EFFECT OF COMPUTER ASSISTED TEACHING STRATEGY ON STUDENTS MOTIVATION TO LEARN AGRICULTURE BY GENDER IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THARAKA NITHI COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

It is necessary to analyze academic motivation because of its significance in learning in schools. Gender differences in motivation to learn vary according to school subject. Motivation to learn is partly as a result of teaching strategies employed by the teacher. Motivation to learn is enhanced by the way in which instructional material is organized. In Computer Assisted Teaching (CAT) strategy learners are actively involved in the learning process and this increases their motivation to learn. There is limited information on the effect of the strategy on motivation to learn agriculture in relation to gender. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether there is gender difference in motivation to learn agriculture among students exposed to CAT strategy. The study employed Solomon Four-Quasi-experimental design. The study was conducted in eight county secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi county, Kenya. Stratified random sampling technique was used in selecting participating schools. A sample of 327 Form One students participated in the study. The research instrument was Motivation Towards Agriculture (MTA) questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.78. Descriptive statistics (means and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (t-test) were used for data analysis. Statistical significant values were accepted at α level of 0.05. The findings indicated that male and female students taught agricultureusing CAT strategy were equally motivated to learn agriculture. It was concluded that the strategy was equally effective in both gender. The study concluded that CAT is an effective strategy in enhancing motivation to learn agriculture in both males and females and therefore agriculture teachers should be encouraged to incorporate CAT strategy in their teaching.