Role of Boys’ Empowerment on Academic Achievement among Lower Primary School Boys in Mombasa County, Kenya

Abstract

Boy child empowerment is a topic that is emphasized among many educationists today. It has been proven that pupils who receive proper empowerment tend to excel academically as compared to their counterparts who do not. Boys and girls need to be targets in these empowerment programmes. However, in recent years, it has been observed that boys are usually left out of the school empowerment programmes. There is no much research to explain if this is the reason as to why the academic achievement of boys in the recent years is dwindling while girls within same schools perform very well. This study sought to interrogate if there is any relationship between empowerment of the lower primary schoolboys child and his academic performance. The theory that guided this study is the empowerment theory by Zimmerman.  Gaps identified in the literature reviewed include; first, there is no ready literature directly relating the role of male teachers and the academic achievement of boys. Secondly, there is also no adequate literature showing whether boys taught by predominantly female teachers perform dismally in academics. The role of attitude is not adequately researched in relation to the variables under this study. There is evidently a gap in knowledge as to whether empowering boys in early childhood influences their academic achievement positively or not. Much of the knowledge available concerns older children and this leaves the formative years unattended and under researched. This gap in knowledge made this study very relevant and critical. The study applied the descriptive research design. Purposive sampling was used to sample schools where the study will be conducted. The simple random sampling was used in coming up with the learners and teachers who would take part in the study. A pilot study was done to test the tools. Questionnaires, interview schedules, achievement test and observation checklists were used to collect data. The data was collected over a period of three months. The data was then analyzed and presented using frequency distribution tables, bar graphs and pie charts. The study concluded that; the strategies used to empower boys are effective, there are no regular empowerment programs for boys in schools, the empowerment of boys in schools face several challenges that negatively impact the boys and that the male teachers are conspicuously missing in the preschools. Practical recommendations were made to school managers, curriculum developers and policy makers.