FACTORS INFLUENCING ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN WARD SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KONGWA DISTRICT, TANZANIA SINGANO, HAMZA SELEMAN A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF EDUCATION IN ADMINISTRATION, PLANNING AND POLICY STUDIES (MED APPS) OF THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA 2017 ii CERTIFICATION The undersigned certifies that he has read and hereby recommends for acceptance by the Open University of Tanzania, a dissertation entitled : “Factors Influencing Academic Performance of Students in Ward Secondary Schools in Kongwa District, Tanzania” submitted by Singano, Hamza Seleman in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a the degree Masters of Education in Administration, Planning and Policy Studies (MED APPS). ………………………………………………… Dr. Sydney G. V. Mkuchu (Supervisor) …………………………………………. Date iii COPYRIGHT No part of this thesis/dissertation may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the author or the Open University of Tanzania in that behalf. iv DECLARATION I, Singano, Hamza Seleman do hereby declare that this dissertation is my own work and that it has not been submitted and will not be presented to any other University. ……………………………………………… Signature ………………………………………………… Date v DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, my beloved father Mr Singano Hamza Suleiman and my lovely mother, the late Hyasinta Hyera Kajimajima (R.I.P), and to other members of my family who laid down the foundation of my education for their prayers and encouragement to pursue the Masters of Education Administration, Planning and Policy Studies. vi AKNOWLEDGMENT I thank the Almighty God for giving me whatever I have and that i have managed to accomplish this task. Among the most difficult words to write, are those that express the depth of my gratitude to many dedicated people whose efforts have made this work possible. Since it is impossible to mention them all, it is inevitable to mention a few and I wholeheartedly thank them all. First, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Sydney Mkuchu whose encouragement, patience, guidance and advice enabled this study to reach its present form. His suggestions, criticisms and discussions greatly directed this work. Second, special thanks go to my parents and other family members for their love, moral and materials support during the study period. I wish to extend my gratitude to Kongwa district officials for giving me permission to conduct a research in the district. Special thanks should go to the heads of schools, teachers, parents/guardians, ward educational officers, district secondary education officer and students of Mnyakongo, Mtanana, Mumi and Sejeli secondary schools of Kongwa district for their valuable assistance during the data collection process. Third, I am especially grateful to my fellow MED APPS 2014/2016 students for their support throughout the coursework and research. Special thanks should go to Lawrence, Muhsan, Mbwana, Mwanahawa, Mbega, Mariana and other individuals whom I have not mentioned. This does not imply that I have neglected them, but I actually remain indebted to them. May the Almighty God bless all of them all. vii ABSTRACT This study investigated factors influencing academic performance of students in ward secondary schools in Kongwa district. The study specifically examined school based factors; home based factors and lastly identified students’ based factors influencing their academic performance. The study was guided by open system theory. A descriptive survey design was used in carrying out the study for data collection and analysis. The study used mixed research approach. Heads of schools, teachers, students, ward education officers, District Education Officer and parents were the respondents of the study. Both purposive and randomly sampling procedures were used in the selection of the respondents. Questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussion methods were used in data collecting process. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods were used for analysing the collected data. The findings revealed that the occupation and level of education of parents/guardians had an impact on students’ academic performance. Distance to and from school, availability of teaching and learning materials, teachers working conditions, availability of laboratories and libraries and students’ based factors had some effects on students’ academic performance. It was recommended that there is need of building hostels in order to avoid students to walk long distances from home to school; the government also must ensure that teaching and learning resources are available. It is also recommended that other studies should be carried out in other areas in other secondary schools in varied context. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATION ....................................................................................................... ii COPYRIGHT .............................................................................................................. iii DECLARATION ........................................................................................................ iv DEDICATION ............................................................................................................. v AKNOWLEDGMENT ............................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... xii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................. xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................... xiv CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................ 1 THE BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Background to the Study ............................................................................. 1 1.3 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................ 7 1.4 Objectives of the Study ............................................................................... 8 1.4.1 General objective ......................................................................................... 8 1.4.2 Specific objectives ....................................................................................... 9 1.5 Research Questions ..................................................................................... 9 1.6 Significance of the Study............................................................................. 9 1.7 Limitation of the Study .............................................................................. 10 1.8 Conceptual Framework ............................................................................. 10 1.8.1 Predicator variables ................................................................................... 11 ix 1.8.2 The mediating variables ............................................................................ 12 1.8.3 Outcome variables ..................................................................................... 12 1.9 Definitions of Key Terms .......................................................................... 12 1.9.1 Performance ............................................................................................... 13 1.9.2 Academic performance .............................................................................. 13 1.9.3 Ward secondary schools ............................................................................ 13 1.9.4 Home based factors ................................................................................... 13 1.10 Organization of the Dissertation ................................................................ 14 CHAPTER TWO ..................................................................................................... 15 LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................... 15 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 15 2.2 Theoretical Literature ................................................................................ 15 2.3 Empirical Studies....................................................................................... 18 2.3.1 School based factors .................................................................................. 18 2.3.2 Home based factors ................................................................................... 21 2.4 Research Knowledge Gap ......................................................................... 25 CHAPTER THREE ................................................................................................. 26 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ..........................................................................