SELF ESTEEM AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NDHIWA DISTRICT, KENYA
BY
WILLIAM ODINGA OKOKO
A RESEARCH PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR MASTER OF EDUCATION DEGREE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS, UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
2012
DECLARATION
Declaration by the student
This Research project is my original work and has not been presented for a degree in any other University.
Name: William Odinga Okoko Sign______Date______
E56/60587/2010
Declaration by the supervisor
This Research Project has been submitted for examination with my approval as a
University supervisor.
Name of supervisor: Prof. Lucy Wairimu Kibera, Ph.D
Department Educational Foundations
University of Nairobi
Signed______
Date______
DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to my wives Caroline Odinga and Meresa Awuor, our children David Otieno, Audrey Akoth , Deril Owino and Wycliffe Ochieng’.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am happy to acknowledge with gratitude, my supervisor Professor Lucy Wairimu Kibera who was constantly guiding me on the best way to produce quality project work. I also sincerely thank Mr. Muasya for his guidance on how to write a research proposal and carry out a good research.
I wish to express my thanks to certain individuals without whom my research would have been impossible. I thank Professor Samson Gunga for his valuable advice on my research project on self esteem and academic performance of secondary school students
. I also thank the principals of the three schools who allowed me the permission to conduct research in their schools. These were the principal Obera Boys High school, principal Magina Girls School, and principal Aluor mixed secondary school. I also thank the Form Four class teachers who accepted to respond to my questionnaires for my research project.
Finally, I thank Caroline Odinga and Meresa Awuor for their stimulating encouragement and moral support they extended to me as I worked for this research.
ABSTRACT
Factors that influence an individual’s self esteem and academic performance include and not limited to school environment, teachers, peers, and the hidden curriculum, as well as demographic factors such as parents’ background affect learners self esteem as well as performance. It was important to find out how these factors shape the student self esteem. The recognition of self worth of learners or the lack of it can yield an observable trait in the learners which would inspire them either to achieve or not to achieve an end in life.
The specific objectives of the study sought to : investigate the effects of self esteem on academic performance of secondary school students of Homa-bay county; establish the effect of age on self esteem and academic performance of the Form Four students in Ndhiwa district, Homa-bay county; establish the effect of gender on self esteem and academic performance of Form Four students in Ndhiwa district and finally, examine the effect of teachers on students’ self esteem and their academic performance in Ndhiwa district.
To satisfy the four objectives, the study used the descriptive survey research. The researcher used structured and open- ended questionnaire. Data was gathered on school factors and also on the feelings and perceptions about their self esteem and academic performance. The result showed that the teachers, peers and co curricular activities as well as parental background have an influence on self esteem and academic performance.
The findings of the study have revealed that:
i)some 58.33% of the students who performed well felt proud of their performance and always felt like showing them to others.
ii)as far as age is concerned, the findings show that 64.33% of the students interviewed had attained 18 years and above. (Nelson et al, 2006).
iii)more boys (50%) than girls (48.7%) aspired to obtain a first degree. On the other hand, more girls than boys aspired to leave the school at Form Four (10%) and (6.7%) respectively.
iv)nearly all the students said that they felt proud of their teachers who they felt made them perform well.
The findings presented herewith seem to suggest that age and gender have influence on self-
esteem and in turn academic performance of the students.
However, since the study was based on public secondary schools only, there is need to investigate the self esteem of students in private secondary schools. In addition, self esteem of pupils at primary level from private and public schools should also be studied.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study...... 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem...... 5
1.3Purpose of the Study...... 6
1.4 Objective of the Study...... 6
1.5Research Questions...... 7
1.6Significance of the Study...... 7
1.7 The Scope of the Study...... 8
1.8Limitations of the Study...... 8
1.9 Definition of Terms...... 9
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1The concept of self esteem...... 10
2.2Self esteem and gender...... 10
2.3Self esteem and academic performance ...... 12
2.4Peer relationships and self esteem...... 12
2.5Parent-adolescent relationships...... 14
2.6Self esteem and parenting...... 14
2.7Self esteem, Grade and Relationships...... 15
2.8 Indicators of Low and High self-esteem ...... 15
2.9Maslow’s Theory of Needs...... 16
2.10Conceptual Frame Work...... 18
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1Research Design...... 19
3.2The sample and sampling procedure...... 19
3.3Research Instrument...... 20
3.4 Data Gathering Procedure...... 20
3.5Data Processing and Analysis...... 21
3.6Validity and reliability research tools ...... 21
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1Introduction...... 22
4.2 Data Analysis...... 22
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1Summary...... 39
5.2Conclusion...... 40
5.3Suggested areas for further study...... 41
APPENDICES
Appendix I: References...... 42
Appendix II: Student Questionnaire...... 44
1
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the Study
The history of self-esteem as a concept began with known theorists in psychology. William James and Mead (1890) were among the first ones. They postulated that self-esteem was equivalent to success of a person divided by his or her pretensions. One’s self-esteem would be academic success divided by how well one thinks he/she ought to be doing. To increase the sum total of one’s self-esteem, one needs to boost successes or diminish expectations for achievements. This continues to influence the understanding of self-esteem (Wickline, 2003)
The self psychologist, Rogers (1954) was concerned with the general nature of subjective experience of the individual’s acceptance of his/her experience. Bednar and Peterson (1999), believed that each person constructs his/her unique view of reality through the creative self.
