TEACHER RELATED FACTORS AND ENROLMENT OF STUDENTS IN AGRICULTURE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KENYA

Agriculture is one of the optional subjects done in secondary schools in Kenya. This suggests that students enrolment in the subject is influenced by a number of factors. This study aimed to establish teacher related factors influencing enrolment in agriculture in secondary schools in Kakamega North Sub-county, Kakamega County, Kenya. The study which was anchored on Behaviorism learning theory and Connectivism learning theory adopted correlational research design and descriptive survey design. The population for the study consisted of school principals, school career masters, agriculture teachers, form three students and Parents. Purposive and stratified random sampling was used to select twenty (20) schools, twenty (20) Principals, twenty (20) career masters, twenty (20) agriculture teachers, 300 form 3 students and twenty (20) Parents Teachers Association (PTA) members. Data from the respondents was collected using questionnaires and interview schedules, while observing the necessary ethical considerations. Data collected was analyzed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) for windows version 25. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically and findings presented. The study established that teaching approach (63.6%) was major teacher related factor influencing enrolment of students in agriculture. The Chi-square test of independence [ꭕ2 (36, N=7) = 42.00, p = .007], at p≤0.05 level of precision, indicated that there is a statistically significant relationship between teacher related factors and enrolment of students in agriculture. The study therefore recommended that agriculture teachers should employ right instructional approaches in teaching and learning of agriculture to inspire more students to pursue agriculture related careers.