Greener Journal of Educational Research Vol. 9(1), pp. 16-26, 2019 ISSN: 2276-7789 Copyright ©2019, the copyright of this article is retained by
the author(s) DOI Link: http://doi.org/10.15580/GJER.2019.1.013119025
http://gjournals.org/GJER |
|
Self-Esteem and Academic
Achievement: What are the Explanatory Variables among Girls with Hearing
Impairment in Selected Secondary Schools for the Deaf in Kenya?
Departments
of Special Education1 and Department of Educational Management,
Policy and Curriculum Studies2, School of Education Kenyatta
University, Nairobi, Kenya.
ARTICLE INFO |
ABSTRACT |
Article No.: 013119025 Type: Research DOI: 10.15580/GJER.2019.1.013119025 |
|
Submitted: 31/01/2019 Accepted: 01/03/2019 Published: 02/05/2019 |
|
*Corresponding
Author Prof. Orodho, John A E-mail: orodhojohn@ gmail.com |
|
Keywords:
|
|
|
|
1.1.
Background to the Study
Kenya has made concerted effort to
bridge the gender gap in education of girls on the understanding that gender
disparities lead to more inequalities in meaningful lifelong education
(Republic of Kenya/UNESCO, 2012). As a country, it recognizes that education is
a human right and has put in place both legislative and long-term policy
frameworks to ensure that basic education is available and free for all
(Republic of Kenya,2012a,2012b; UNESCO,2011). To meet the national goals of
education, recent policy initiatives have focused on dealing with key
challenges such as access, participation, retention, equity, quality,
relevance, transition and efficiency that take into consideration gender and
geographical disparities (Republic of Kenya,2010a,2010b;
UNESCO,2012, United Nations,2011).Numerous studies have shown the impact of
maternal education, which plays a major role in determining the level of infant
and child mortality (Orodho, 2014). Juma (1994) reveals that educating women so that they
acquire information, knowledge and skills, increases their self-confidence and
raises their status as full participating members of the society. They also
play a predominant part as educators for future generation (Juma,
1994; Orodho, 2014). In Kenya, women are said to
constitute 50 percent of the country’s population yet they are the poorest
strata of the society. According to UNESCO estimates, nearly half of the women
in developing countries do not know how to read and write (UNESCO, 1998, 2010).
Nonetheless, it has been established that countries that have the highest rate
of women illiteracy have also low enrolment rates for girls at primary to secondary
education levels. A Report by Republic of Kenya/UNESO (2012) reveals that with
very few secondary schools for children with hearing impairments available to
graduates of primary schools in Kenya, relatively few join secondary schools
and transit to post-secondary education. A gap exists that reveals lack of
access for girls with hearing impairments to post-secondary education and
likewise to professional training and career upward mobility. In addition, the
Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC), which is a body mandated with the
responsibility of assessment and evaluation of academic standards shows that
the performance of girls with hearing impairments is low in Kenya Certificate
of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations in special sampled schools between
2003 and 2006 (KNEC, 2006).
|
|
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
||||
Centre Name |
Gender |
Entry |
Mean Score |
Entry |
Mean Score |
Entry |
Mean Score |
Entry |
Mean Score |
Rev. Muhoro
(HI) |
Female |
33 |
2.7 |
19 |
2.2 |
26 |
2.8 |
26 |
2.5 |
Male |
17 |
2.0 |
27 |
2.7 |
17 |
3.4 |
19 |
2.6 |
|
Joy town (PH) |
Female |
14 |
4.9 |
10 |
4.9 |
21 |
5.0 |
23 |
4.7 |
Male |
14 |
6.3 |
10 |
6.4 |
20 |
5.2 |
9 |
4.6 |
|
Thika Sch. For Blind |
Female |
13 |
5.2 |
20 |
4.8 |
25 |
5.4 |
18 |
6.1 |
Male |
31 |
5.0 |
28 |
5.1 |
28 |
6.0 |
36 |
5.8 |
|
St. Angela Mumias
(HI) |
Female |
7 |
3.7 |
14 |
2.2 |
16 |
1.5 |
16 |
1.4 |
Male |
- |
- |
8 |
2.6 |
9 |
2.3 |
- |
- |
Source: Kenya National Examinations
Council (2003-2006).
It was on this premise that
the need to focus on the individual girls’ competencies and experiences
arose. The fact that several factors
such as school environment, lack of resources, family status and communication
barriers had been observed. Little was known concerning personal
self-esteem. However, the Kenya
government through its initiative to provide free education has enabled parents
to send their children to school without much strain. Great sensitization on
change of attitude towards persons with disabilities through media, workshops
and policy frameworks, had also brought about attitudinal change that had led
to the introduction of inclusive education, which was a great celebration in
the schools. With all these measures in place, performance of girls with
hearing impairments was low hence it was felt that there was a strong need to investigate the underlying factors of
which the search for individual self-rating was to be considered.