Gordon Allport (1961) proposed that the growth of the awareness of self proceeds along development learning lines. He identified 7 different aspects of self- hood. Self- esteem is the third development stage of the proprium. It is the feeling of pride that results when the child accomplishes things on the child’s success in mastering tasks
In 1979, Rosenberg conducted a study of the adolescent self-esteem and came up with three classifications of the self- esteem: the extant self, the desired self, and presenting self. Rosenberg cautions that no one knows the real self, but each individual creates and interprets images of the self. He differentiated between the self confidence and self-esteem. To him self-esteem is more of affective sense of efficacy. As such, self confidence may contribute to self- esteem but the two are synonymous.
Coopersmith (1967) cited evidence supporting the importance of self-esteem. He concluded that people with feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness see themselves as inferior and unable to generate inner resources to improve their situation. Feelingof inferiority may result if it does not meet personal aspirations. In his antecedents of self, he suggested four factors that contribute to the development of self- esteem. These are: the values that the child perceives to have towards the self, the child’s experience with success and his individual definitions of success or failure as well as the child’s style of dealing with negative feedback or criticism.
The humanistic movement of 1950 and the self movement postulated by Carl Rogers and others in 1960’s and 1970’s brought in the self enhancement view of academics, seeing students’ self-esteem as the primary cause of academic achievement. Wickline,(2003) Bednar and Peterson (1999) postulated that each person constructs his/her unique view of reality.They further linked low self esteem with drug abuse, anti-social behavior, teenage pregnancies and poor grades.
Research, mostly in western and European cultures, has established that self-esteem concept, has a significant influence on students academic performance (Spinath et al..., 2006; Skaalvik and Valas; 1999). Students perceptions of the fit between their self concept and academic demands are important for learning outcomes .However, there was yet to be a significant amount of empirical investigation of whether these findings could be generalized to other cultures beside, Western, European and Asian cultures .Of particular importance to note was the limited research linking self-esteem concept and academic performance on the continent of Africa (Mboya, 1986,Marsh and Ham,2004). If a person’s perceptions of self are formed through experience with and interpretations of one’s environment, as posited by Marsh and Shavelson, then research from a cross other cultures was warranted to reach hard and conclusive finding.
A research conducted in Kenya to investigate the relationship between self-esteem and academic performance in Maths and English among High School students in Kenya revealed that students in advanced grades had higher self-esteem (Herbert W. Marsh; 2006). This, the research indicated, could be due to the fact that students improve in verbal and problem solving skills as they take more academic subjects in school (Nelson et al,2006).Participants included 1990 students from two boarding high schools in Kenya. The participants ages ranged from 14-18 years old (mean grade =16.5). School 1 (all boys) had 983 participants and school 2 (all girls) had 1007 participants. The average class size for both schools was 45. The size of the schools ranged from 1000-1120 students. Both schools were national schools and admitted only high ranking students (those who scored 450+ out of 600 points on the 8th grade national examination). Teachers in both schools were all graduates from the two main teacher training national universities in the country (KIE 2001). Participation in the study was voluntary; both parental consent and students assent were obtained prior to the data collection. The data were collected from multiple sources using self-report and report cards for academic performance measures during the second term (May - July) of the school year. The students completed a 135 – item survey (Self – Description questionnaire – SDQ III). The survey was administered in English.
Teachers in these two schools appointed students in upper grades to be supervisors (referred to as prefects /monitors) in various contexts such as classrooms, dormitories, cafeteria and games in the teachers’ absence, especially in the dorms and during preparation time, early in the morning and at night. Therefore students in the lower grades looked upto the students in the upper grades for guidance and support. The upper grades had also been at the school longer and knew how to play the ‘rules’. The head student (i.e. one who is in charge of the entire school in the teachers absence), one in charge of the dining hall, games, dorm and any club was always a 12th grader. All these responsibilities, privileges and opportunities in and by themselves would promote the 12th grades’ general self-esteem. In other words, as Marsh et al. (2002) theory concerning reciprocal and mutually reinforcing situations illustrates, in this instance, social acceptance and promotion to high office (head students, prefects, monitors) are reason for an elevated self-concept and subsequent self-esteem.The changing standards by the teachers, especially for students in higher grades (11th and 12th grades) who are preparing for national examination which are usually vigorous and graded by external examiners (KIE, 2001, Mwiria, 1990; Richard 2009) could attribute to better performance.
