RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACADEMIC MOTIVATION AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Students’ motivation is an essential component that plays an active role in their learning. Education is an important pillar in the realization of economic goals yet an analysis of academic performance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exhibited a declining trend. This poses a threat to students’ self-realization of career goals and the Country‘s manpower. This study investigated the relationship between academic motivation and academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Nairobi County. The study employed Self-Determination Theory by Ryan and Deci and the Social Cognitive theory by Albert Bandura. The Academic Motivation Scale, a high school version was adapted to measure academic motivation. The study adopted a correlation research design. Questionnaires were administered to provide quantitative data using a sample of 397 form four students drawn from 12 public secondary schools in Nairobi County. The data was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively, guided by the study objectives. Product Moment Correlation Coefficient statistic test was used to establish the relationship between academic motivation and academic performance of the students. The level of significance in rejecting the null hypothesis was at p= ≤ .05. The study found a significant and positive relationship between students’ academic motivation and academic performance ((r (318) = 0.22, P< 0.05). The study concluded that academic motivation is a real phenomenon that affected students’ academic performance. A major implication and recommendation of the study was that all stakeholders in education develop various strategies including counseling approaches that enhances students’ academic motivation with more emphasis on the boy child.