Self-esteem was viewed as
the affective or evaluated counterpart to cognitive representations of the self
(Brown, 1998). It was widely acknowledged as having a strong influence on
psychological orientation of the individual, including motivation to engage in
efficacious behavior. According to Brown (1998), the experience of being
competent to cope with the basic challenges of life emerges from one’s
self-esteem. This consists of two components, the self-efficacy which is
confidence in one’s ability to think, learn, choose and make appropriate
decisions and self-respect, which is confidence in one’s right to be happy and
by extension, confidence that achievement, success, friendship, respect, love
and fulfillment are appropriate to oneself. In essence, ones
confidence provides strengths to participate in various activities of choice
and as a result, gain experience.
Educational achievement on
the other hand has great value to human beings and the society in which they
belong. That is the reason for every nation to monitor the progress of its
citizens through organizations or bodies like KNEC, to keep track of
educational performances or achievements irrespective of gender, disability, colours and religion. For instance, in Kenya, the KNEC
records (Table 1) reveal the gap that exists in the performance of girls with
hearing impairments (HI), which was the focus for this study. Despite the fact
that several studies have been carried out to investigate factors affecting
educational development of children with disabilities, no study has
investigated the personal or the intrinsic factors which were focused on, that
are “self-evaluation”.
Academic
achievement of girls with hearing impairments has been low and continues to be
low perpetuating a need for investigation. A gap exists in their academic
performance as compared to the performance of boys with hearing impairments or
compared to other girls with other disabilities (visual impairments and
physical impairments). The KNEC performance for the years 2003-2006 as shown in
(Table 1) reveals this disparity. Many factors could be contributing to the low
performance such as school environment, family status or communication barriers
which other scholars have studied (Murugami, 2002; Mwathi, 1998; & Oliwa, 1998).
However, other personal factors such as interest, competence, value and
responsibility could be major contributors for dismal or low performance. An
early intervention in terms of coming up with tangible findings that would
enable initiation of appropriate guidelines to boost their performance at this level
is crucial. It was against these backgrounds that need to find out the
explanatory variables behind self-esteem and academic achievement of girls with
hearing impairments was premised.
H0 :There
is no significant relationship between the self-esteem level and mean academic
achievement scores of girls with hearing impairments in selected secondary schools
for the deaf in Kenya.
2.0 RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
The
study used an ex-post-facto research design incorporating both the correlation
and qualitative approaches to interpret the results of the test of null hypothesis. The ex-post fact research design was chosen
because the condition of the learners and the results had already occurred as
is expected in such designs that do not manipulate any independent variable (Orodho, 2009a, 2012). The correlational strand enabled the
researcher to determine the relationship between variables through the use of
correlational statistics (Gall, Borg & Gall 1996; Orodho,
2009b). Orodho (2012) notes that in a correlational
research, relationships among two or more variables are studied without any
attempt to influence them. Orodho (2009a, 2012) and Brooks (2013) contend that a major
purpose of ex-post-facto- research design of a correlation subtype is to clarify
an understanding of important variables that have already occurred through the
identification of relationships among variables. Self-esteem is the main
independent variable and academic achievement as the dependent variable. The
study was conducted in two secondary schools for students with hearing
impairment that offered academic curriculum. The schools were situated in
Western and Central Provinces of Kenya. The choice of the regions was due to:
·
The accessibility of the schools to be studied.
·
The availability of girls with hearing
impairments at secondary level following only an academic curriculum.
Other
schools practiced integration or offered technical and vocational programmes.
The first
school was Reverent Muhoro Secondary School, which is
a mixed secondary school for students with hearing impairments situated in
Central Province of Kenya. At the time of data collection ,
there were three streams in the school, two were for hearing students and one
stream was for students with hearing impairments. The school had a total
population of 240 students. Girls in the school comprised about 40% of the
total number of students. All girls and boys with hearing impairments were
boarders. The school had a team of teaching staff employed by Teachers Service
Commission (TSC) and two others employed by the Board of Management (BoM). In
total, there were twenty teachers. The
school received donor support from organizations such as Seaford and Sevens of
United Kingdom (UK) whereas Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) sponsored
the school in terms of supplying hearing aids to students. The school was
equipped with a makeshift laboratory, an audiometry room but not furnished with
appropriate equipment and a home science room, which, was also not well
equipped. However, the school organized an outreach programme,
which enabled students to interact with community members in activities like
clean-up, church meetings and youth organizations.
