Relationship Between Secondary School Teaching Factors and Academic Performance of Students in Science Subjects in Lower Public Secondary Schools in Rwanda

Abstract

The performance of students in various school activities get affected by various factors including factors associated with teaching. These can include teachers’ attitude, schools’ facilities usage, curriculum implementation and community involvement. Therefore, the purpose of the research was to assess the relationship between secondary school teaching factors and academic performance of students in science subjects in lower public secondary schools in Rwanda, particularly in Rusizi district. The target population was 185 respondents. From this population, simple random sampling and convenient sampling techniques were used to get 126 respondents. Questionnaire and interview guide were used as data collection instruments. IBM SPSS version 23 was used in the management of quantitative data. Likewise, thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative findings. The findings revealed there is a statistically significant low positive relationship between school installations usage and students results where r= 0.390 and p-value of 0.001, less than 0.01 was found. This shows school facilities are more important in making students more performing in different domains. The study also revealed there is a statistically significant low positive relationship between teachers’ attitudes and academic achievements where r= 0.458 and p-value is 0.000 less than 0.01. This means that teachers’ attitudes are more important in making students more performing in different domains. It was noted there is a statistically significant low positive relationship between curriculum implementation and the school achievements where r= 0.291 and p-value 0.019 is less than 0.05. This means that at certain extent curriculum implementation contribute to the academic performance. The findings also indicated there is a statistically significant low degree of positive relationship between community involvement and students’ achievements where r= 0.245 and p-value = 0.049, less than 0.05. This means that at certain extent community involvement contribute to the academic performance. This research recommends that the government should allocate enough funds to schools for improving school buildings.  School authorities and parents should construct ways of controlling students’ personal issues. Besides, there should be establishment of the departments guiding and counseling students at the educational institution like schools to resolve learners’ problems like teenage challenges, panic of exams, and subject choices among others. Keywords: Teaching factors, Academic performance, Lower Public Secondary Schools, Rwanda