Self-Determination and Achievement of Reading Comprehension in English Language among Grade 2 Learners in Bungoma South Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

The study sought to determine the effect of self-determination on Grade 2 learners’ performance in reading comprehension, based on a gap in the literature on the study subject in Bungoma South sub-county primary schools. The study is guided by the social cognitive theory and is pegged on the positivist philosophical paradigm. The study adopted the quasi-experimental approach, making use of Solomon's four-group design. The study targeted grade 2 teachers and students in Bungoma South Sub-County public primary schools. Random sampling was adopted in the selection of schools, while purposive sampling was utilized in the selection of ECD teachers in every pre-school. Data collection was undertaken through the use of questionnaires, documentary analysis, focus groups, children achievement tests. Analysis of quantitative data was undertaken by use of paired-samples t test, Levene test, two-way ANOVA, and Welch test, while text search query analysis and matrix coding query analysis were used for qualitative data analysis. Results from the Levene test, Welch test, paired-samples t test, and two-way ANOVA showed that self-determination positively influences learners' achievement in reading comprehension (P=0.000<0.05). Matrix coding query analysis and text search query supported findings from Welch's t-test, paired sample t test and two-way ANOVA ascertained that self-determination plays a significant role in positively influencing the achievement of reading comprehension. The results imply that those learners and primary schools that adopted self-determination when teaching English recorded higher learner achievement in reading comprehension of the English language than those that did not adopt self-determination.