Influence of Different Teachers on Learners’ Achievement Categories in English Speech Functional Writing Skills Among Secondary School Learners in Kenya
Author: Dr. Benjamin Towett Koross, Julius Kipkorir Chepkwony & Lucy Eunice Akinyi.
Abstract: Functional composition writing is a pragmatic use of language for social and personal expression. It is a universal communication tool that determines the achievement of students’ lifelong goals. Functional writing skills recorded the lowest mean score in the Kenya certificate of secondary education (K.C.S.E) examination at 33.7% compared to 62.5% for cloze test and 45.6% for oral skills, for the period 2011 to 2019 as revealed by KNEC examination reports. Performance of functional writing skills in the country has been below C+. The purpose of the study was to establish the Influence of different Teachers on Learners’ Achievement Categories in English Speech Functional Writing Skills among Secondary School Learners in Kenya. The objective of the study was to: establish the Influence of learners’ achievement categories on English functional writing among secondary school learners in West Pokot County. Kenya. The study used descriptive survey and correlation study designs. The study population consisted of 2580 Form 4 students who had been taught all functional skills and 34 teachers of English subjects from 34 schools. The study used a saturated sampling technique to select 31 teachers while Krejcie and Morgan table was used to determine the sample size of 334 students who were then randomly sampled. Data collection was done through learners’ achievement tests. The pilot study comprised of 3 teachers of English and 250 students from 3 secondary schools. A pilot study was done to establish the reliability of the instrument through the test-retest reliability method of the same test administered to the same sample on two different occasions. Supervisors from the Department of Educational Communication Technology, and Curriculum Studies of Maseno University ascertained the content validity of instruments. Descriptive statistics (percentages and mean), were used to analyze quantitative data. A random-effect model was used to show the magnitude of the relationship between variables. The findings revealed that the average student performance in speech writing was below average 46 (sd: 21.7). The median student mark was 50 (ranging from 25-60). The study concludes that teacher preparedness determines the outcome of composition differently. The study recommended that teachers should prepare well to meet the needs of the learners.