The second
school was St. Angela Mumias Secondary School for the
deaf girls situated in Western Province of Kenya. It was a girls’ secondary
boarding school. It was established in 1970 by Ursuline
Sisters of Holland. Their main mission was to help poor and disadvantaged
girls. They were particularly interested in girls with hearing impairments to
receive education. They started St. Martins Primary School for the Deaf. With
only three girls at primary school, the sisters thought it wise to involve the
girls in sewing, stitching and handcraft using papyrus reeds. By 1976, there
was need to graduate the girls and move them to secondary section. At that point,
they were five in number as pioneers in a secondary school. Today the school has expanded and has a
population of 189 girls with hearing impairments. Girls in the school were all
boarders and came from all over Kenya and other countries like Uganda,
Tanzania, Somali, Sudan and Mozambique.
Target
population comprised all girls with hearing impairments in secondary schools
for in Kenya. A total population of about 300 girls with hearing impairments in
secondary schools was targeted. The two schools were purposively sampled since
they were the only secondary schools for girls with hearing impairments that
provided an academic secondary school curriculum in Kenya and had adequate
number of girls taking academic curriculum. The two principals of the sampled
schools were as well purposively sampled since they were the administrators who
would provide necessary rich information for the study.
All girls
in every class participated in the study but still they were not the expected
number. For instance, at St. Angela Mumias Secondary School,
the expected number of participants was 32 yet only 30 girls were available and
responded. At Reverend Muhoro Secondary School, the
expected number was 24 yet only 23 were available and responded. In total, a
sample of 53 girls with hearing impairments participated in the study
constituting a 40% out of the total population of 140 girls with hearing
impairments as shown (Table 2). The study only focused on relationship between
self-esteem and academic achievement of girls with hearing impairments.
Table2: Target population and Study Sample
School |
Number
of Total Girls |
No. of
girls with Hearing Impairment |
Responded |
Percentage |
Reverend
Muhoro
Secondary School |
60 |
24 |
23 |
40 |
St.
Angela Mumias Secondary School |
72 |
32 |
30 |
40 |
Total |
132 |
56 |
53 |
40 |
The
research instrument for the study was a questionnaire that was an adaptation
from Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale. This data-collection instrument typically
inquired about the feelings, motivations, attitudes, accomplishments and
experiences of individuals. Examination grades for the last four terms for each
participating girl were recorded and analyzed. Grade range was as follows: E=
0-39 (Very poor), D =40-49 (Poor), C =50-59 (Average), B =60-69
(Good) and A= 70-100 (Very good).
The
pilot study was conducted in Kambui Secondary School,
which had an integrated programme for girls with
hearing impairments. Brooks 92013) reveals that piloting provides opportunity
for the researcher to test his/her confidence in identifying difficulties and
obstacles that could affect the actual collection of useful data. Data for the
study was collected using questionnaires, interviews and observation
checklists. Self-esteem variable was reflected as positive/high or
negative/low. These dimensions were arrived at through responses captured on a
four-scale Likert-scale which covered strongly agree,
agree, disagree and strongly disagree. The academic achievement were measured
using past examination grade scores indicated as A =70-100 marks, B =60-69,
C =50 59, D =40-49 and E =0-39. Data for the study
were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) programme. The descriptive statistics were used to describe
and summarize the data in reference. The statistical hypothesis was tested
using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, r. Qualitative data from in-depth interviews were
used to explain the results of the tests of hypothesis. The qualitative data
was analyzed thematically and reported in narrative form.
3.0. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
3.1. Self-Esteem Ratings by Girls with
Hearing Impairments
To determine
the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement, the researcher provided the respondents
with a questionnaire on the Adapted Rosenberg self-esteem scale as shown in
Figure 1. The self-esteem rating was conducted through the use of a four Likert scale. With respect to students with HI perceptions
regarding the extent to which they considered themselves able to do things as
well as their un-challenged colleagues, 56% of reported that they had the
ability to do things as well as other people. Cumulatively, over 90 % were of
the opinion that they did not need sympathy as persons with disability but
opportunity to demonstrate their abilities. With regards to possessing good qualities, 62% of girls with hearing
impairments reported to possess good qualities, meaning that they were positive
towards themselves. In total, over 90% of the girls with HI either agreed or
strongly agreed that they possessed good qualities just like their
un-challenged counterparts. These findings concur with Murugami
(2003) that learners with special needs have internal locus of control
and positive self-concept.
With
regards to self-pride, an overwhelming 98% of girls with hearing impairments felt
they had a lot of qualities to be proud of while 93% of girls with hearing
impairments expressed the need for self-value and admired to be what they were
irrespective of the hearing impairments.
