Gender Differences in Learning Strategies and Academic Achievement among Form Three Secondary School Students in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

In Kenya, like the other nations of the world, academic achievement is associated with individual and national development. However, poor academic achievement especially in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education has persisted over the years (2015 – 2018). Therefore, this study sought to establish gender differences in learning strategies and academic achievement among form three students in Nairobi County, Kenya. Explanatory sequential mixed methods design was adopted. Purposive, stratified, and simple random sampling procedures were used. A sample of 488 participants was selected from 10 public secondary schools. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data. The study found significant gender differences in rehearsal learning strategy and elaboration learning strategy. However, there were no significance gender differences observed in organization learning strategy. The qualitative findings were in tandem with the quantitative results. In conclusion, the significant gender differences in the different learning strategies implies their importance in the teaching learning process. Therefore, the study recommended that, teachers, parents and all stakeholders in education create an enhancing environment to foster the development of academic mindsets among secondary school students.