Influence of School Agricultural Farms on Academic Performance in Agriculture in Secondary Schools

Abstract

 The objective of this study was to assess the influence of school agricultural farms on academic performance in Agriculture in secondary schools in Hamisi Sub-County, Kenya. The study employed descriptive survey research design involving census sampling. Data was collected using questionnaires, focus group discussions and interviews. Qualitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 25.0, with Spearman’s rank order correlation being employed to check for multicollinearity among study variables. Logistic regression was used to analyze the influence of the variables on performance of students in the subject, while model validation was done using goodness of fit test. The study established that to a large extent, school agricultural farms have influence on academic performance in Agriculture. The study recommends that efforts be made by all relevant players to ensure that secondary schools offering Agriculture have access to functional farms for effective instruction. Teacher training institutions on their part should upscale their equipping of teachers with adequate relevant knowledge, skills and strategies on teaching of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Education should ensure that schools offering the subject have adequate resources for running their demonstration farms.