homework, more minutes of parental help, and more frequent requests from teachers for parental involvement. Lockheed et al. (1988) in a study done in Malawi found a negative correlation between chores done at home after school, such as carrying water or cooking negatively influence the student's achievement. The productive burden shouldered by the girl continues to be a gray area. Current yardstick to measure labor are inadequate and inequitable and do not show the real life situation of women and girls. Studies of hours spent on domestic chores in Afiica and Asia (Acharya and Bennet 1979) show that the female child, in fact, bears a heavier burden of both household activities and care of siblings than the male child. The data showed that girls aged 10-14 put in 7 or more hours of labor per day in house hold production and domestic work. This data concurs with the prevailing domestic labor distribution in Kenya. A survey conducted by the government of Kenya in 1991 showed that the trend of the distribution of hours of labor among males 41 and females in domestic chores does not change even at adult level as the data shows in Table 2.1. The particular benefit that could be derived fiorn educating women is demonstrated by various studies. The mother's education improves the nutritional and health status of children and of the family. Each added year of schooling for a mother results in a 5%-10% decrease in mortality among her children. The children's regularity of attendance at primary school as well as their aspirations to more education is influenced by the mother's literacy and level of education (F loro, et al. 1990). Until recently, most studies that relate education to economic development failed to address the gender issue, especially in the Third World countries. Girls and women play a significant Table 2.1: Average Hours Spent in Domestic Chores by the Working Population. Average hours Age group Male Female 8-14 1.7 6.3 15-19 1 .4 1 1.3 20-24 1.6 18.7 25-29 2.1 21.6 30-34 2.3 19.7 35-39 1.6 20.4 40-49 1.8 18.8 50-54 2.2 18.0 55-59 2.0 16.8 60-64 2.1 17.5 65-69 1.8 17.7 70+ 2.7 14.0 Total 1.8 14.1 Source: GOK, MPND (CBS), Economic Survey: 1991 :1 75 4 2 role in the economic spheres besides their traditional roles of child bearing and home production. Women and girls participate in trade, marketing, farming and various types of self-employment. There is evidence that girls' education is positively correlated with economic well-being of a country. King (1990) in his study showed a link between women's education and social and economic development. Psacharopoulos (1989) presents other evidence in his study on social rates of return to education investment approach. His findings indicate that the rates of return are higher on girls' education than on boys. The above trend presents a powerful argument for increasing girls' access to primary education. There is virtually no disagreement among social scientists that family life plays a critical role in educational and social development. The disagreement concerns the specific family attributes considered most influential. A study by Blau and Duncan (1967), on the American occupation structure made racial and social class comparisons and concluded that a man's family of origin can be a benefit or a handicap. The authors argue that the unskilled and semi-skilled parents with low educational attainment and inferior career experiences provide a low quality of family experiences which tend to limit the skill development and life chances of their sons. Yet Blau and Duncan (1967) do not attempt to analyze how the . total family environment and functions to exert such an influence on educational lives of its school-age members. Unfortunately, none of these studies analyzes the total form and substance of family life. Rather, they tend to focus on surface status characteristics (such as parent's occupation, education, family size, material wealth) or certain home dynamics while ignoring the framework of psychological orientations and activity patterns that represent family interpersonal experience. This study looks at the traditional practices and 4 3 how they affect the study habits of the females and the researcher also looks at how study skills affect the study habits. Though the females are taught the same way as the boys they have no time to practice their study skills when they go home because of the many chores they are expected to do at home after school. The traditional beliefs also expect the girls to focus more on being future wives and mothers and as such no much attention is given to their doing well in school. The massive Coleman (1988) study, for example, used objective and subjective variables to represent family background and neighborhood life or community ratio of intact families. Some of the variables he studied were: whether the family was urban; number of siblings; median occupational status of the father; parents' educational experience; parents' interest in child's school experiences; parents' expectations for child's success in school; and number of reading items in the home and other home items. The home items category concerned the presence of specific items in the home, including a television set, automobile, vacuum cleaner, refrigerator, telephone, and record player. Taken together, these variables fall far short of capturing either family or community input for a number of reasons: (1) they refer to surface compositional properties of the family and ignore the internal structural and cultural patterns of the household, and (2) they say virtually nothing about how these surface variables reflect or shape behavior in the daily lives of the family members. Jencks (1972) using some of Coleman's (1988) data claims that genes, economic background, race, and data taken from studies comparing identical twins reared together and apart gives an estimate of the influence of "family background" on children's scores. 4 4 Like the Coleman's (1988) report, the Jencks (1972) study measures surface compositional variables used to represent family environment. Sewell (1968) in a study that produced "the Wisconsin model of family socialization" set out to look at parent's attitudes and values but failed to look at internal structures and dynamics of home life at all. None of the three major researches presents the entire set of home characteristics which tells how home dynamics frmction to affect children's cognitive and behavioral reaction to school. Summary Since the early 19605, increasing the supply of schools and teachers has dominated the educational development of agendas of most developing countries. Research on family background and student achievement has resulted in many controversial findings, especially in developing countries. Many of the researchers in the 19805 found that family background played an important role in student achievement. Unfortunately these researchers did not look at traditional practices and their effect on student achievement. In this study, the researcher examined the effect of family on student achievement in primary schools in Kenya The researcher also examined and compared the study habits and strategies between the low and high achievers. The main objective was to determine whether social capital, human capital and financial capital had an effect on student achievement and study habits. The researcher also sought to determine whether low and high achievers used the same study strategies to read. 45 SOCIO-ECONOMIC 1. Direct cot of schooling 2. Child labor 3. Good facilities for study GIRLS’ EDUCATION SCHOOL SOCIO-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT 1 Initiation 1. Distance from school 2, Religion 2. Teachers’ attitude 3, Parents’ perception 3. Text books and curricula about schooling 4. Girls’ expulsion purposes 5. Repetition . Marriage Figure 2.2: Flow chart summary of factors that affect girls’ education. CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY AND INSTRUMENTATION Introduction In this chapter, the sampling procedures are described first. Then the statistical hypothesis of the study are identified. Finally the data-collection instruments and procedures are discussed. Sampling Procedures This study was limited to the 182 female standard seven students in nine schools in Muranga district. In choosing standard seven the researcher was trying to control for untrained teachers who are usually given the lower classes to teach. The teachers who teach standard seven had been trained as teachers in the teachers colleges in Kenya. These students had one more year before they wrote the final national examination ’which determines their entrance to high school. The criteria for selection and categorization of high and low achievers was done on the basis of teacher recommendations and grades achieved in the previous one year. Of the 182 students five were randomly selected for the interviews. 46 47 Selection of Schools Nine primary schools in Muranga districts were randomly selected for the study. These schools are similar in that they are situated in rural areas where most people are peasants. These schools are owned by the government and they are not as well equipped as urban schools in terms of books, physical facilities and trained teachers. All the schools are "day school" where students commute everyday from home to school. These co-education schools adequately represent rural schools. The sample included high achievers and low achievers. These were determined by teacher made tests throughout the year. Research Hypotheses Statistical methods and descriptive procedures were employed in this study to test the hypotheses set forth in this study. Research question 1 and 2 were analyzed using the logic regression model. The two research questions and corresponding hypotheses were as follows: Research Question 1: Do study habits have an independent and significant effect on student achievement (notably, when one controls for financial and social capital). Research Question 2: To what extent does financial and social capital affect the study habits and achievement of the students. Hypothesis 1: There is no difference between study habits of girls from high or low socio-economic status. Hypothesis 2: There is a negative relationship between family size and student achievement. 48 Hypothesis 3: 3.1 There is no difference between study habits of girls whose mothers are educated or have little or no education. 3.2 There is no difference between study habits of girls whose fathers are educated or have little or no education. Hypothesis 4: There is negative relationship between possession of books and study habits. Hwothesis 5: There is a negative relationship between time spent on chores and student achievement. Hypothesis 6: Students who had good study facilities performed significantly higher than those who did not. Development of the Instrument In the development of the questionnaire the researcher was inspired by information from the literature, especially from developing countries, and adapted all information in the context of Kenya. The researcher chose an article from a text book that is used in standard seven in Kenya primary schools to teach the history of the country. The article chosen, “Pre-colonial Trade" taken from Wegulo and Ondieki (1987), was appropriate for standard seven as determined by the Fry Readability Formula. The article consisted of 500 words and was on pre-colonial trade and colonial trade. A questionnaire (see Appendix) was used to solicit views and opinions of students on study skills. The questionnaire items were developed by the researcher to address issues of study habits. The items covered by the questionnaire included the following issues: recall of main ideas, time management, chores in the family, social economic status, help in study, books and equipment and place of study. A pilot study was done in two schools that 49 were not in the study sample (one in rural and one in an urban area of Muranga District). The pilot study was conducted to check the validity of the questionnaire. Data Collection Procedures Before proceeding with the data collection parents of children selected were asked to indicate their willingness to have their daughters participate in the study (see Appendix). The questionnaires were personally delivered by research assistants to the sampled rural schools in Muranga district. Most of the data were collected by research assistants who traveled to the schools and in two schools they were administered by the teachers. The data was collected between September and November 1995 final two sources: 0 Information on student achievement was collected fiom school records to show their scores for one year. (Sixth grade). 