Gender Influence on Learners’ Academic Achievement in Physics in Public Secondary Schools in Elgeyo Marakwet County

Abstract

Gender issues in education are geared towards gender equity which accords equal opportunities to boys and girls. Gender equity has positive impact on educational goals as well as economic, social and cultural development. Researchers, policymakers, and practitioners have observed and appear to agree upon socially constructed differences between male and female and their significant effects in their lives. Studies conducted across the world among students studying in different levels of education found a significant gender difference in academic performance between boys and girls. In Elgeyo Marakwet County in Kenya, it was observed that girls performed better than boys in summative assessment in physics; this difference is phenomenon that required investigation to examine the cause of the disparity. The study examines the gender influence on learners’ academic achievement in physics in public secondary schools in Elgeyo Marakwet County. The research objectives werefind out if there is any gender difference in academic achievement in physics in Marakwet County based on school classification, find out learners’ perspective of who is more talented in studying physics between boys and girls and to find out learners’ perspective of who is more likely to undertake a career related to physics between boys and girls. Explanatory sequential design was adopted. Stratified and purposive sampling was used to select a sample of 28 secondary schools, 30 teachers, 28 principals and 1005 learners. The data was collected using questionnaires, documentary analysis, interviews and observation guide. The findings of the study showed that girls perform better than boys, both expect to take careers related to physics and that both genders expect to perform equally well in physics.  in physics because they are more disciplined in their schoolwork than boys. The study recommends that the government should address differences in physics performances to ensure gender equity in physics education. The findings serve as a starting point for other researchers to look into the shifting features of gender in education to help policymakers improve gender parity in access to physics education.