EDUCATIONAL FACTORS INFLUENCING LEARNING OF IMAGINATIVE WRITING AMONG FORM THREE SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN KAKAMEGA CENTRAL SUB COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Secondary school students in Kenya learn imaginative writing through English, a second language performed dismally making educators and the general Kenyan public worried. This study established educational factors influencing learning of imaginative writing in secondary schools in Kakamega Central Sub County, Kenya. It investigated the strategies secondary school teachers of English use in the teaching of imaginative writing, Form Three students’ practices used to learning of imaginative writing, challenges faced during imaginative writing and challenges faced in teaching imaginative writing. Guided by The Input Hypothesis of Krashen’s Monitor Theory of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), the study used a descriptive survey design and sampled 7 out of 23 public secondary schools in Kakamega Central Sub County through stratified, purposive and simple random sampling. 271 Form Three secondary school students and 7 secondary school teachers of English participated in the study. Questionnaires, interview schedules, participant lesson observation schedule and document analysis schedule were used to collect data on teaching strategies, practices students used, challenges students faced and challenges teachers faced respectively in the learning of imaginative writing. Piloting determined validity and reliability of the research tools. Permission was sought from relevant authorities before conducting research. Quantitative data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and presented in frequency tables and percentages, bar graphs and pie charts. Qualitative data in turn was analyzed based on themes and content, and presented descriptively in words. Findings indicate that question and answer teaching approach was commonly used, insufficient instructional materials and lack of computer competence negatively affected 86 percent of teachers of imaginative writing. Students had challenges with using correct spellings, appropriate use of tenses and good use of punctuation marks. Further, most of the students lacked selfmanagement skills in imaginative writing and teachers taught large classrooms with insufficient instructional materials for imaginative writing. The study recommends workshops for teachers on imaginative writing, appropriate teaching approaches and integration of technology into the imaginative writing lessons. Further, learners would be encouraged to take some time to plan, write and edit their imaginative writing exercises to minimize spelling errors and wrong punctuation during imaginative writing. The study suggests that, among other areas, studies be carried out on the role of information technology, gender and first language in influencing learning of imaginative writing in schools.