0 Information on family background and study habits was collected from seventh- grade female students, using a questionnaire administered by the research assistants. On average it took one and half hours to complete the questionnaire. The following statistical methodology was used for the two research questions: Research Question 1: Do study habits have an independent and significant effect on student achievement (notably, when one controls for financial and social capital). Reseirgh Question 2: To what extent does financial and social capital affect the study habits and achievement of the students. Logit regression, frequency counting, bivariate cross-tabulations and chi-squares analysis were used for the six hypotheses. The predictors were: study skills and socio- economic factor, chores done in family while the outcome was achievement of the 50 student. The students were given a comprehension passage to read and summarize and the summary of the article in the questionnaire was rated for completeness depending on the number of ideas. A summary was considered as complete if the participants had eight or more main ideas. A participant with seven or six main points was considered average. And below five was considered low. All these was coded to enable proper quantitative analyses. Participants were also asked about the skills they used to read the passage. The students were rated on whether they used study skills or not. These scores were used to identify differences between high and low achievers. The family property was used to determine between different socio-economic groups. And the chores that the participants did at home was used to determine whether it affected their study habits. The education of the parents was used to determine if there was a correlation between study habits and education of the parents. Having text books or not was used to determine the effect this had on study habits. Facilities represented by lighting was used to determine if this affected the study habits of the participants and the number of siblings was used to see the effect of study habits. All measures were scored by the researcher. As a check for reliability of scoring, 50 % of the questionnaires were scored by an independent rater. Inter-rater reliability was determined using the Pearson product moment correlation. All tests of significance were made at the p<0.05 level of significance. Pilot Study A pilot study was conducted by the researcher in March 1995 to collect data on a survey instrument designed for the purpose of measuring students study habits. Because 5 1 this instrument was developed by the researcher, the primary focus of the pilot study was to validate the reliability of the instrument. In order to conduct this pilot study, the researcher randomly selected 20 female students from two primary schools in Nairobi. These students were all in standard seven and were therefore preparing for the national examination the following year 1996. The students were high, average and below average achievers as shown by their test scores from the teachers' records. The selection of participants were made in cooperation with the school principals and teachers. Prior to conducting the pilot survey, the researcher assistant verbally instructed the participants on how to select responses to the statements and on the survey and that only one response was required. The participants were further informed that their participation was voluntary and they were not obligated to complete the survey. In addition, the participants were informed that they could withdraw from the study at any time without consequences. Despite the range of abilities among the participants in this pilot study, all participants were able to answer the questions about their study habits. The researcher found that the questions were easily understood by the participants and they provide the answers that the researcher was expecting. Based on these findings from the pilot study and the efforts of the participants to provide accurate responses, the decision was made to proceed with this instrument as a valid measure of student study habits and how they affect achievement. 52 Interviews Personal interviews were considered an appropriate means of gaining an in depth understanding of the participants' views and opinions about a given issue and the researcher had an opportunity to probe or reword the questions to make sure that the participants understood the questions and there was good communication. Interview as a research method, agrees with the constructivist perspective in that the researcher and the interviewee have the freedom to express their views and perspectives on the issues at hand. In this study the interviews were considered an appropriate means to better insight in the participants opinions and views of study habits. The major objectives of the interview were to provide an opportunity to probe the issues raised by the questionnaires and on which the hypotheses were based. The researcher then conceived interview questions around three themes covered in the questionnaires. The interview questions were as follows: 0 What do you think the author ’s purpose was in writing this article? 0 Did you have a specific plan when answering comprehension questions? 0 How do you know what is important in a comprehension passage? 0 What skills do you use that help you stuay better? 0 What things in school and at home would help you be successfitl? 0 Do you consider yourself to be a successful student? 5 3 From the above questions the researcher developed the following are three themes: Theme 1: Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information. Theme 2: Give a perspective of what it means to be a successful student. Theme 3: Generate a clear system to study the material. Five students from a random sample of five of the nine schools were interviewed personally and the interview tape recorded. The interview session lasted between 30 and 40 minutes. The actual time was determined by the time available to the student, depending on what chores they had for the day. The student was interviewed in English and Kikuyu. The two languages were used to make sure that the student understood the questions. A suitable place was identified where the researcher could talk with the student, but usually in the sitting room. Though there were interruptions and some distractions the interviews were successful. When the researcher met with the student she tried to put them at ease by talking about general subjects. Usually the researcher had to introduce herself to the parents and get their permission to interview the student. All the parents were very cooperative. At the beginning of the interview the researcher always explained how she wanted to conduct the interview. She expressed a desire to use a tape recorder on the interview to the her attention from writing notes and to make sure she did not miss any of the responses. The interviewees were assured of confidentiality and they were told that the tapes were given numbers that matched their questionnaires and only the researcher could identify who they were. The interviewees were told that at any time if they felt uncomfortable they could ask the audio-tape to be turned off. 54 During the interview the researcher gave the students their questionnaire and asked them to look particularly at the passage. She asked them if they needed any clarification on the questionnaire and none of them asked any questions. The interviews went very well though the students were a bit nervous and when asked why they were nervous, all of them said that they have never been audio-taped before. Summary This chapter has provided a rationale and narrative description of the design and methodological procedures used to collect data for this study. A variety of instruments were used to collect data which addressed the research objectives and questions guiding this study. The main research instruments used for data collection was a questionnaire administered to 182 students in standard seven in nine different schools in Muranga district. Interviews were conducted with five students. The purpose of using interviews was to get in-depth information about the students opinions concerning study habits. The method of investigation used was to conduct a comparative analysis of the standard seven females students (high and low achievers) in their study habits. The main research hypothesis that the researcher investigated was whether students who have good study habits will demonstrate higher academic achievement. Other issues that the researcher investigated were the effects of social, and financial effects on academic achievement. 55 In chapter IV, the researcher discusses how the two family background factors that are likely to influence student study habits (financial, social roles) were conceptually defined and measured. CHAPTER IV DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS Introduction The last chapter gave a description of the research design and its rationale. This chapter presents the analysis procedures and the data collected through the questionnaires, and the personal interviews. The chapter is divided into two sections. In the first section, the researcher explains how major indicators of social, financial and study habits were measured. In the second section, the researcher discusses how financial, social roles and study skills affect the student achievement. In the following discussion, variable names are indicated in capital letters in parentheses. Missing data were coded as “-99” and are also indicated in the results. Questionnaire data were entered into the SPSS and LIMDEP statistical computer packages for analysis of frequencies, percentages, cross-tabulations, chi-square tables and Logit regression analysis. Patterns emerging from the study of the above were noted for comparison with data collected through interviews. Interview data, collected through audio-tapes, were transcribed and organized around the three main themes (social, financial and study habits) covered by the questionnaires. The researcher developed a key for interpreting the responses to each question and then the responses were converted to frequencies. 56 5 7 The purpose of the study was to examine the study habits among low and high achievers and how they are influenced by social and financial capital. More specifically, the study sought to determine whether or not the social and financial capital status of students and their families affect their study habits and therefore affecting their academic achievement. The study also examined the study strategies of successful and unsuccessful learners to determine if successful learners would differ in the quality of their information processing from unsuccessful learners. In this study the literature review and conceptual framework were focused on social, financial and study habits as factors that are likely to influence student achievement. The analysis proceeded through four stages in order to explain the social, financial and study habits as factors that contribute to the student achievement and look at their variations within the sample. The first step in the analysis centered on a simplified list of family and study habits variables that can affect the student's achievement and the distribution of these variables in the sample. Second, cross tabulations and Chi-squareswere done to show those variables that relate to one another and which were significant in relation to the null hypotheses. The Chi-square was used to test the hypothesis and compare the probability (P value) value to determine the unlikelihood of the observed value if the null hypothesis is true. The frequencies and the Chi-square results are shown in the tables following each section analyzed and discussed. A logit regression analysis was done on variables within each of the three factors on various measures of student achievement. The objective of this study was to examine the efl'ect of these variables, as a set of social, financial and study habits on student achievement. In this area the researcher’s goal was to determine whether social, financial and study habits affect achievement. 