Influence Of Young Farmers’ Club Of Kenya Activities On Secondary School Students’ Performance In Kenya Certificate Of Secondary Education Agriculture in Rongai Sub-County Of Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

Young Farmers’ Club (YFC) activities are vital in the mastery and attainment of skills in the agriculture subject since it is best found out by practicing. Increased youth participation in agricultural production is necessary and vital in facilitating food and nutritional security. The primary objective of YFCK is to train young people to be productive future farmers. Since secondary school education is terminal to the majority of the youth, non-attainment of lifelong skills in agriculture may lead to low standards of living and a decline in agricultural productivity. The study sought to demonstrate the influence of YFCK activities on secondary school students’ performance in KCSE Agriculture in Rongai Sub-County. It employed a cross- sectional survey design to collect data from a target population of 1,506 YFCK members in 30 public secondary schools. Purposive sampling method was used to select eight secondary schools to represent all the types and categories of schools in the four Divisions of the Rongai Sub-County. Proportionate sampling method was then used to obtain a sample of 175 YFCK members. All the 13 Agriculture teachers were used for data analysis. Questionnaires validated by two experts from the Department of Agricultural Education and Extension of Egerton University were used to collect data. Reliability of the instrument was estimated through a pilot-test using 50 YFCK members of the Jomo Kenyatta secondary school in the Nakuru North Sub-County. It achieved a reliability coefficient of 0.72 and 0.73 for YFCK members and Agriculture teachers respectively, at a significance level of α= 0.05. Data was collected using questionnaires administered to Agriculture teachers and YFCK members. Computations were carried out using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The outcome of the study indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between the mean scores in KCSE Agriculture of schools with active and non-active YFCK. Participation in YFCK was limited for schools in the study. The KCSE Agriculture mean scores for schools in the study were higher than the overall schools mean scores between 2008 and 2012. The researcher recommends that Agriculture teachers in liaison with school administration should enhance YFCK activities. This is for effective practical activities in teaching and learning of agriculture subject according to the syllabus.