Role of Attitude, Interest and Peer Pressure in Academic Outcomes of Girls in Gem Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

Girls in secondary schools have been recording a low academic outcomes in mathematics and it is due to this that the study investigated the relationship between academic outcomes of girls in mathematics and other subjects in secondary schools in Gem Sub-County. Specifically the study, determined the relationship between attitude, interests, and academic outcomes of girls, established role of peer pressure in academic outcomes of girls in mathematics in comparison with other subjects. The study was guided by social theory developed by Bandura in 1967. The study adopted correlation survey and used stratified sampling to 6 select schools and respondents from a population of 1770 secondary girls and purposive sampling to select 66 subject teachers and 6 head teachers. The correlation coefficient (r=. 530, p₌. 003) computed showed high positive correlation between academic outcomes and attitudes and interest among female students in secondary schools. The correlation coefficient (r= 0.640, p=. 042) computed revealed a weak but statistically significant relationship between peer pressure and differences in academic outcomes in mathematics and other subjects among female students in secondary schools from Gem Sub-County. The study concluded that lack of interests, attitudes and peer pressure contributed to difference in academic outcomes between mathematics and other subjects therefore the study recommended that Mathematics subject teachers and the school administration should find a way of creating awareness on important of mathematics.