58 The researcher used four approaches to estimate the relationship between the variables: Frequency counting. Cross tabulation tables. Chi-square tables. Logit regression analysis The above procedures were used to examine the effect of these variables on the students' achievement. Data Analysis The data analysis for each of the three indicators of social, financial and study habits were examined separately and the results of frequencies, cross tabulations, Chi- squares and logit regression presented in tabular form with discussion of each results. Indicators of Social Capital It is important to note that the three components reflect Coleman's (1987,1988) model Of the three forms of social capital, namely relationship between children and their parents; relationship between children; and relationship with other family members. Parents concern with their children's study habit and the help they give them and the number of siblings fit into this component. This is an indicator of the role played by parents to help the student achieve higher in school and is consistent with social capital expectations. Six indicators of social capital are shown in Table 4.1. Variables in this set of indicators include the type of chores done after school (CHORE), child discussing school 5 9 problems with parents and getting help from them (HELPI), the age of the students which affects the type of chores they do (AGE), the number of sibling (SIB), the school (IDSCH) and the school location (IDLOC). These variables measure family obligations, networking between parents and children, and the school community and how they shape the achievement of the students. As indicated in Table 4.1 the variables of chores done after school (CHORE), child getting help from parents (HELPl), the age of students (AGE), the number of siblings (SIB), the school (IDSCH), and the school location (IDLOC) were subscales of other individual variables. Chores that the students do after school (CHORE) was a subscale of three variables related to house work done after school, (which includes cooking, house chores, baby-sitting) and farm work which includes feed livestock, fetching firewood and cultivating the farms. Getting help from parents (HELPl) was a sub-scale of six variables which included, parents tutoring, buying books, allowing time to study, allowing use of light, and giving food. Age (AGE) was a sub-scale of nine variables which were the age of students and it ranged from 10 years to 19 years. The older age (over 14 years) categories include those that have been retained in a class once or twice. The number of siblings (SIB) was the number of sibling the students had and this had a sub-scale of 12 variables each of which was the number of siblings. The schools (IDSCH) were a sub-scale of nine variables which included the nine schools in the sample. Finally the location of the school (IDLOC) was a sub-scale of seven variables, including seven different locations where the schools were situated. 6 O (a) Chores Done by Students After School (CHORE) From the total sample of 182 students the figures reported by the teachers show that more than 75% were low achievers while 25% were high achievers (Table 4.2 and Figure 4.1). The various chore levels for which the data was obtained included housework, farm-work or both. The respective proportion of the students for each level was 26.4%, 12.1% and 56.6% (T able 4.3). This result shows that there are more students that do higher level of chores (both housework and farm-work) than house work and farm work separately. Table 4.1 Categories of Social Capital Variables Variables (Indicators of Social Capital) Sub-scales of Variables Chores l. House-work 2. F arm-work 3. Both of the above Help 1 1. Parents’ Tutoring 2. Buying Books 3. Allow Time To Study 4. Allow Use of Light 5. Give Food Age of Student Between 10 to 19 years Siblings The Nmnber of Siblings (Between 2 and 12) ID School - Nine Schools ID Location Administrative Location of the School (7 Locations) 6 1 Table 4.2 Frequency distribution of achievement Value Label Value Frequency Percent Non-Achiever 0 138 75.8 Achiever 1 44 24.2 Total 182 100 TN not PM Figure 4.1, bar chart showing frequency distribution of achievement. A cross-tabulation was run on Chores and Achievement. The results of the cross- tabulation indicated that for each level of chores that the students were involved in, there were more than 60% students that were categorized as low achievers (Table 4.4 and Figure 4:3). proportions in each level of chores were: 81.3% (housework), 63.6% (farm- work) and 77.7% (both types of work). Less than 40% of the students involved in any 62 level of chores were categorized as high achievers and the proportion in each category was 18.8% (housework), 22.3% (both chores) and about 36.4% (farm-work). The chi- square procedure shows that the probability of obtaining the distribution of observed values is very high (0.256; p>0.05). The chi-square distribution observed can be expected at the level of 2.5 for every 1000. This shows that one cannot reject the null hypothesis from the data obtained. The null hypothesis stating that “There is a negative relationship between the time spent on chores and student achievement ” was therefore not rejected because there appears that the time spent on chores has a significant effect on achievement. Help Students Get From Parents (HELPl) Most students live with their parents and only 7% of the parents were reported to have given the students time to study. Thirty-four percent indicated that they would like to get help with their homework from their parents. Thirty-one percent indicated that they would like their parents to buy books for them while 22% would like the parents to provide lighting. A cross-tabulation was run on Chores and Achievement. The results of the cross- tabulation indicated that for each level of chores that the students were involved in, there were more than 60% students that were categorized as low achievers (Table 4.3 and Figure 4:3). Only 2% indicated that they would like their parents to hire a tutor to help them in their studies. Another 2% indicated that they would like food to help them study. Missing data comprised 3% of the total respondents as shown in Table 4.5. and Figure 4:4. 63 Table 4.3 Frequency distribution of chores Value Label Value Frequency Percent Housework 0 48 26.4 Both 1 103 56.6 Farm-work 2 22 12.1 Missing Data -99 9 4.9 Total 182 100 ”new.” Figure 4.2 Graph of chores done by students after school. Table 4.4 Cross Tabulation of Chores By Achievement Value Label Value House-work Both Farm-work Non-achiever 0 39 (81.3%) 80 (77.7%) 14(63.6%) Achiever 1 9 (18.8%) 23 (22.3%) 8 (36.4%) Total 48 (27.7%) 103 (59.5%) 22 (12.74%) 64 Adlai- sauna-air u in iii-i. Clioresdoneaflerschool Figure 4.3, graph of the distribution of chores and achievement. Table 4.5 The response distribution for help. Variable Response Buy Books 56 (31%) Provide Light ism—22%) Help with homework 62 (34%) Give time to study 11 ("7%) Pay a tutor 4 (52%) Tood 4 ('2'7.) Not reported W) ‘Tfid 182 (100%) 65 aqua-a mum-uni h“ D! ant-ab” new Hummm Figure 4.4 The distribution of response for help Age of the Students (AGE) Concerning the age of the students, there was a great discrepancy and range (10 and 19 years) which could be due to students being retained in classes. The age level for students at standard seven should be thirteen years of age and at the most fourteen years. Only 21% of the students were at age-level but there were 10% that were below the age- level. Sixty-three percent were above the age-level as shown in Table 4.6 and Figure 4:5. Table 4.6 Frequency distribution of age of students Variable Response Below age-level 18 (10%) At age-level 38 (21%) Above age-level 115 (63%) No response 11 (6%) 66 ‘hom‘ Figure 4.5 Graph of the frequency distribution of age of students. Number of Siblings (SIB) About 80% of the students had more than two siblings. This could be an asset or not in terms of chores depending on whether one was the older or younger. If one has older siblings the society expects the older children to do more chores unless the older one is a boy. It is the older female that is expected to perform most chores at home. The data obtained on the number of siblings per family indicated that there were no families with less than three children. The data also shows that the probability of students coming from families of more than three children had a higher probability of being in the category of low achievers. It was also observed from the data that the more siblings per family the lower the rate of achievement as indicated in Table 4.7 and Figure 4:6. A cross-tabulation with Chi-square was conducted for family size and achievement the Chi- square value of 16.6685 was obtained at a P value of 0.20690. Since this value is greater than the 5% significant level value, the null hypothesis could not be rejected. Therefore, the null hypothesis stating that “There is a negative relationship between family size and 67 student achievement ” was not rejected. From the statistical procedure of cross tabulation one can conclude that the more the number of siblings a student has the less the support from their parents based on the response about the need for parental support in doing homework. Table 4.7 Cross tabulation of achievement by number of siblings Number of Siblings Value Label Value 0 l 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 l 11 12 Total Non-achiever 0 4 5 17 15 18 15 21 24 6 4 (5) 3 l 138 Achiever l 0 0 7 12 5 6 6 3 3 2 0 0 0 44 Total 4 5 24 27 23 21 27 27 9 6 5 3 l 182 813 ’° I o - 1 - 2 - a . - 4 s I . pail; .fiii - o “t I It! '0 ii I .. 1:"; "hr ‘- '2 Figure 4.6, graph of achievement by number of siblings. 68 Summary ‘ Concerning the chores done at home after school, 26% of the students did housework after school, and 57% did both housework and farm-work after school and only 12% did farm-work only. These findings indicate that the girls were expected to do chores after school and this took time from their study time. F iffy-seven percent of the girls were expected to do both the house work and the farm-work. Concerning getting help from parents (HELP 1) 34% indicated that they would get help from parents if they got more time to study and 31% indicated that they would like to get books to study. Twenty-two percent said they needed lighting, 7% needed time to study, and 2% indicated a need for food. Two reasons why these students needed time to study was probably related to the chores that they did at home after school. Indicators of Financial Capital Unlike the industrialized nations, financial capital data is not precise because in most families there is no set regular income. As a result of this difficulty researchers have used other approaches to measure family wealth. Some approaches that have been used are: chores, family possessions, nutrition and home ownership (Lockheed, 1988; Niles, 1981). As shown in Table 4.8 financial capital was defined in terms of land owned (ACRES), father's education (F EDUC), father's job (F JOB), mother's education (MOMEDUC), mother's job (MOMJOB), whether students had textbooks (NTEXT), lighting in the house (LIGHT), and livestock owned.(PROPERTY). Examining each variable gave a sense of the overall wealth status of the respondent’s family. 6 9 Table 4.8 Indicators of Financial Capital Variables (Indicators of Financial Capital) Sub-scales of Variables ACRES Number of Acres of Land NTEXT Number of Text Books FEDUC Father’s Education MEDUC Mother’s Education FJOB Father’s Job MJOB Mother’s Job LIGHT The Lighting in the House PROPERTY Livestock and Land Land Owned (ACRES) Land ownership is an important measure of the socio-economic status and wealth in Kenya. It is a significant variable which is a determinant of the level of wealth of a family and was defined as land owned (ACRES) variable. The data analysis showed that about 10% of the respondents’ family owned no land, 26% had only one acre, 52% had two acres and 12% had three acres (Table 4.9 and Figure 4:7). This indicates that most of the respondents’ family had only small parcels of land and are therefore subsistence farmers with little or no capacity for commercial farm production. 