INFLUENCE OF INTELLECTUAL ENVIRONMENT AND GENDER ON PHYSICS STUDENTS’ CONCEPTIONS OF ‘HEAT’: THE CASE OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NYANDARUA COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

The topic of heat forms an important part of the science curriculum at all levels in the education system. However, the poor performance on questions involving heat and its associated physical phenomena suggests that students have difficulties in conceptualizing the concepts. This study investigated the kinds of ideas that students use to explain physical phenomena associated with heat and sought to establish whether the conceptions are influenced by the students’ level of intellectual development and gender. Data was collected from 269 Form I (Grade 9) and 225 Form III (Grade 11) students in 15 secondary schools in Nyandarua County, Kenya. A simultaneous cross-sectional survey research design was employed. Data were collected using a questionnaire that solicited students’ ideas on five aspects of physical heat conceptions. The instrument was systematically assessed for validity and reliability using data from a pilot study that involved 4 schools in the same County but were not part of the main study sample. Hypotheses were tested at an alpha level of .05 using chi-square tests of analyses. The findings indicated that when the conceptions were categorized in terms of the prevailing theories of heat namely caloric, pre-kinetic and kinetic, the distribution was dependent on the students’ level of intellectual development but not gender. Results further indicated that students have ideas about heat that are at variance with the accepted science. The study recommended that introductory aspects of kinetic theory of matter be taught in primary science and that misconceptions be emphasized in the science curricula of schools and teacher training institutions.