Behavior reinforcement and learning capabilities of students in selected secondary schools in Kangundo District,Kenya.
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Date
2011-08
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Kampala International University, School of Education, Open and Distance and E-learning
Abstract
This study identified behavior reinforcement and learning capabilities of students in selected secondary schools in kangundo district of, kenya. four research questions and one null hypothesis. objective one dealt with students’ profile as to age, gander, year of study and previous grade in examination. second objective dealt with level of behavior reinforcement of students, objective three dealt with learning capabilities of students and the fourth objective dealt correlation between behavior reinforcement and learning capabilities of students in secondary schools in kangundo disbict. the study used descriptive correlation design. the study targeted population of 1440 students in 26 schools; consisting of 1440 students. respondents’ were3l3 sampled from the target population using sloven’s formula. the study reveals that majority of students (65.2%) were aged between 15 and 16 years. however, there was disparity in gender balance in the enrolment with (57.4%) of the students being males and (42.6%) females. Student performance was still wanting in secondary schools in the district since the best grades a and a- were missing in the analysis. the mean of the previous examination grades was 6.986 with majority of students (32%) scoring a mean grade of c-i- on the level of behavior reinforcement majority of students was low as continuous reinforcement was overused. majority students (mean, 4.28) felt that good, very good and excellent were the best terms for verbal reward, while a significant number (mean, 3.71) of the student agreed that token rewarding is commonly used after examinations but the value attained to them is what determines student reinforcement in learning. the data analysis revealed that the Pearson linear correlation coefficient p value 0.0037 which was show strong level of correlation significance. therefore, it can be argued that there is very strong evidence against the null hypothesis. this implies that the level of learning behavior reinforcement significantly affects the level of learning capabilities of students in secondary schools. consequently, the null hypothesis is rejected. based on the findings of the study it was concluded that the level of behavior reinforcement was not adequate in the district. according to the researcher the scenario had manifested the poor examination grades for the students due to low level of behavior reinforcement. the researcher recommends that Kenyan ministry of education should allocate funds in each school to support learning behavior reinforcement activities, sensitize all school principals through capacity building workshops on the need to budget for students learning behavior reinforcement and support schools to instill discipline among students to enhance learning capability. The researcher suggests further research on the topic for other administrative districts to establish whether it will yield the same or different results. the researcher feels that one aspect of reinforcement of behavior reinforcement either positive or negative should have been considered and wide to be done in single study.
Description
A thesis presented to the school of postgraduate studies and research Kampala international university Kampala, Uganda in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of education in management and administration
Keywords
Behavior reinforcement, Learning capabilities, Students, Secondary Schools, Kangundo District