70 Table 4.9 Frequency distribution of the land ownership Std.Dev-.8l Meln= 1.7 N- 180.00 Acres Figure 4.7 Graph of frequency distribution of land ownership (acres) 7 1 Parents’ Education and Jobs (FEDUC, MEDUC, FJOB, MJOB) Although most of the students’ parents are not well to do, it appears that they value education despite the fact that most of the parents did not have college education. Only 9% of the fathers had a degree as compared to 2% of the mothers. Among the fathers 12% had no education, and 31% had a high school diploma. Among the mothers 6% had no education while 47% had a primary education and only 24% had a high school diploma. This shows how the women are lagging way behind the men in higher education. It was also noticed that 29% of the fathers worked in government offices while 28% were farmers and 15% were self employed in various trades generally known as "Jua Kali" or informal trades and crafts done in the open air. Only 11% of the respondents fathers were in the teaching profession. As Table 4.10 and Figures 8 and 9 shows it was also noted that among the mothers 18% were employed in government offices while 10% had their own "Jua Kali" businesses and 54% worked in their farms growing subsistence crops for home use and selling any extra for cash. This shows that most women do not have professional jobs and therefore the female students do not have role models to follow. Again this shows that the African females still are burdened with homemaking and subsistence farming as opposed to aspiring for professional careers. Lighting (LIGHT) The amount or level of lighting in the homes has a bearing on the ability for students to do their homework and study after school. The data on lighting (LIGHT) indicated that only 23% had access to electricity in their homes (T able 4.11 and Figure 10). Fifty- seven percent (57%) used kerosene lamps and 13% used pressure lamps while 5% used 7 2 firewood light. This indicates the financial burdens that the parents of the respondents have because it is only the well to do parents that can afford to install good lighting facilities (electricity) in their homes. The Chi-square analysis showed that the probability of obtaining the distribution of the observed values (Table 4.12) is very high (0.385; P>0.05). This shows that one cannot reject the null hypothesis from the data analyzed. The null hypothesis stating that: “Students who have good study facilities (LIGHT) performed significantly higher than those who did not ” was therefore not rejected because it appears that the students who had good lighting facilities are higher achievers. This further confirmed the hypothesis that the socio-economic status of a family has a direct bearing on the achievement of students because the facilities (like lighting) are enabling factors for good studying environment. With good studying environment students would be able to put to use the information that they require in school. 73 Table 4.10 Frequency distributions of parents education and jobs Response Response Variable Code FEDUC MEDUC Variable Code r1013 MJOB None 1 6(3.3%) 10(5.5%) Teacher 1 20(11%) 22(12.l%) primary 2 57 85 Civil 2 52 (28.6%) 32 (17.6%) (31.3%) (46.7%) Servant High School 3 51 (28%) 43 “Mimi" 3 29 (15.9%) 18 (9.9%) (23.6%) College 4 31 (17%) 37 Farmer 4 51 (28.0%) 98 (53.8%) Diploma (20.3%) Degree 5 16(8.8%) 3(1.6%) Other 5 140.7%) 3(1.6%) Missing -99 21 4 (2.2%) Missing -99 16 (8.8%) 9 (4.9%) (11.5%) 100 ml ”1 Frequency Figure 4.8 Graph of frequency distribution of mother’s education win-7 We median hidradiool WW “I 74 Frequency 8 ml me prim hidl Idool Gillan diploma m Father's education Figure 4.9 Graph of frequency distribution of father’s education Table 4.11 Frequency distribution of lighting (LIGHT). 7 5 Table 4.12 Cross tabulation of lighting by achievement Lighting Level Figure 4.10 Pie chart of distribution of lighting 7 6 Text Books (NTEXT) Preparation for the national examinations makes it imperative for students to own personal text books as study guides in addition to the notes from classes. The success or failure rate can depend on whether the student had sufficient materials in addition to having study skills. The data on this variable of text books indicated that 77.5% of the students did not have enough text books and only 19.8% said that they had enough textbooks as shown in Table 4.13 and figure 4:11 below. Further analysis on text books shown in section 2.3 (Table 4.18) showed that the more text books a student has the better the study habits. Table 4.13 Frequency distribution of text books availability. Variable Code Response Has Text Books Yes 1 36 (19.8%) Has No Text Books No 2 141 (77.5%) Missing -99 5 (2.7%) 77 “0| Tml loot "Ilium Figure 4.11 Graph of frequency distribution of text books availability Property Owned (PROPERTY) Concerning the property that the parents own (PROPERTY) the data analysis showed that 23% had neither land nor livestock, 32% had both land and livestock and 31% had land while 14% had only livestock as shown in Table 4.14. Though this is not a perfect measure of how much the parents had it is an indicator of their social economic status to some extent. Kenya is an agricultural country and its people value land and livestock. So a parent that has both is far better ofl than one that does not. Livestock has been used as a source of liquid capital in the event of financial hardship especially when there is need for meeting school costs. Families with livestock have therefore a better security for emergencies than those without. There were some families that had livestock (37.7%) though they had no land. Lack of land ownership does not preclude livestock 7 8 ownership as they can keep animals on rented property through zero grazing. This further underlines the importance of livestock as a source of income. Table 4.14 Frequency distribution of property Response Variable Code Frequency Percentage (%) Neither 0 42 23.1 Land/Livestock 1 59 32.4 Land 2 56 30.8 Livestock 3 25 37.7 A cross tabulation of study habits by property indicated that the majority of respondents considered study habits important despite their socio-economic status (Table 4.15). Over 50% in each category of ownership of property consider study habits important. Past literature indicates that the students fiom high socio-economic status measured by the family’s wealth or income according to research findings in the USA tend to be high achievers (Coleman, 1988). The findings from these data show otherwise. Also Maundu (1988) found that socio-economic factors such as parents’ education and occupation reinforced by school factors determine a student’s achievement. However, these researchers used parents education and occupation as the socio-economic factors whereas the data from this research used property as the socio-economic factors. The 7 9 data show that parents education (and more importantly father’s education) had a more significant effect on student’s achievement than socio-economic status. This is another departure from past literature which argues that mother’s education has a greater influence on student’s achievement. The Chi-square analysis had a value of 4.257 at a P value of 0.23494. Table 4.15 Cross tabulation of study skills by property. Study Skills Ownership of Property Not Important Important Total None 31 (73.8%) 11 (26.2%) 42 (23.1%) Land and Livestock 38 (64.4%) 21 (53.6%) 59 (32.4%) Land 31 (55.4%) 25 (44.6%) 56 (30.8%) Livestock 18 (72.0%) 7 (26.0%) 25 (14.7%) Totals 118 (64.8%) 64 (35.2%) 182 (100.0%) Summary In summary, the findings indicated that the majority of the population lived in poverty with no electricity and could not afford to buy books for their children. Since the level of lighting in the homes is an important factor for implementation of good study habits, the findings from the data show that there is need for improvement. The data available from other sources confirm this need. The Kenya Poverty Assessment report by the World Bank (1995) indicates that less than 4.0% of the top 20% of the rural 8 0 population use electricity as their light sources while 0% of the bottom 40% use electricity as their lighting source. On the other hand kerosene seems to be the main source for both top 20% (90%) and bottom 40% (92%) of the anal population. Only 7.3% of the bottom 40% use firewood as the source of lighting and none at the top 20% of the rural population. The average rural household of Kenya depend on land for subsistence. Eighty percent of Kenya’s population and 90% of the poor live in the rural areas. According to the same source (World Bank, 1995), the average size of land holdings declined from 2.0 ha in 1982 to 1.6 ha in 1992. The percentage of households with little or no land increased. Indicators of Study Habits There were a total twenty four study skill techniques tested from the reading of a passage as well as the study skills they have been using to study. Variables in this set were hours spent studying, and whether the student thought that the following study skills were important and whether they used them: The skills tested through the reading of the passage included: 1. Summary of article (TRADEI) 2. Predict questions (TRADEZ) 3. Generate a plan (TRADE3) 4. Notes on the article (TRADE4) 5. Underline (TRADES) 8 1 Other study skills that were examined were: 1. Use of table of contents (CONT) 11. Not understanding reading (RERE) 2. Use of diagrams (DIAG) 12. Skimming through text books (SKIM) 3. Exam techniques (EXAMD) 13. Imagination of story (STORY) 4. Distinguish fact from opinion (FACT) 14. Plan of study (STUDYZ) 5. Hours spent on homework (HOURS) 15. Predict questions (TEST) 6. Reading instructions (IN STRUCT) 16. Does the title tell anything (TITLE) 7. Making notes (NOTES) 17. Not understanding a topic (TOPIC) 8. Place of Study (STUDYI) 18. Visual aids (VISU) 9. Daily reading of notes (READI) 19. Difficult words (V OCABULARY) 1 0. Reading notes/text books (READ2) WWW Figure 4.12 Graph of frequency of the importance of study habits. Looking at the above figure (Figure 4:12) It is clear that many of the female students did not think that study habits were important to achieve in school. My suspicion is that may of them were not sure how to plan and manage their study time or what study habits were important for success. With regard to study habits 76% believed that study habits were not important while only 24% thought they were important. One dilemma Ill-L 8 2 that arises out of this is whether the students know what study habits are or whether the teachers are teaching study skills in the classrooms. For the analysis of relationships between the study skills and parents education, cross-tabulations with Chi-square analysis procedures were performed for the mother’s and father’s education by study habits. The results of the Chi-square procedure shows that the possibility of obtaining the observed values for father’s education (Table 4.19) is very high while the possibility of obtaining the observed values for mother’s education (Table 4.18 and Figure 4.13) is low. The Chi- square for mother’s education was 0.597 (P>0.05) and for father’s education was 0.054 (P>0.10). The results showed that mother’s education has no significant effect on study habits while father’s education has significant effect on study habits. This shows that one cannot reject the null hypothesis with the information obtained. The first part of the two- part null hypothesis stating that: “There is no difference between study habits of girls whose mothers are educated or have little or no education " was therefore not rejected. On the other hand the second-part of the null hypothesis stating that: “There is no dlflerence between stuay habits of girls whose fathers are educated or have little or no education” was therefore not rejected because it appears that the father’s education has a significant effect on study habits. To firrther check on these results a cross-tabulation of fathers’ education and chores and mothers’ education and chores were run and it was found that the more educated the parents the less the chores their daughters had (see Tables 4.16 and 4.17 below). 