They were quite satisfied as people who deserved dignity and passion as
any other human being. In terms of being satisfied with themselves, 83% of the
respondents conveyed acceptance of their self-worth. They reported to possesses
what it takes to be a worthy person. They can interact with other people and
socialize freely. They reported on an interview schedule that they could perform physical duties as others except in
oral communication where they face challenges. This finding is in agreement
with Baumeister (1991) who had documented that
self-worth is derived from a person’s sense of confidence in what he or she
does and believes. Since the girls
believed in their worth as equal partners in the society, it revealed the
positive spirit they possessed. They only need encouragement by the hearing
people in areas they face challenges like in audition and speech. The hearing
society can adapt modes of communication to accommodate the ideal situation in
which both groups can appreciate and be able to interact freely.
In terms of self-worth, majority of
the girls with HI comprising of 86.5% revealed that they could not succumb to
the feeling of inferiority and were able to deny that fact. Instead, they
demonstrated their willingness for independent thinking and the right to
dispense their opinions. However, the smaller percentage (13.5%) exhibited
their right for self-evaluation and assessment, which revealed their honest
acceptance of inability to fulfill their dreams. They agreed that they
certainly felt useless at times. This finding is in tandem with Higgins (1987)
and in Brown (1998) who observed that
people are prone to feelings of guilt and anxiety when their perceptions of who
they are at present do not coincide with their ideas about who they think they
ought to be. Perceptions of who they
were as girls with hearing impairment demoralized them and denied them what
they expected to be in life. Hearing impairments made them to feel incapable
and as such resolved to despair in life, not being committed to studies and
rationally engaged in other social activities at school such as grooming and
vocational activities at the expense of academic work. In addition, the results seem to echo Schelsinger and Meadow (1972) observations that adolescent
girls with hearing impairments have low aspirations as compared to their
hearing counterparts. With regard to whether
or not they felt they needed respect by other un-challenged counterparts,
majority of girls with HI , comprising an overwhelming
98% of the girls were unequivocal that they wished to be respected by other
people. This finding is in line with what Brown (1998) established when he noted that attempts to define self-esteem ranges
from an emphasis on primitive libidinal impulses to perceptions that one is a
valuable member of a meaningful universe, that is, he/she is respected by
others. I a similar vein, these findings are in line with what Rosenberg, (1979), Schooler,
Schoenbach & Rosenberg (1995) earlier reported that self-esteem is a function of reflected
appraisals of close family members and friends, parents or other close adults
like teachers. They conclude that perceptions of self-worth or self esteem results from social attachments to close
friends and family members and the respect they offer to the individual member.
Schwalbe and Staples (1991) also observe that respect
reflects positively on a person and provided interpersonal support. These
researchers conclude that self-esteem results from reflected appraisals in
one’s immediate social network such as teachers, parents and friends. With
respect to personal feelings of self-worth, a huge percentage of girls with HI,
constituting 84.8% of the total sampled revealed that these girls possessed
positive feelings about themselves and were not obliged to feelings of
inferiority.
This finding
is in tandem with Oglivie (1987) who earlier observed
that people
think of themselves in terms of what they are afraid of becoming or do not want
to become. For instance, one fears to be a failure in business or to be
dependent on one’s children. Oglivie (1987) refer to
these images as aspects of undesired self and suggests that they play an
important role in how happy and satisfied people are in their lives. He posits
that the greater the psychological distance between how we think of ourselves
now and what we fear becoming; the happier we are in life. The potential
negative self-images also serve as important motivational incentives. Such
negative self-images could enable people to work hard in an attempt to avoid
the negative identities. With regards to perceptions of self-worth, 98
% were of the opinion that they were as good as their un-challenged
counterparts. This finding was rather encouraging as Wheaton (1980)
counsels that continued experience of failure in the face of effort leads to a
sense of powerlessness and helplessness. He notes that sometimes one would feel
not good at all but the moment one experiences success, then, his/her feelings
lead to a sense of personal control, characterized by instrumentalism and an
active approach to life. Mirowsky and Ross, (1989), Seeman
and Seeman, (1983) note that perceived powerlessness
(the opposite of a sense of control) is a belief that outcomes of situations
are determined by forces external to oneself such as powerful others, luck,
fate or chance and that one has little control over meaningful events and
circumstances in one’s life. Powerlessness is the cognitive awareness of a
discrepancy between one’s goals and the means to achieve them determines one’s
choice of action. The majority of the subjects in the study did not acknowledge
the feeling of being powerless or helpless. Finally, with regards to
self-actualization, majority of the girls with HI, comprising 94.4% of the totals
were unanimous that they liked most things about themselves. The findings
contrasted with Yee, Watkins and Crawford (1997) findings. They conducted a
study on self-esteem and hearing impairments of secondary school students. They
found that the self-esteem of females with hearing impairments was not as high
as for the males with hearing impairments in a number of dimensions of the self-such
as self-worth, capability of performing acts and taking responsibilities.
