Effects of Learning Environment on Public Secondary School Students' Academic Achievements in Marakwet East Sub- County, Kenya

: This study investigated the reasons behind the smaller number of students transiting from secondary school level of education to tertiary and university institutions in Marakwet East Sub-County. This was in response to concerns raised by education stakeholders in the area. The research focused on the effects of learning environments on secondary school students’ academic achievement in the Sub-County. The study was guided by the following research questions; what learning environment exists in public secondary schools in Marakwet East Sub-County? What is the level of academic achievement of public secondary schools in Marakwet East Sub-County? The study was anchored on Socio cultural Learning Theory of cognitive development by Lev Vygotsky (1978). The study aimed at establishing the effects of learning environment on students’ academic achievement at the end of four years in high school. It adopted an embedded mixed methods research design that employed causal comparative for quantitative and ethnographic for qualitative research approaches. The study examined 18 public secondary schools, 18 Directors of Studies and 140 government employed secondary school teachers who teach within Marakwet East Sub-County. The study used stratified and simple random sampling to select a sample of 10 directors of studies, 10 secondary schools and 103 secondary school teachers. Data were collected through administering questionnaires to teachers, interviewing Directors of Studies, observation, and carrying out document analysis. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The collected quantitative data were analyzed using ANOVA and t -test. Qualitative data were analyzed through thematic and in-depth descriptions of observed and recorded data. Frequency tables were used to present the analyzed data. The study found physical, social and teaching learning school environments affected students’ academic achievement. The study findings recommended for funding of secondary schools by government and other education stakeholders. This will facilitate schools’ improvement of the physical environments and procuring of teaching learning resources. It also recommended for in-service training for the teachers to acquire knowledge, managerial skills, and attitudes and resources for enhanced management of human, physical resources and improvement of students’ academic achievements. academic results examined the relationship between school environment, psychological environment and home environment and how they all influence the academic performance of the pupils. Descriptive survey design was used. The target populations were pupils, and teachers from public primary schools in Division. Stratified random sampling was used in selecting the population sample. Instruments for data collection were questionnaires for teachers and pupils. Data was collected in selected schools in the division using the questionnaire designed. The data was then processed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study concluded major pupils’ performance were lack of teaching and learning resources, of adequate facilities, and very high Teacher Pupil Ratio. The ratio of the latrines for both was very therefore the and adequate therefore of the rendered the environment non conducive for The lack of and teaching resources negatively influenced the pupils’ achievements. The used participatory method of teaching they questions. The participatory method of teaching by the the part of which boys’ schools had a (Mean = 4.52, SD = .513), it was positive for girls’ schools (Mean = 4.17, SD = .857) while mixed schools it was moderate (Mean = 3.35, SD = 1.55). These findings reveal that teachers in these school students were positively involved in co-curricular activities that encompassed sports and games, and that is why these resources had an environment that support the activities. These findings are in line with Osalusi (2011), study on the learning environment and secondary school effectiveness in Nigeria which revealed that, there was a significant relationship between learning environment and school effectiveness. Secondary schools in the south-west were to a large extent found to be effective and the psychomotor domains of learning were effective not all were effective in the cognitive domain. Psychomotor domain deals with co-curricular activities that entail sports and games.