83 Table 4.16: Frequency of chores and fathers’ education Chores None Primary High school College College Missing school Diploma Degree House work 1 14 12 6 6 9 Both 4 39 32 12 7 9 Farm-work l 3 6 8 2 2 Total 6 56 50 26 15 20 Table 4.17: Frequency of chores by mothers’ education Chores None Primary High school College College Missin school Diploma Degree g House-work 25 5 16 2 Both 10 55 28 5 1 4 Farm-work 5 7 10 Total 10 85 40 31 3 4 The issue of the possession of text books was analyzed with the study skills and found that the results of the Chi-square showed that the probability of obtaining the distribution of the observed values (Table 4.18 and Figure 4.13) is very high (0.0857 for P>0.05). This result shows that one cannot reject the null hypothesis from the data obtained. Therefore, the null hypothesis stating that: “There is a positive relationship between 84 possession of books and study habits” was not rejected because it appears that possession of books has a significant effect on study habits. Table 4.18: Cross tabulation of study habits by mother’s education Study Habits Mother’s Education Not Important Important Total None 6 (60%) 4 (40%) 10 (5.5%) Primary 58 (68.2%) 27 (31.8%) 85 (46.7%) High School 25 (58.1%) 18 (41.9%) 43 (23.6%) College Diploma 23 (62.2%) 14 (37.8%) 37 (20.3%) Degree 2 (66.7%) 1 (33.3%) 3 (1.6%) No response 4 (100.0%) 0 (0%) 4 (2.2%) Total 118 (64.8%) 64 (35.2%) 182 (100.0%) 85 .uI-lm- .i-lm-I Figure 4.13 Graph of study habits by mother’s education Table 4.19: Cross tabulation of study habits by father’s education. Study Habits Father’s Education Not Important Important Total None 2 (1.7%) 4 (6.3%) 6 (3.3%) Primary 41 (34.7%) 16 (25.0%) 57 (31.3%) High School 36 (30.5%) 15 (23.4%) 51 (28.0%) College Diploma 18 (15.3%) 13 (20.3%) 31 (17.0%) Degree 6 (5.1%) 10 (15.6%) 16 (8.8%) No response 15 (12.7%) 6 (9.4%) 21 (11.5%) Total 118 (64.8%) 64 (35.2%) 182 (100.0%) 86 MM .IrhcnI-I Failure m Figure 4.14 Graph of study habits by father’s education Table 4.20 Cross tabulation of possession of books and study habits. Study Habits Text Books Possession Not Important Important Total No Text Books 96 (68.1%) 45 (31.9%) 141 (79.7%) Has Text Books 19 (52.8%) 17 (47.2%) 36 (20.3%) Total 115 (65.0%) 62 (35.0%) 177 (100.0%) Summary of Article Students were asked to summarize the article and write at least 10 main ideas fiom the article. It was found that only 6% of the students were able to write eight or nine main 87 ideas from the article while 55.5% wrote between five to one ideas. And 38.4% wrote between six to seven ideas. Table 4:21: Frequency of summary of article. No. of Frequency Percent main Ideas 1 3 1 .6 2 7 3.8 3 9 4.9 4 29 15.9 5 53 29.1 6 45 24.7 7 25 13.7 8 9 4.9 9 2 1.1 Total 182 100 Indicators of Achievement Regression analysis is ofien used to identify factors, referred to as independent variables or regressors, that explain the variability of a specific variable which is referred to as the dependent variable or regressand. However, in regular regression, the regressand is a continuous variable. In this study, ACHIEVE, the variable measure for achievement, is a dichotomous qualitative variable. Therefore, the standard linear or nonlinear regression is inappropriate because the limited range of the regressand, modeled as ONE or ZERO in binary cases, may result in poor estimation of the magnitude of the effects of the regressors, especially when an ordinary least square (OLS) procedure is used. Since the values of the regressand are not normally distributed, no method that is linear in the 88 regressand will be efficientz. The coefficients of regression in such a model have limited interpretation and use and the requirement of homoskedasticity (in OLS) is violated. Thus, all standard statistical inferences imputed on the outcome are invalid. To overcome this problem, there are numerous qualitative response techniques used to model the relationship between a discrete regressand and a set of continuous and, or, discrete regressors. These models ensure that the regressand is predicted within a unit interval (0,1). The general form of these models is formulated by relating the probability of an event, Y, occurring conditional on a vector, X, of explanatory variables or regressors, through a cumulative density function F, with the primary interest being on the response probabilities or conditional probabilities: 130937017 =P(Y =1/117 =p(Y =1/x1. x2.-~Xk)= F (Xifl) where i =1, 2,...k and ,6 is a vector of coefficients. For a continuous regressor, xi, interest is in its partial effect on the response probability, that being: (Ma/202m 5x,- 5x,- When multiplied by )x,, this equation yields the approximate change in p(Y=1/)O when xi increases by )xi, holding all the other regressors fixed for small )x,). For most of these models, whether a variable xi is continuous or discrete, its partial effect on p(X) generally depends on the value of all x,- 's. 1°¢said to be an efficient estimator of ac if it is unbiased. In other words, if the mean of its sampling distribution is CQual tOcC.’ and it I'm the smallest variance among all possible estimators. 8 9 The logit regression model is one of the qualitative response models considered useful for this type of estimation. It follows a standard logistic distribution. There are numerous types of logit models. This study used a binomial logit regression model because of the nature of the regressand which is binomial, taking the value of “1" for “high” achievement and “0" for “low” achievement. The choice of the particular specification of the model was also imposed by the computer sofiwares used, LIMDEP exam/’0 I + expw'IO p(Y=1/)O= and SPSS, and are derived fi'om a model proposed by Chamberlain (1980): The [3’s are estimated using a Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method. Unlike the OLS standard regression which chooses the 13’s to minimize the sum of square errors, or the difference between the observed and predicted regressand values, the MLE selects the 8’s which maximize the probability of obtaining the observed regressand values. Thus, for specific values of the regressand, ACHIEVE, the corresponding value of p is the probability for the event “high achievement” occurring. Therefore, the coefficients (B’s) on vector X, the regressors, can be meaningfully used in the model to predict the likelihood of the event occurring. Each estimated 8 reflect the effect of a unit change of a particular regressor, xi, on the probability of the event to occur, ceteris paribus. However, these coefficients are difficult to interpret, unlike the OLS-derived coefficients, since the magnitude of the increase in probability of the event to occur depends on the initial probability determined by individual values of 90 all the regressors and their coefficients. However, the marginal effects of the individual regressors can be assessed using the equation 1.1 (above). These marginal effects correspond to changes in the probability of becoming a “high” achiever, given a unit change in the respective X characteristic. The computer software LIMDEP was used to generate both the B-coefficients and the marginal effects, 5’s. It is important to note that in this model, as is for the other qualitative response models, the sign, the magnitude and the statistical significance of the 8’s need not necessarily be similar to those of the 8’s (Green, 1993). Model Specification and Variable Choice A student’s achievement in school is affected and influenced by various personal and family characteristics most of which are social, economic or locational in nature. The variable ACHIEVE was used to measure whether a student is likely to have a “hi ” or a “low” achievement. The hypothesis tested was that this likelihood was affected by: (1) the age of the student; (2) the education level of the parents; (3) the economic status of the family; (4) the social environment of the household; (5) the intensity of study of the student. These attributes were estimated and measured by various variables. ACHIEVE was used as a measure of performance or achievements and, therefore, was the regressand. AGE was used to measure the age of the student in years. The coefficient on AGE was expected to be negative because older students tend to be those that have repeated classes due to poor performance in the past. MEDUC and FEDUC were measurements of the level of education attained by both parents, the mother and father, 9 1 respectively. The signs on these were expected to be positive because of the hypothesis that educate parents would positively influence the performance of the student. LAND, measured as the amount of land in acres owned by the student family, was used as a measure of the economic welfare of the family. Land is an important asset and measure of economic status in Kenya. It was envisaged that a student whose family owned more land was likely to perform better because of better access to resources needed while in school. Therefore, the sign on LAND was expected to be positive. SIB, the number of siblings, and CHORE, the non-educational extra-curricular activities the student was involved in, were used to model the social environment affecting the student’s academic performance. Both of these were expected to have negative influence on performance and, thus, have negative signs on their coefficients. HOURS and STUDYSK were indicators of the student’s intensity of study. HOURS was measured as the average number of hours available per day to the student for private studies. The sign on its coefficient was expected to be positive because, controlling for everything else, when one studies longer the performance tends to be better. STUDYSK was a compound measure of study skills. The higher these were the better was the expected performance or achievement. Therefore, the coefficient on it was expected to be positive. Regression Analysis Results A logit model was used to determine the relationship between the regressand, ACHIEVE, which assumed the value of 1 for “high” achievement and 0 for “low” achievement, and the regressors discussed above. The results are presented in Table 4.19. The coefficients on all the variables had the expected signs. 92 Table 4.19 Cross tabulation of possession of books and study habits. Study Habits Text Books Possession Not Important Important Total No Text Books 96 (68.1%) 45 (31.9%) 141 (79.7%) Has Text Books 19 (52.8%) 17 (47.2%) 36 (20.3%) Total 115 (65.0%) 62 (35.0%) 177 (100.0%) However, the coefficients on AGE, MEDUC, F EDUC, CHORE and STUDYSK were not significant. In contrast, the coefficients on LAND, SIB, and HOURS were all significant at 1% level. The results indicate that a student’s academic performance or achievement is positively influenced by the education level of both the parents, the family’s economic status and the intensity of study by the student, and negatively influenced by the age of the student, if beyond the class mean age, and adverse social environment of the student as measured here by involvement in non-educational activities at home after school. A larger sibling size also impacts negatively on performance, probably due to lack of adequate attention to the student, taking care of younger siblings or lack of an enabling environment for studies at home. Analysis of Personal Interviews The researcher conducted personal interviews with a sample of five respondents as a follow-up of the questionnaire relating the interviews to the article “Pre-colonial Trade” (W egulo and Ondiek, 1987) that was presented in the questionnaire. 