Majority of the subjects in this study were girls and demonstrated that they liked
most things about themselves.
3.2.
Academic Achievement Rating and Self-Esteem
Observations
of the academic records were presented featuring records of performance for
girls with hearing impairments per class per term for the previous four terms.
The information was collected from school documents on academic results for
individual students every term. Records
of performance for 23 girls from Reverend Muhoro and
for 30 girls from St. Angela Mumias was collected and
analyzed. Classes
that were involved in the study were class two, three and four. Form one
students were exempted because they had appeared examination in only one term
and so they did not qualify to be included in the study. Academic records for
form two in Reverend Muhoro Secondary School during
term one of 2007 revealed that out of eight girls in the class, only two had
scored above average mark of 650. The other six scored below average. Only one
student consistently scored above average mark in terms two and three of 2007
as well as in term one of 2008.
Class three had seven
students who participated in the study. Out of the seven students only one
student consistently scored above average mark of 650 in all the three terms in
2007. In term one of 2008 the same student scored above average mark of 650.
Eight students from class four of the school participated in the study. It
emerged that no student at form four managed to score an average mark of 650.
The highest average mark was 384 and the lowest was 95. It was quite obvious
that marks scored during 2008 which was first term of form four, drastically
dropped. The drop could be associated with the higher level of knowledge skills
expected at that class level such as synthesis and application that were quite
challenging for girls with hearing impairments. It was also noted that out of
eight participants who prepared to sit
their final KSCE examination, four of them could only achieve a total mark
below 100 i.e. 42, 46, 68 and 94 out of 700 marks in term one in 2008. The
other four in class slightly scored above 100 marks but below 200 marks which
was extremely on the lower level and they could not qualify for a pass in KCSE.
Their performance revealed a major gap in academic achievement for girls with
hearing impairments. From the records, none of the participants could qualify
to join university despite their strong desire and will to do so.
Academic records for class two
in St. Angela Mumias Secondary School during term one
of 2007 revealed that out of the 10 students who appeared examinations, none
scored above average mark of 650. That means that the students in the class
performed far below average. The highest mark scored was 566 and the lowest was
51. General performance for class two was low in the school. In class three, only 1 student scored above
the average 500 marks that were 598 marks. The rest of the students scored less
than the average mark. In third term of 2007 and first term 2008, out of the
scores analyzed, no student got above the average mark. The closest mark to the
average point was 366 marks and the lowest was 80 out of 500 marks. class three performance in the school was lower than class two.
For instance, if transition to four could be pegged on pass-mark at class three
then, no student would move to class four in St. Angela Secondary School.
Class four students in the
same school were seven in number. The records indicated that only one student
managed to score above average mark of 350 marks in first and third terms of
2007 and also in first term 2008. The rest of the students scored less than the
average mark, with some scoring as little as 46 out of 700 marks. It is
important to note that out of seven students in form four, five of them
consistently scored a total average mark below one hundred yet they were the
candidates for the school who prepared to sit for KCSE. According to the
records of performance in the school, no candidate at form four could qualify
for university entry. Form four candidates performed lowest in the three
classes that participated in the study. A trend was established indicating that
the higher the class levels, the worst the academic performance for girls with
hearing impairments at secondary schools. A common trend was established from
the findings, which showed that as the level of class increased, academic
performance decreased.
It is important to note
that those students who did not appear for examination at least three terms did
not qualify for analysis and so they were not included. There were seven
students in total who did not qualify for their grades to be analyzed due to
the cited reason. However, a common trend that was established from the findings
was that as the level of class increased, academic performance decreased.
Lin, Kaplan and Risser, (1992) found reciprocal relationship between
academic achievement and self-esteem among students from grades 7-12. They
reported that students who scored high on general self-esteem achieved high
grades and high grades in turn were associated with high levels of general
self-esteem. They concluded that high self-esteem motivated one to set higher
goals in academic undertakings. Despite high ratings on self-esteem, girls with
hearing impairments in this study scored very poorly in academics. The girls
demonstrated that high self-esteem neither leads to high academic achievement
nor low academic achievement can lead to low self-esteem. However, the findings
of the study revealed a moderately positive correlation between academic
achievement and self-esteem.
Osborne (1995) observes
that everyone's self-esteem was influenced by a number of factors. Parents,
teachers, co-workers, friends, fellow classmates, and the environment were
constantly influencing self-esteem. He noted that self-esteem is the product of
two internal assessments or judgments, that is, the global judgment and one's
self-worth. Osborne (1995) posits that key to self-esteem is the amount of
discrepancy between what a person desires and what that person believes he/she
has achieved. The findings of my study support Osborne (1995) who found that
self-esteem is a product of internal assessment or judgment.