There were some limitations in the researcher’s statistical analyses that dictate caution in the interpretation of the results. The researchers used teachers’ assigned grades to measure students’ actual academic achievement. It is problematic to compare grades assigned by different teachers, and the test scores in different years are not based on a common metric. However, these teachers assigned scores served the purpose of the study. In addition, previous studies using teachers’ assigned scores had found similar results (Ahmavaara and Houston, 2007, Frank 2009. An ideal situation however, would have been to moderate school grades based on a common test, such as the entry test for the 8th grade. In this case, there was no common test, and the entry test for year 8 was only available for the 9th graders in one school.Since the above research was only based on perceptions of self-concept and actual academic performance in Mathematics and English only, there was need to further investigate how self esteem relates to overall academic performance among high school students in Kenya.
The researcher also intended to investigate whether factors such as feeling of competence, confidence, goal directedness and self efficacy lead to high self-esteem or low self-esteem and their effect on academic performance. The researcher also hoped to find out how social problems such as drug abuse, poor performance and anti-social behavior relate to self-esteem. Finally, the researcher sought to find out how feelings of unworthiness, depression, doubt personality maladjustment and deviant behavior relate to self-esteem and academic performance in secondary schools.
1.2 Statement of the problem
In Kenya, academic performance of students at KCSE varies greatly at the end of their four year program. This study aimed at finding out how school factors such as school environment, teachers, peers and home factors such as parents and parenting style, parent – adolescent relationships and demographic factors such as age, peer influence, gender and peer statuses affect the students’ self-esteem in relation to their academic performance.
1.3 Purpose of the study
The main purpose of the study was to examine how self esteem interacts with factors such as school environment, teachers, peers as well as demographic factors such as age and gender, among others influence students’ performance. On the basis of this aim, five specific objectives were formulated
1.4 Objective of the study
The objectives that guided this study sought to;-
1investigate the effect of self-esteem on academic performance of secondary school students of Homa-bay County.
2 establish the effect of age on self esteem and academic performance of the form IV students in Ndhiwa district, Homabay county.
3 establish the effect of gender on self esteem and academicPerformance of form IV students in Ndhiwa district
4examine the effect of teachers on students’ self esteem and their academic performance in Ndhiwa district.
1.5 Research Questions
On the basis of the studyobjectives outlined above, four questions were formulated. These were:
- What is the effect of self-esteem on academic performance of Kenyan secondary school students of form IV in Ndhiwa district, Homa-bay County?
- What is the effect of age on self esteem and academic performance of secondary school students of form IV in Ndhiwa district, Homa-bay county?
- What is the effect of gender on self esteem and academic performance of students in Ndhiwa district?
- How do teachers affect students self esteem and their academic performance in Ndhiwa district?
1. 6 Significance of the study
Evaluation of students’ progress is very essential since it serves as a basis on which education decisions concerning students are made. It is for this reason that knowledge of factors that influence the outcome of academic achievement are to be clear to the educators, parents and students so that standards of academic performance could be enhanced. Self-esteem is instrumental to those planning and implementing the curricular, not only within the confines of the family, but also within the schoolenvironment.Greater understanding of how self-esteem influences adolescents would facilitate the development of training curricular and enrichment programs that complement thecognitive aspect of knowledge acquisition.
The negative effects of lack of a healthy sense of one’s self-esteem have been highlighted by several studies (Mwiti 1989). These effects are however, amenable to change and this would facilitate the development of positive interest in the learner to excel academically. Such information would be useful to the stakeholders.
1.7 The scopeof the study.
The study was conducted in three public secondary schools in Ndhiwa district, Homa-bay county in Kenya. The schools included one girls’ boarding school, one boys’ boarding school and one mixed day/boarding school. Ndhiwa district was selected because it was thought to have subjects who were reasonably homogenous. Due to time and cost, only three public schools out of twenty five schools were surveyed. Ndhiwa district has only two girls’ schools and two boys’ schools. The remaining twenty one schools are mixed. Only one school from each category was selected.
1.8 Limitations of the study
Some respondents were dishonest in volunteering information on their perceptions of self esteem. Furthermore the researcher dealt with some factors that had already taken place e.g parenting styles and therefore could not be manipulated by the researcher.
1.9 Definition of terms
Academic performance-The study refers to strong desire to achieve good grades that would lead to admission for university education.
Avoidance- A learned maladjustment response and anxiety. A self defeating behavior pattern because it prevents the individual from re-approaching the feared stimulus.
Coping- A candid and realistic facing up to threatening situations that usually require personal introspection, honesty and willingness to acknowledge openly the imperfections of the self.
Desired self-The self one would like to be.
Extant self – The way one privately views one’s self.
Grade- Class or level or standard e.g grade 8, means standard eight.
High self- esteem characteristics- Willingness to express opinions, initiating friendly contact, sitting with others during activities and speaking fluently.