93 Personal interviews were considered as an appropriate measure of an in depth understanding of the students’ views and opinions about the issues of the study habits. A total of six questions that focused on students perspective about main ideas, study skills and being a successful student were used for this assessment. The interview questions relating to the above themes were asked in a very direct manner and probes were used by the researcher to make sure that the respondents addressed the central issue (see appendix XXX for interview questions) Question Number 1 The first interview question was “what do you think the author ’s purpose was in writing this article”. This question was set to see if students could identify themes or main ideas from the article. It was a major assumption of this study that students who express as many sound points or explanations as possible were more cognizant of the existence of other perspectives about the issue under discussion than students who limited themselves to one point or explanation. The findings show that 100% of the students interviewed thought that the author’s purpose for writing this article was to help them pass the national examination. This clearly shows the drive the national examinations has on the learning of these students. Question Number 2 The second question was “Do you have a specific plan when answering comprehension questions?” In answering this question all the respondents indicated that 9 4 they had a plan but none of them could explain the plan. The researcher made an assumption that these students did not have a plan or did not know how to make one. Question Number 3 The third question was “How do you brow what is important in a comprehension passage?’ All the students interviewed could not answer this question. This implies that the students are not taught reading comprehension skills. Question Number 4 The fourth question was “What skills do you use that help you study better? ” Seventy-five percent of the students said that listening to the teacher would help them study better and only 25% said that they would study on their own by reading books. Again not one of them mentioned the study skills that they would use to help them study better. It is apparent that the students have no strategic skills to enable them to study well. Question Number 5 The fifth question was “Do you consider yourself to be a successful student”. Twenty five said that if they study hard and pass the national examination then they would consider themselves as successful students. Fifty percent said that if they got a good job then they would consider themselves as being successful, and 25% said that they were successful because they worked hard. 9 5 Question Number 6 The last question was “What things in school and at home would help you be successfiil?” Seventy-five percent responded that getting books would help them to be successful students. They also mentioned that a good environment would be helpful in making them succeed. When asked what they meant by a good environment, they said that their classrooms were not in good physical conditions and the rooms were dark. They suggested that may be larger windows might be helpful and also the classroom floors were not in good conditions. When probed about home environment, they said electricity would help them study better. Twenty-five percent said that they would do better if the parents gave them time to study. CHAPTER V SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summary of Findings This study was guided by the following research questions: (1) Do study habits have an independent and significant effect on student achievement (notably, when one controls for financial and social capital). (2) To what extent does financial and social capital afi‘ect the study habits and achievement of the students. From the above questions six hypotheses were drawn: Hypothesis 1: There is no difference between study habits of girls from high or low socio-economic status. Hypothesis 2: There is a negative relationship between family size and student achievement. Hypothesis 3: 3.1 There is no difference between study habits of girls whose mothers are educated or have little or no education. 3.2 There is no difference between study habits of girls whose fathers are educated or have little or no education. Hypothesis 4: There is negative relationship between possession of books and study habits. Hypothesis 5: There is a negative relationship between time spent on chores and student achievement. Hypothesis 6: Students who had good study facilities performed significantly higher than those who did not. 96 9 7 The study was conceived on the assumption that the study habits of females students are affected by social and cultural beliefs and practices of the people and also the financial capital of each family. It was also the assumption of the study that females from higher social economic families with educated parents were better at study habits than those from low social economic families with uneducated families. It was a central assumption of this study that the roles the females played at home after school affected their study habits. Good information processors are able to attend to relevant parts of a text to determine the author’s purpose. Experienced readers are able to detect an author’s purpose by attending to within the text cues whereas poor readers are not. (Weinstein and Mayer, (1985). This study established one interpretation of the results that there might be weaknesses in the teachers’ preparations of the students to formulate good study skills particularly with respect to reading comprehension. Study habits were found to be significantly affected by the father’s education level more than the mother’s education. This is probably because fathers who, are educated would employ house help and therefore the girls would have more time to study. Also the traditional beliefs that a woman’s place is in the kitchen are not held highly by educated males. This was shown. in the cross-tabulation of chores and father’s education, which showed that the more education the fathers had the less the number of females who did chores after school. This trend was also seen when mothers’ education was cross-tabulated with chores, the more education the mothers’ had the less the number of chores the females got. Lack of text books had a significant negative effect on study habits. On the other hand socio- 9 8 economic status had no effect on the study habits. With achievement as an outcome, it was found that the number of siblings significantly affected the students, the time spent on chores and the lack of good study facilities (lighting). This could be the fact that females are supposed to take care of the younger siblings and the more siblings one has the more the chores. Lack of good study facilities would affect the students study habits and therefore the achievement. Good lighting facilities are important for effective studying. So when a student has to use firewood or even paraffin lamps they can not study for very long because it strains their eyes. The research also revealed that the age of the student had a negative significant effect on achievement this could be due to the fact that students who are low achievers are asked to repeat classes. Specifically the research findings on each of the six hypotheses are provided are summarized below: Hymthesis Findings 1. There is no difference between study Study habits are not affected by SES. habits of girls fiom high or low socio- economic status (SES). 2. There is a negative relationship The student achievement is affected negatively family size and student achievement. by the number of siblings. 3.1 There is no difference between The mother’s education did not have a study habits of girls whose mothers significant effect on study habits when are educated or have little or no analyzed separately from parents education. education. 3.2 There is no dtfl'erence between The father’s education had more significant study habits of girls whose fathers effect on the girls’ study habits when analyzed are educated or have little or no separately from parents education. education. 99 4. There is a negative relationship Lack of text books had a negative effect on between lack of text books and study habits. study habits. 5. There is a negative relationship Students who spent more time on chores between time spent on chores and both farm work and house-work were student achievement. rated as low-achievers. 6. Students who had good study Good study facilities affected the study habits facilities perform significantly of the students. higher than those who did not. Summary A lot of research has been done recently on female education and how it affects the family, economic returns, labor force participation and increased child health (Psacharopoulos 1985: Blumberg 1989; Floro and Wolf 1990: King 1990). Despite the special programs and pilot projects going on more educational resources are allocated to males. This study looked at socio-cultural and socio-economic factors that constrain girls education at the household level in the rural area. Specifically how study habits of low and high achievers are affected by socio-cultural and socio-economic factors. The study was an attempt to determine how standard seven females are affected in their study habits by the chores they do after school and how the education of the parents and the financial status of the family affect their study habits. Important information related to the effect of two family factors, financial capital and social roles on student achievement and study habits, within the Kenyan context was revealed. The researcher had difficulties in measuring financial capital as most of the ’ parents did not have regular jobs but depended on land and livestock. Other parents had 100 their own small businesses or trades. Student achievement was also dependent on teacher made tests which were not standardized. Getting textbooks seems to be the biggest inhibition to the success of these females. One of the problems the Kenya Education system faced after making education accessible to all students of school going age was shortage of teaching and learning materials. In this regard textbooks supply is a challenge to most rural schools. In many schools only the teacher has a copy of the book being read and the students have to listen to what is being said. Research findings consistently show that text books greatly determine the curriculum most students experience during their formal schooling days. This is so because most students greatly rely on textbooks for their instructional goals and content. The results showed that social and financial capital had an independent and significant effect on student achievement and study habits. Previous research by Coleman (1987), had already indicated this in the case of financial capital. The findings of this study not only indicated financial capital had a significant effect on student achievement, but also, social roles that the females do after school had an effect on study habits and student achievement. This is consistent with Coleman’s (1987) position that better results on student achievement nright be obtained if the parents financial capital is high. Unlike what most research studies say about mother’s education and its effect on the achievement, this study found that fathers who were educated had more significant effect on their daughter’s study habits than those fathers’ who had little or no education. This finding is inconsistent with other research that indicate that mother’s education has a greater impact on female education. This could be because educated fathers did not adhere to the 1 0 l cultural beliefs about gender roles and therefore did not expect their daughters to perform all the cultural roles and chores expected of females. Probably these girls had more study time as a result of this. Girls who had more siblings had poorer study habits and were poor achievers and this could be due to lack of financial support to buy books. Also some these females were expected tom take care of the younger siblings. This study also found that girls who were older than the class age level were low achievers. This could be because of student repeating the class or being retained because of poor performance. Sometimes parents will ask teachers to retain the student in the class to try and see if they will achieve higher for fear that they will eventually fail the national examination. When achievement was used as an outcome variable the results indicated that a student’s achievement is positively influenced by the education level of both the parents, the family’s economic status and the study habits. But achievement was negatively influenced by the age of the student. The study showed that girls who spent more time on chores had a tendency of performing significantly lower than those who spent less time on chores. This was expected because it means that the girls did not have time to study after school as they had to do the allocated chores. The good information processor model proposed by Pressely et al. (1989) captured differences between better and weaker readers. Good information processors are competent thinkers who know facts and can make connections. 