The self-esteem scores that were
obtained from the girls’ evaluation and their academic scores were correlated
using the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation. The results obtained are
presented in (Table 2).
Table 2: Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation for Self-esteem Scores
and Academic Scores
Overall
performance on Rosenberg Self-esteem scale |
Pearson
Correlation |
.38 |
1.000 |
|
Sig.
(1-tailed) |
.401 |
|
|
N |
46 |
46.000 |
Correlation coefficient, r
=.38
As shown in
table 2 above, the Pearson’s correlation revealed the existence of a moderate
correlation (r = 0.38) between academic performance and self-esteem for girls
with hearing impairments. The
significance level given of .401 was more than the set value of p= .05
indicating that the null hypothesis is retained. That meant that although the
correlation was positive( r= .38) at a
significant level of∝ = .05 , the relationship was not statistically significant
at that level. The finding made the null hypothesis to be retained, and led to
the conclusion that there was no significant relationship between self-esteem
level and academic achievement of girls with hearing impairments in secondary schools
in Kenya.
Finally, an
attempt was made to assist in the interpretation of the results obtained from
the test of hypothesis. The fact that the statistical results revealed no
significant difference between self-esteem and academic performance meant that
explanations of performance reside beyond mere self-esteem. A point that became
evident through a close examination of class and examination records of
consideration is the possibilities for teachers to strengthen peer/group
support learning among students themselves. It was noted that one girl in class
two scored good grades (Student No. 7 in Class Two at Reverend Muhoro Secondary School) and one in Class three (Student
No. 1 in Class Three in the same school) also managed to score above average
grades. The two students could be used for peer tutoring and they would serve
as models for others to emulate.
The other
explanation of these findings of is that principals of secondary schools for
girls with hearing impairments took responsibilities to offer quality education
and provided care and security to girls under their jurisdiction. The schools
that tended to post high scored were those whose principals created close touch
with the community, especially the parents of girls with hearing impairments.
This made the girls with HI actively participate in various activities with
their un-challenged counterparts
Girls with
hearing impairments demonstrated that they had no threats when it came to the
way they should socialize with other peers as well as with their own teachers. In
few cases where peer socialization was encouraged, good academic performance
was evident.
The
interviews indicated that due to communication difficulties, persons with
hearing impairments face challenges ranging from long periods of time spent on
perceiving concepts to a lot of repetitions in classes needed for them to
assimilate the concepts taught at that level before they transit to the next class.
It was noted that the curriculum was rigid and the time schedules did not give
girls with HI more time for syllabus coverage. This was also partly due to lack
of interconnectivity of skills for learners with HI.
The
principals and teachers contended that the current curriculum for secondary
school is quite wide and rigid; it is examination oriented and has fixed time frame
for completion of the set syllabi, hence negatively impacting on academic
performance of students with HI. The teachers argued that girls with hearing
impairments have potentials in certain areas other than academic engagements
On formal
school assessment, a duty that is carried out by Kenya National Examinations
Council, the teachers noted that the mode of student evaluation, especially
among those with HI was not relevant to the learners. The teachers specifically
noted that the current mode of assessment that did not take into consideration
the plight of the students with HI by employing use of sign language hada added disadvantage to their performance
The major thrust of this study was to
examine the relationship between self-esteem and academic performance of
students with HI in secondary schools in selected schools for the deaf in
Kenya. It was evident that girls with hearing impairments rated themselves
positively on self-esteem. They
expressed concern that they could do everything as well as other people. From
these findings, it is recommended that:
1. It is important to think of
possibilities such as making education
for them to look achievable and admirable, something they should strive to
achieve and not stressful that they would try to avoid.
2. Teachers
should make deliberate use of positive reinforcement that will encourage girls’
participation and promote their esteem towards academic performance. They
should ensure that they put in place all necessary learning and teaching
devices that would support each girl to receive information in the simplest and
easiest way without much difficulties.
3. Each
girl’s individual differences should be addressed and their strengths utilized
to the maximum in order to help them overcome their weaknesses. They should be
given opportunities to demonstrate creativity and imagination into activities
and courses of their interest like Home Economics e.g. grooming, beauty therapy
and the like. The fact that the statistical results revealed no significant
difference between self-esteem and academic performance meant that explanations
of performance reside beyond mere self-esteem.
The other plausible explanation of these findings is that principals of
secondary schools for girls with hearing impairments took responsibilities to
offer quality education and provided care and security to girls under their
jurisdiction. The schools that tended to post high scored were those whose
principals created close touch with the community, especially the parents of
girls with hearing impairments. This made the girls with HI actively
participate in various activities with their un-challenged counterparts.
