Motivation to Learn Biology: Gender and School Type Differences in Co-Educational Schools in Siaya County, Kenya
Abstract
Aims: The purpose of the study was to investigate gender and school type differences in
motivational orientations among grade 10 students in co-educational schools of Siaya County,
Kenya.
Study Design: The study adopted a concurrent mixed methods design.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in Siaya County, Kenya during the
second term of the year 2018 in June.
Methodology: The sample consisted of 680 students (380 boys, 300 girls) from a population of
6800 students (3800 boys, 3000 girls) using multi-stage cluster sampling and simple random
sampling. The study used Biology Motivation Questionnaire (BMQ) adopted and modified to suit
the study from Tuan, Chin and Shieh (2005) and Biology Interview Guide (BIG). To test gender and
school type differences in motivation, independent sample t-tests were used. The hypotheses were
accepted at a significance level of α=0.05.
Results: The findings indicate statistically significant gender differences in Self-efficacy (SE),
Active Learning strategies (ALS) and Learning Environment Stimulation (LES) in favour of boys. There were gender differences in Performance Goal (PG) and Achievement Goal (AG) in favour of
girls; there were no significant gender differences in Biology Learning Value (BLV). The findings
indicated statistically significant school type differences in SE, ALS, and LES in favour of High
Performing Schools (HPS). There were also statistically significant school type differences in PG
and AG in favour of Low Performing Schools (LPS). There were no statistically significant school
type differences with regard to BLV.
Conclusion: It is concluded that gender and school type differences exist with regard to
motivational orientations and beliefs. Implications for practice are highlighted.
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