1 0 2 Implications for Practice and Policy This study has provided data that gives insight into the effects of cultural beliefs and practices and how they affect female achievement. This study described the historical and present status of education in Kenya. The findings of this study touch on a number of areas which may be of interest to those attempting to address the issues of inequality in education of females in Kenya. It was argued in chapter one that females do not get as much time to study as males because of the cultural beliefs of the people. A second implication of this study relates to need for the Ministry of education to come up with a policy for primary schools in terms of providing essential textbooks to both rural and urban schools. In a system where national examinations are an essential component of the educational system and are indicators of achievement, effort should be made to provide the necessary tools to pass the examination. Efforts to increase female participation in primary school must take into account existing school capacities and the future growth of school age population. The impact of education on the well-being of women and their families and the society at large is both complex and multidimensional. Though research has not yet revealed fully a direct relationship between the classroom culture and female school dropout, the available data show that the quality of classroom interaction and the text-book content influence the way females learn (Obura 1991). It is important to emphasize that the quality of schooling makes a difference with respect to the skills formation and learning processes of girls. The structure, quality of schooling, quality of teachers and teaching materials are all important to acquire a good education. The higher the quality of education the more Skills the girls will acquire. Basic literacy should instill literacy, numeracy and cognitive 1 O 3 skills. It is important to study how the students control their own learning and whether they are able to use the right strategies to help them learn. This is especially important because the students must pass the national examination to attend high school. This is especially crucial for girls who are expected to do either house chores or farm-work or both after school and they are not given enough time to study as this study shows. Education empowers females with a basic knowledge of their rights as individuals and citizens of their nation and the world. This helps place the females on equal footing with their male counterparts. Teachers, administrators, policy makers, practitioners and the government must all work together to enhance the move to eliminate illiteracy among the females. This study is significant and raises a number of policy implications in many African countries where national examinations are given. 0 The study could increase an awareness among the teachers on good instruction strategies. 0 This in turn would affect the way pre-service teachers are trained. Findings would help develop policies which would permeate the teachers education programs. 0 Findings could be used to inform parents of the need to give their daughters time to study at home. 0 The study might increase an awareness of access and equity problems of disadvantaged groups of children, for example street children, disabled children, children of refirgees and children of slum dwellers. 0 Literature shows that the girls education may bring some economic benefits: (i) Girls' education may increase the probability of obtaining employment. (ii) Women participate more actively in the labor force. (Brown and Barret, 1991, Floro and Wolf, 1990). 1 0 4 This study did not cover classroom instruction and the way it affects study habits and to learn how teachers use instruction to teach good study habits. It is fair to assume that the students are not taught good study habits by the data shown on the comprehension passage. Kenya continues to spend large sums of the national revenue on education but this will go to waste if the social aspects and traditions of the society and their influence on education of the females is not looked at more keenly than it is at present. Limitations of the Study and Directions for Further Research This study was limited to rural schools in Muranga district, Central Province of Kenya. About 70% of the district is rural, where schools are not as well equipped as urban schools. This study used questionnaires administered to rural primary schools in Muranga District only. The study also exclude boys who constitute over 60% of the primary school students. In a study as specific as this one, care must be taken to avoid generalizing the results beyond the strict confines of primary schools in Muranga district. It is a firm belief of the writer that similar problems will be found in other rural and some urban areas. Gender parity at the primary level, and minimum basic learning for women should be the central objective of promoting equity by the government. Towards that end: Funding agencies should fund projects that concentrate on raising the level of women's education. 105 The government should monitor and target gender equality in all their educational activities. Teachers should be discouraged to drill students for examination purposes only but teach for learning. The government should improve access to schools. School buildings and other physical facilities should be improved. Government should provide grants or free books to poor students. Rural families should have access to electricity and tap water. Parental attitudes to educating girls should be addressed by the public. Teachers should encourage parents to be more involved in their daughters education. Classroom culture should be gender fiiendly. Teachers should teach good study skills. Allocate time in school for students to do homework with help fi'om teachers. APPENDIX Questionnaire on Study Habits of Female Students: High and Low Achievers in Murang’a District Name of Student: School: Division: Location: A. mum The purpose of collecting this information is to understand better how you use study kills to help you study for the CPE examination. Your response to this questionnaire will be seen only by the researcher. The researcher will not share the information you provide in any way you could be identified by anyone else. You may refuse to answer any or all of the questions. Your name will be erased as soon as the data has been recorded. Completed questionnaires will not be made available for review by officials of your school or the Ministry of Education. Part m; B. Background Information 1. What is your date of birth? / / DaylMonth/Year 2. What do you plan to do after standard eight? Choose one by marking in the box with an X”. [ ] Go to high school [ ] Find a job [ ] Help parents in the farm [ ] Go to Village polytechnic [ ] Get married 3. If you go to high school, what do you plan to do after you finish? Choose one by marking in the box with an “X". [ ] Go to college/university [ ] Find a job [ ] Get married [ ] Go to polytechnic 4. What would you like to be after you finish school? 5. How many brothers and sisters do you have? Indicate number in the appropriate boxes below. [ ] Brothers [ ] Sisters 6. Which of the following describes your parents? Choose by marking in the box with an “X”. My father is employed as: [ ] A teacher [ ] A civil servant. Other (please specify): My mother is employed as: [ ] A teacher [ ] A civil servant. Other (please specify): My father is self-employed in: [ ] Jua kali [ ] The farm My mother is self-employed in: [ ] Jua kali [ ] The farm 7. Do your parents own land? Choose one by marking in the box with an “X”. [ ] Yes [ ]No 8. How many acres do they have? Choose one by marking in the box with an “X". [ ]Lessthanoneacre [ ]1t05acres [ ]Over5acres 106 107 9.Which of the following do your parents own? Choose all that they have by marking in the box with an “X” and how many of each on the line. Livestock How many Livestock How many [ ] Cows [ ] Chicken [ ] Goats [ ] Pigs l 1 Sheep ___._ 10. What is the educational level of your parents? Choose by marking with an “X" under Father or Mother. Educational Level Father Mother No Education Primary Education High School College Diploma University Degree 11. Do you have all the text books you need this year? Choose one by marking in the box with an “X’. [ ] Yes [ ] No 12. Who buys the text books for you? Choose one by marking in the box with an “X". [ ] Parents [ ] Passed on from brother/sister [ ] Friends [ ] Relatives 13. How do you help your parents afier school? Choose all that applies by marking in the box with an “X”. [ ] Fetch water [ ] Cook [ ] Milk cows [ ] Feed cows [ ] Feed chicken [ ] Work in the field (shamba) Part Two This section asks you about how you study. Please choose all those that best applies for you by marking with an “X" in the appropriate boxes next to the statements. 1. When I study for an examination, I usually use one of the following places: [ ] Bedroom [ ] Sit outside [ ] Kitchen [ ] Living (table) room [ ] My friends’ house 2. I read my note books: [ ] Every week [ ] Every day [ ] Once a week [ ] At the end of the term [ ] The night before the examination. 3. How many hours do you spend per week doing your homework? [ ] One hour or less [ ] Two hours [ ] Three hours [ ] Four hours [ ] Five hours 108 4. What do you use as light to study? [ ] Electricity [ ] Kerosene lamp [ ] Pressure lamp [ ] Firewood 5. I always read my note and textbooks: [ ] Once [ ] Twice [ ] Three to four times [ ] Many times [ ] Never 6. What things do you do when you are studying for an examination? [ ] Use study guides [ ] Read text books [ ] Use my notes [ ] Ask the teacher [ ] Study in a group 7. It is important to make a plan of how to study. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Not sure [ ] Slightly agree [ ] Slightly disagree [ ] Strongly disagree 8. Diagrams are important when I study my geography notes. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Not sure [ ] Slightly agree [ ] Slightly disagree [ ] Strongly disagree 9. A title of a book or chapter sort of tells us what the book or chapter is about. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Not sure [ ] Slightly agree [ ] Slightly disagree [ ] Strongly disagree 10. I look through (skim) my history text book before reading the chapters. [ ] Never [ ] Sometimes [ ] Waste of time [ ] Yes [ ] Don’t know how 11. I read tables, charts and diagrams in my text books. [ ] Never [ ] Sometimes [ ] Always[ ] Don’t know how [ ] Strongly agree 12. I have a special way of taking notes that makes it easier for me to study. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Not sure [ ] Slightly agree [ ] Slightly disagree [ ] Strongly disagree 13. I try to imagine what any story is about before I read by looking at the title. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Not sure [ ] Slightly agree [ ] Slightly disagree [ ] Strongly disagree 14. I try to predict (imagine) test questions while reading for it. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Not sure [ ] Slightly agree [ ] Slightly disagree [ ] Strongly disagree 15. I am always able to distinguish fact from opinion. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Not sure [ ] Slightly agree [ ] Slightly disagree [ ] Strongly disagree 16. I always re-read anything that I do not understand. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Not sure [ ] Slightly agree [ ] Slightly disagree [ ] Strongly disagree 17. It is always important to read the instructions in a question paper. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Not sure [ ] Slightly agree [ ] Slightly disagree [ ] Strongly disagree 18. I always look up unfamiliar words in the dictionary. