Teachers’ and students’ perceptions about form one placement of students in public secondary schools in Mumias Division, Kakamega County, Kenya

Abstract

The study was geared towards establishing teachers and students perceptions about Form One placement of students in public secondary schools in Mumias Division, Kakamega County, Kenya. The study targeted all teachers, students, guidance and counseling teachers and principals from public secondary schools in Mumias division. The literature revealed that quality student placement at all levels is very critical. The study employed a descriptive survey and phenomenological research designs and was conducted in 4 sampled public secondary schools in Mumias Division. Stratified and simple random sampling procedures were used to select the schools. A sample of 170 Form One and Form Two students, 20 teachers, 4 guidance and counseling teachers and 4 principals from the 4 public secondary schools participated in the study. Data was collected using questionnaires for students and teachers and semi structured interview guides for guidance and counseling teachers and principals. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 17.0 and presented using frequencies and percentages. Qualitative data were analyzed, discussed in accordance with research questions and reported in narrative form. The findings revealed that both teachers and students concurred that public secondary school placement of students is affected by other factors such as family background and parental involvement in education. The study recommended that the Ministry of Education (MoE) should review the new form one selection criteria so that the selection and admission of students should be fair and just based on merit in consideration of the students choices of schools. The study suggested that a comparative study be carried out on the student involvement in secondary school placement of students in private and public secondary schools.