4. The study
recommends for active collaborations with parents, teachers, students and other
interested partners in initiating constructive projects that will actively
engage girls’ participation and bring change in attitude towards their
education outcomes. Projects in beauty therapy and good grooming (in Home
Economics) and modeling and drama (in Creative and Performing Arts) should be
initiated to promote potentials and create exposure to the outside world.
It was also evident that good
academic performance may not be admirable to girls with hearing impairments
which creates a great task for educators to worry about.
5. It is therefore recommended that
educators/teachers, counselors, parents, hearing peers and other stakeholders
to encourage girls with hearing impairments and give moral support so that they
work hard to improve on academic work at school on the understanding that
education is key to upward mobility and job security particularly in courses like
Home Economics.
Girls with
hearing impairments demonstrated that they had no threats when it came to the
way they should socialize with other peers as well as with their own teachers.
In few cases where peer socialization was encouraged, good academic performance
was evident.
6. It is
important for teachers to promote dialogue and interactive activities within
schools as well as inter-school activities that would allow for more
socialization. Collaboration with the wider society for purposes of learning
from one another, exchanging ideas and sharing diverse experiences mostly in
local community activities is an example. In that way, girls with hearing
impairments will be understood for who they are and what abilities they possess
rather than being perceived differently. The interviews indicated that due to
communication difficulties, persons with hearing impairments face challenges
ranging from long periods of time spent on perceiving concepts to a lot of
repetitions in classes needed for them to assimilate the concepts taught at
that level before they transit to the next class. It was noted that the
curriculum was rigid and the time schedules did not give girls with HI more
time for syllabus coverage. This was also partly due to lack of interconnectivity
of skills for learners with HI.
7. It is
recommended that the government should make curriculum flexible in terms of
time-frame to give girls with hearing impairments more time for syllabus
coverage since they require proficiency in one skill area before transition to
the next higher level. It was evident from the findings that as the level of
classes increased, the academic performance decreased. For girls with hearing
impairments to polish up before proceeding to a higher level, a competency of
skills in a curriculum is highly recommended and not just mere transition from
one class level to another on yearly basis for the sake of it.
8. The study
recommends that the government and particularly the curriculum developers that
is, Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) reconsiders curricula adaptation to suit
the potentials and abilities of girls with hearing impairments. Provision for a
diversified curriculum that gives alternative choices should be available at
all times in schools in order to motivate low achievers in academics who may
prove to be higher achievers in other areas of proficiency.
On formal
school assessment, a duty that is carried out by Kenya National Examinations
Council, the teachers noted that the mode of student evaluation, especially
among those with HI was not relevant to the learners. The teachers specifically
noted that the current mode of assessment that did not take into consideration
the plight of the students with HI by employing / use of sign language had an
added disadvantage to their performance.
9. It is recommended
that the council should rethink practical assessment or evaluation whereby participants
with hearing impairments could be exposed to strategies like observations and
demonstrations on concrete aspects as opposed to applications and synthesis on
theory or abstract work which may require too much reading and cramming notes
for purposes of passing examinations. Evaluation on practical skills learnt and
a variety of choices on what to embark on would support girls in decision
making and forming opinions. An alternative strategy would be the use of Kenya
Sign Language for examinations on subject content or rather, sign language
interpreters for all required examinations.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors acknowledge assistance of
the principals, teachers and students of secondary schools for students with
hearing impairments who participated in the study (Reverend Muhoro
and St. Angela Mumias). Appreciation
to Kenyatta University, Deans Committee for their financial support and
CODESRIA for the award of a grant that enabled the partial accomplishment of
this study.
REFERENCES
Baumeister, R. F. (1991). Meaning of life. NY: The Guilford Press. Branden,
N. (1969). The psychology of self-esteem: A revolutionary approach to
self- understanding. Jossey-Bass, NY: Willey.
Brown,
J. D. (1998). The Self. NY: McGraw-Hill. Cloninger, S.
(2004). Theories of personality: Understanding persons. NJ: Pearson
Prentice -Hall.
Brooks,
D. A.(2013). Research in qualitative and quantitative approaches. Pricey-Hall
Publishers
Fraenkel, J. R. & Wallen, N. E. (2000). How
to design and evaluate research in education. NY: McGraw-Hill.
Gall, M. D.; Borg, W. R, & Gall, J. P. (1996). Educational
research: An introduction. NY: Longman.
Juma,
N, M. (1994). Determinants of female
participation in primary education. A study of Kwale and Taita-Taveta districts in Kenya. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis. Nairobi:
Kenyatta University.