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Not sure [ ] Slightly agree [ ] Slightly disagree [ ] Strongly disagree 19. Looking at the table of contents in a book is not very important. 109 [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Not sure [ ] Slightly agree [ ] Slightly disagree [ ] Strongly disagree 20. What do you do when you do not understand a topic in class? 21. How do your parents help you in doing your studies? 22. Write down below some things that you think would help you study more. Part Three Read the article below as if you were preparing to take a test on it. Take all the time you need. When you finish answer the questions below: PRE-COLONIAL TRADE What did the Abagusii and Luo exchange? What did the Agikuyu export? How about the Mijikenda and Swahili? We studied trade between Kenya’s people before the colonial period last year. In addition we learnt about Kenya’s trade with other nations. We shall now see how the people of Eastern Africa exchange goods among themselves and how they trade today. Akamba Traders The Akamba were among the leading traders in Eastern Afiica. In their search for ivory the Akamba traveled as far as north-eastem Tanzania. They reached the homelands of Pare, Shambaa, Zigua and Zaramo. Nyamwezi Traders. Another famous trading community were the Nyamwezi. They bought and sold ivory too. But before dealing in this item they were involved in local trade. Their home in Tanzania’s Central Plateau is not very suitable for agriculture. There are no salt and iron deposits either. Why are these minerals essential? The Central Plateau has one advantage. It is generally flat and does not hinder movement. The Nyamwezi therefore easily traveled far and wide in search of trade goods. Salt was obtained mostly from the shores of River Malagasi to the west among the Ziza and Sukuma near the southern shores of Lake Victoria. Copper wire was another trade item which the Nyamwezi brought fiom Katanga (Shaba Province) in Zaire across Lake Tanganyika. It was used as an ornament to make bracelets, necklaces and anklets As a result of their extensive trade links the Nyamwezi soon came to know of the 110 demand for ivory at the coast. It was sold in India, Europe and America. They organized elephant hunting and ivory buying expeditions. Distant places westward in Zaire and northward in the interlacustrine region were reached. Caravans, which could consist of several hundred potters, were formed. These carried ivory. A characteristic of pre- colonial trade was the lack of money. One item was exchanged for another. From the coast the Nyamwezi returned with cloth, beads, firearms and gunpowder and other goods. Arabs and Swahili Traders . The ivory and slave trade attracted Arab and Swahlili merchants. Most of them came from Zanzibar which Sayyid Said ruled. He was an Arab from Oman and the East African coast during the first half of the 19th century. In 1940 he made Zanzibar the capital of his empire because of commercial reasons. He organized loans for Arab merchants and encouraged them to make journeys inland and get slaves and ivory. Some Leading Merchants The Nyamwezi and Arab merchants competed over trade. Many chiefs participated and a number became very rich and powerful. they controlled trade routes and taxed caravans. Mirambo and Nyungu-ya-Mawe were among the most famous. Msiri was another wealthy chief. He was a Nyamwezi caravan leader who created a new state to the south-west of Lake Tanganyika. To the north-east of the lake was another state. It was founded and maintained by Tippu Tib, an Arab-Swahili trader, between 1875 and 1890. We shall read more about these leading merchants in the next chapter. L Write the summary of the article (at least two paragraphs). A summary is a short form of the article that tells the most important information. 111 2. Write six questions that your teacher might ask you if he/she wanted to know how well you understood the article. use the lines below. You may use as many lines as you like. 3. Please choose all those that best apply for you by marking with an “X” in the appropriate boxes next to the statements. (a) I generated a plan before I read the article. [ ]Yes [ ]Notsure [ ]Idonotknowhow[ ]Noplan [ ]Ido notneedaplan (b)I took some notes when I was reading the article. [ ] Yes [ ] Not sure [ ] No [ ] Not necessary [ ]Itisawasteoftime (c) I underlined some sentences that are important in the article. [ ] No [ ] Not sure [ ] Not necessary [ ] Yes [ ] It is a waste of time. 112 Interview Questions . What do you think the author’s purpose was in writing this article? . Did you have a specific plan when answering comprehension questions? . How do you know what is important in a comprehension passage? . What skills do you use that help you study better. . What things in school and at home would help you be successfirl. . Do you consider yourself to be a successful student. 1 1 3 CODING AND SCORING OF VARIABLES IN THE STUDY SOCIAL CAPITAL VARIABLES There were six indicators of social capital. Variables in this set of indicators included the type of chores done after school (CHORE), child discussing school problems with parents and getting help fi'om them (HELPI), the age of the students which affects the type of chores they do (AGE), the number of sibling (SIB), the school (IDSCH) and the school location (IDLOC). These variables measured family obligations, networking between parents and children, and the school community and how they shape the achievement of the students. The variables of chores done after school (CHORE), child getting help from parents (HELPI), the age of students (AGE), the number of siblings (SIB), the school (IDSCH), and the school location (IDLOC) were subscales of other individual variables. Chores that the students do afier school (CHORE) was a subscale of three variables related to house work done after school, (which includes cooking, house chores, baby-sitting) and farm work which includes feed livestock, fetching firewood and cultivating the farms. Getting help from parents (HELPl) was a sub-scale of six variables which included, parents tutoring, buying books, allowing time to study, allowing use of light, and giving food. Age (AGE) was a sub-scale of nine variables which were the age of students and it ranged fiom 10 years to 19 years. The older age (over 14 years) categories include those that have been retained in a class once or twice. The number of siblings (SIB) was the number of sibling the students had and this had a sub-scale of 12 variables each of which was the number of siblings. The schools (IDSCH) were a sub-scale of nine variables which included the nine schools in the sample. Finally the location of the school 114 (IDLOC) was a sub-scale of seven variables, including seven different locations where the schools were situated. Chores Done by Students After School (CHORE) The various chore levels for which the data was obtained included housework, farm- work or both. The chore variable was also indicated by a scale of average daily time the student spent on chores like cultivating, fetching wood or water, watching livestock, baby like their parents to buy books for them while 22% would like their parents to provide light for studying. Only 2% indicated that they would like their parents to hire a tutor to help them in their studies. Another 2% indicated that they would like food to help them study. sitting, and or cooking. A low score means student spent less time on chores and only on either household or farm-work not both. Help Students Get from Parents (HELPl) Students were asked to indicate what help they would like from their parents to help them achieve higher in the school. The researcher wanted to know whether the parents gave the students time to study, helped with homework, bought books, provided a place to study and lighting or hired as tutor. Number of Siblings (SIB) Students were asked to indicate the number of children in the family. Indicators of Financial Capital Financial capital was defined in terms of land owned (ACRES), father's education 115 (FEDUC), father's job (FJOB), mother's education (MOMEDUC), mother's job (MOMJOB), whether students had textbooks (NTEXT), lighting in the house (LIGHT), and livestock owned.(PROPERTY). Examining each variable gave a sense of the overall wealth status of the respondent’s family. Land Owned (ACRES) Land ownership is an important measure of the socio-economic status and wealth in Kenya. It is a significant variable which is a determinant of the level of wealth of a family and was defined as land owned (ACRES) variable. Parents Education and Jobs (FEDUC, MEDUC, FJOB, MJOB) Students were asked to indicate the level of their parents education and the jobs they do. This was significant as it relates to socio-economic status. Lighting (LIGHT) The amount or level of lighting in the homes has a bearing on the ability for students to do their homework and study after school. The data on lighting (LIGHT) indicated whether the family used electricity, pressure lamps, kerosene lamps or firewood for their lighting needs. Text Books (NTEXT) Students were asked to indicate whether they have textbooks or not. 1 1 6 Property Owned (PROPERTY). Students were asked to indicate the property that the parents owned (PROPERTY) either land or livestock. Indicators of Study Habits (STUDYSK). There were a total twenty four study skill techniques tested from the reading of a passage as well as the study skills they have been using to study. Variables in this set were hours spent studying, and whether the student thought that the following study skills were important and whether they used them: The skills tested through the reading of the passage included: 1. Summary of article (TRADEI) 2. Predict questions (TRADEZ) 3. Generate a plan (TRADE3) 4. Notes on the article (TRADE4) 5. Underline (TRADES) Other study habits that were examined were: 1. Use of table of contents (CONT) 11. Not understanding reading (RERE) 2. Use of diagrams (DIAG) 12. Skimming through text books (SKIM) 3. Exam techniques (EXAMD) l3. Imagination of story (STORY) 4. Distinguish fact from opinion (FACT) 14. Plan of study (STUDY2) 5. Hours spent on homework (HOURS) 15. Predict questions (TEST) 6. Reading instructions (INSTRUCT) 16. Does the title tell anything (TITLE) 7. Making notes (NOTES) 17. Not understanding a topic (TOPIC) 8. Place of Study (STUDYl) 18. Visual aids (V ISU) 9. 1 Daily reading of notes (READI) l9. Difficult words (V OCABULARY) 0. Reading notes/text books (READ2) Indicators of Achievement (ACHIEVE). In this study, ACHIEVE, the variable measure for achievement, was measures by teacher made tests that were administered throughout the year. The students were labeled as either achievers or non-achievers. 117 Interviews Personal interviews were considered an appropriate means of gaining an in depth understanding of the participants' views and opinions about a given issue and the researcher had an opportunity to probe or reword the questions to make sure that the participants understood the questions and there was good communication. In this study the interviews were considered an appropriate means to better insight in the participants opinions and views of study habits. The major objectives of the interview were to provide an opportunity to probe the issues raised by the questionnaires and on which the hypotheses were based. The researcher then conceived interview questions around three themes covered in the questionnaires. The interview questions were as follows: 0 What do you think the author ’s purpose was in writing this article. 0 Do you have a specific plan when answering comprehension questions? 0 How do you know what is important in a comprehension passage? 0 What skills do you use that help you study better 0 What things in school and at home would help you be successful. 0 Do you consider yourself to be a successfitl student. 118 Out of the above questions the researcher came up with the following are three themes: Theme 1: Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information. Theme 2: Give a perspective of what it means to be a successful student. Theme 3: Generate a clear system to study the material. 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