Gender Differences in Attitudes towards Chemistry Curriculum Content and Performance in Chemistry

Abstract

Chemistry is one of the essential science subjects in most professional courses at the university level. Poor performance in chemistry limits the opportunity to take professional courses like medicine, veterinary medicine, pharmacy and engineering. Despite this highlighted importance of chemistry, secondary school students in Matayos Sub-County have continued to post poor results in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations. From the year 2013 to 2017, the mean scores in chemistry subject ranged between 3.078 to 3.693 out of the total 12. 00 points. Analysis by gender shows that the mean score attained by boys was 2.05, while that of girls was 1.32 for the same period. This poor performance may be attributed to students’ attitudes towards the subject. Students’ gender could also be a pointer to the differences in the mean scores shown by boys and girls. No known study conducted in the Sub-County has established students’ attitudes towards chemistry and performance across gender. The purpose of this study was to establish gender differences in the relationship between students’ attitude and performance in chemistry in secondary schools in Matayos Sub-County, Kenya. Correlation research design was employed. The target population was 900 form four students from all the 14 secondary schools in the sub-county. A sample size of 269 students was obtained. A stratified sampling technique was used to select 130 girls and 139 boys. Research instruments used to collect data were students’ questionnaires, interview schedule and document analysis guide. Reliability of the students’ questionnaire. Validity, the instruments were presented to experts from the Department of Educational Communication, reliability Technology and Curriculum Studies, Maseno University for scrutiny and examination. Descriptive statistics (means, frequency counts and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (t-test and Pearson’s r) were used for analysis of quantitative data reported in an ongoing process as themes and sub-themes emerged. The study found that there were gender differences in the relationship between students’ attitude towards content ( r=.37 for boys, r=.33 for girls).