Lin, X.; Kaplan, H. B. & Risser, W. (1992). Decomposing
the reciprocal relationships between academic achievement and general
self-esteem. Youth and Society 24, 123 – 148.
Kenya National Examinations Council, KNEC (2006). Results Analysis for various
years. KNEC
Research Division.
Maqsud,
M. (1991). Relationship between socioeconomic status,
locus of control,
Self-concept and
academic achievement of Botswana adolescents. Journal of Youth and
Adolescence, 20, 16-22.
Mirowsky,
J. & Ross, C. E. (1989). Social causes of
psychological distress. NY:
Aldine de Gruyter.
Murugami, M. W. (2002). Effects of locus of control on self-concept
among secondary school learners in special schools in Central Province.
Unpublished M.Ed Thesis.
Nairobi: Kenyatta University.
Mwathi, B. (1998). Relationship between self-concept and
academic aspirations among disabled persons. Unpublished M.Ed Thesis. Nairobi: Kenyatta University.
Oliwa, B. N. (1998). A study on relationship between achievement,
motivation locus of control and academic performance of class eight pupils in Bondo District. Unpublished
M. Ed Thesis. Nairobi: Kenyatta University.
Oglivie, D. M. (1987).The undesired self: A
neglected variable in personality research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
52, 372-388.
Orodho, A.J (2009a). Elements of Educational
research in and social sciences. Kanezja Maseno
Publications.
Orodho, A.J (2009b). Techniques of Data Analysis
Using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Computer Programme Version 20. Kanezja Maseno
Publications.
Orodho, A.J (2012). Techniques
of writing research proposals and reports in education and social sciences. Kanezja
Publisher.
Orodho, A.J (2012). Techniques
of writing research proposals and reports in education and social sciences. Kanezja
Publisher.
Orodho, A.J.(2014).Financing Basic
Education : What are the equity and quality implications of free primary
education (FPE) and Free Day Secondary Education (FDSE) Policies in Kenya? International
Journal of Development Research Vol.4 Issue3, pp477-487, March,2014.www.journalijdr.com ISSN:2230-9926.
Osbourne, J. W. (1995). Academics, self-esteem
and race: A look at the underlying Assumptions of the misidentifications
hypothesis. Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin, 21, 449-455.
Republic of Kenya. (2010a). The Constitution of Kenya, 2010. The Attorney General. Nairobi.
Republic of Kenya .(2010b).Child friendly
Schools Manual. Ministry of Education. Nairobi.
Rogers,
C. R. (1951). Client-centered
theory. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Rosenberg, M. (1979). Conceiving
the self. NY: Basic Books.
Schlesinger, H., & Meadow, K. (1972). Development of maturity in deaf children. Exceptional Children, 38, (6), 461-467.
Schwalbe,
M. L. & Staples, C. L. (1991). Gender
differences in sources of self-esteem. Social Psychology. 54, 158-168.
Seeman
,
M. & Seeman, T. E. (1983). Health
behaviour and personal autonomy. Journal of
Educational Psychology, 71, 46-53.
UNESCO, (1998). Women
literacy in developing countries. Paris: UNESCO.
UNESCO. (2010). Education for All Global Monitoring Report: Reaching the
Marginalized. Paris.
UNESCO. (2011). Conceptual evaluation and policy
development in lifelong learning. Hamburg. UNESCO.
Institute of Lifelong Learning.
UNESCO. (2012). Systematic monitoring of education for
All. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,
( UNESCO).
UNICEF, (2001). On
www.sahaya.org/deaf.html,
August 2006.
UNICEF .(2009).Child Friendly Schools; Emerging practices in Eastern
and Southern Africa-A Rights Human-Based Approach. www.unicef.org United
Nations. (2005a): MDG Status
Report for Kenya for 2005, UN
United Nations (2005b):UN Millennium Project, Task Force on Education and Gender Equality 2005.
United Nations. (2011).The
Hidden Crisis : Armed conflict and education.
Wheaton, B. (1980). The sociogenesis of
psychological disorder: An Attributional theory. Journal
of Health and Social Behaviours,
21, 100 – 124.
Yee,
F. W.; Watkins, D. & Crawford, N. (1997). Self-Esteem and hearing impairment:
An investigation of Hong Kong secondary school students. In
a Journal of Social behavior and Personality, 25 (4), 367-374.
Cite this Article: Awori,
BB; Karugu, GK; Mugo, J; Orodho, JA (2019). Self-Esteem and Academic Achievement:
What are the Explanatory Variables among Girls with Hearing Impairment in
Selected Secondary Schools for the Deaf in Kenya? Greener Journal of Educational Research, 9(1): 16-26, http://doi.org/10.15580/GJER.2019.1.013119025. |