Teachers’ Perception of Co-Curricular Participation on Students’ Academic Performance and Self-Concept in Rift Valley Region, Kenya

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume IV, Issue VII, July 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186

Teachers’ Perception of Co-Curricular Participation on Students’ Academic Performance and Self-Concept in Rift Valley Region, Kenya

Wilson Kiptala, John Kipruto
Educational Psychology Department, Moi University, Kenya

Abstract: The study sought to investigate teachers’ perception of co-curricular participation on students’ academic performance and self-concept. The objectives of the study were to: investigate the perception of teachers on the relationship between co-curricular participation by students and their self-concept, examine the relationship between gender, co-curricular participation perception and academic performance, and investigate gender and training of students in co-curricular participation and their influence on teachers’ perception of students’ participation in co-curricular activities. The ontology was post-positivism and the epistemology was realist/objectivist. The research method was quantitative. The research design was ex-post-facto. A total of 72 volleyball players, 124 football players and 82 teachers participated in the study. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample. The data was collected using a Likert scaled questionnaire. Data was analyzed using frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, t-test, Pearson r and a two way ANOVA at p >.05 level of significance. The major finding of the study showed that: participation in co-curricular activities has no significant relationship with academic performance, [t(194) = -1.36, p = .176. Based on the findings it was recommended that there was need to explore on a theory that can guide co-curricular participation in academic institutions.

Key Words: teachers’ perception, students’, co-curricular participation, secondary schools, academic performance, self-concept, Rift Valley Region

I. INTRODUCTION

Darling, Caldwell and Smith (2005) posit that the social significance of high school sports has been approached in research by many positions; the developmental theory emphasizes the ‘socializing’ or ‘character building’ effects of the athletic participation while the zero-sum theory stated that athletic participation diverts attention from academic work. Moreover, they viewed the student society as a finite system in which commitment to academic, athletic, or social values represents a loss to the other two. Besides, (Matano, 1992; McInally, 2003; Newman, 2005; Ogi, 2005; Okunbor & Mybor, 2005; Bulinde, 2006) argue that the two student cultures are casually linked and that athletics positively affects grades.

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