International Journal of Secondary Education

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Current Causes of Girls’ Low Performance in Physical Sciences from Hard-to-reach Secondary Schools in Eastern Uganda

Received: 28 October 2016    Accepted: 22 December 2016    Published: 22 February 2017
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Abstract

Physical science, a branch of science is concerned with nonliving matter and energy such as physics, chemistry, and astronomy. Ideally, everyone would excel in this area of science, because it is a basic science. In Uganda, hard-to-reach areas exhibit high rates of poor performance at secondary level and it is quite alarming on the side of girls offering science subjects. In this paper, we present the current causes of high failure rates. 130 Students, teachers and head teachers from ten schools in two districts of Manafwa and Bududa in the Eastern part of Uganda participated in the study. The major cause on the side of students is lack of role models and mentors whereas for the teachers, it is attributed to background knowledge of science. On the contrary H/teachers assert that high failures rates are due to economic factor which keeps students’ minds absent. We suggest that counseling and guidance by senior female scientists can change this situation.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijsedu.20170501.12
Published in International Journal of Secondary Education (Volume 5, Issue 1, February 2017)
Page(s) 12-15
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Low Performance, Physical Sciences, Hard-to-Reach, Secondary Schools

References
[1] Crozier G. and J. Davies. Hard to reach parents or hard to reach schools? A discussion of home–school relations, with particular reference to Bangladeshi and Pakistani parents. British Educational Research Journal. Vol. 33, No. 3, 2007.
[2] Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) report 2016.
[3] Asankha P. and Takashi Y. Impacts of Universal Secondary Education Policy on Secondary School Enrollments in Uganda. Journal of Accounting, Finance and Economics. Vol. 1, No. 1, 2011.
[4] Fonseca J. M. B. and J. E. Conboyv. Secondary student perceptions of factors effecting failure in Science in Portugal. Eurasia journal of mathematics, science and technology education. Vol. 2, No. 2, 2006.
[5] Anthony, G. Factors influencing first-year students success in mathematics. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology. Vol. 31, No. 1, 2000. Pp 3-15.
[6] Mbugua Z. K., Komen K. G. and Nkonke G. K. Factors Contributing To Students’ Poor Performance in Mathematics at Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in Kenya: A Case of Baringo County, Kenya. American International Journal of Contemporary Research. Vol. 2, No. 6. 2012.
[7] Imomotimi. E. and Vikoo E. Some Factors Affecting the Performance of Secondary School Students in Chemistry, A Kolokuma/Opokuma Study. Journal of Education and Practice. Vol. 4, No. 7. 2013.
[8] Sa’ad, T. U., Adamu A. and Sadiq A. M. The Causes of Poor Performance in Mathematics among Public Senior Secondary School Students in Azare Metropolis of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Journal of Research & Method in Education, Vol. 4, Issue 6. 2014, pp 32-40.
[9] National Population and Housing Census 2014 Report (Eastern Region).
[10] Google (7 July 2016). Map showing location of Manafwa and Bududa District, Eastern Region, Uganda. Google Maps. Retrieved on 7 July 2016.
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  • APA Style

    Jalira Namugaya, Isaac Habumugisha. (2017). Current Causes of Girls’ Low Performance in Physical Sciences from Hard-to-reach Secondary Schools in Eastern Uganda. International Journal of Secondary Education, 5(1), 12-15. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsedu.20170501.12

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    ACS Style

    Jalira Namugaya; Isaac Habumugisha. Current Causes of Girls’ Low Performance in Physical Sciences from Hard-to-reach Secondary Schools in Eastern Uganda. Int. J. Second. Educ. 2017, 5(1), 12-15. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsedu.20170501.12

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    AMA Style

    Jalira Namugaya, Isaac Habumugisha. Current Causes of Girls’ Low Performance in Physical Sciences from Hard-to-reach Secondary Schools in Eastern Uganda. Int J Second Educ. 2017;5(1):12-15. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsedu.20170501.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijsedu.20170501.12,
      author = {Jalira Namugaya and Isaac Habumugisha},
      title = {Current Causes of Girls’ Low Performance in Physical Sciences from Hard-to-reach Secondary Schools in Eastern Uganda},
      journal = {International Journal of Secondary Education},
      volume = {5},
      number = {1},
      pages = {12-15},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijsedu.20170501.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsedu.20170501.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsedu.20170501.12},
      abstract = {Physical science, a branch of science is concerned with nonliving matter and energy such as physics, chemistry, and astronomy. Ideally, everyone would excel in this area of science, because it is a basic science. In Uganda, hard-to-reach areas exhibit high rates of poor performance at secondary level and it is quite alarming on the side of girls offering science subjects. In this paper, we present the current causes of high failure rates. 130 Students, teachers and head teachers from ten schools in two districts of Manafwa and Bududa in the Eastern part of Uganda participated in the study. The major cause on the side of students is lack of role models and mentors whereas for the teachers, it is attributed to background knowledge of science. On the contrary H/teachers assert that high failures rates are due to economic factor which keeps students’ minds absent. We suggest that counseling and guidance by senior female scientists can change this situation.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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Author Information
  • Department of Mathematics, Muni University, Arua, Uganda; Institute for Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation, Pan African University, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Department of Physics, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda; Department of Physics, Islamic University in Uganda, Mbale, Uganda; Department of Physics, Kabale University, Kabale, Uganda

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