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.