Influence of Chemistry Curriculum Implementation on Students' Academic Performance in Chemistry in Public Senior Schools in Nandi Central Sub County, Kenya

Author: Lineth J. Kirwa, Rose Atoni, Esther Chepsiror3

Date: 2026

Abstract: Chemistry remains one of the least-performed subjects in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), with public senior schools in Nandi Central Sub County recording persistently low mean scores despite government interventions such as the Strengthening of Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education (SMASSE) programme. This study examined the extent to which the Chemistry curriculum was implemented in public senior schools in Nandi Central Sub County and its influence on students' academic performance in Chemistry. The study was anchored on Curriculum Theory and adopted a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, combining a causal-comparative quantitative approach with a phenomenological qualitative approach. Data were collected from 27 Chemistry teachers, 334 Form Four students and 8 principals drawn from a sample of 8 public senior schools selected through stratified and simple random sampling, using questionnaires, an interview schedule and document analysis. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively and the null hypothesis was tested using one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at the 0.05 level of significance, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. Findings showed that most schools consistently used schemes of work (81.5% of teachers) and detailed lesson plans (81.5% of teachers; 76.3% of students), although inadequate lesson time was widely reported as a constraint (66.6% of teachers; 78.7% of students). The ANOVA results revealed a statistically significant difference in Chemistry performance across levels of curriculum implementation, F(3, 330) = 9.891, p = .000, leading to rejection of the null hypothesis. The study concludes that effective and consistent implementation of the Chemistry curriculum, reinforced by close principal supervision, significantly enhances students' academic performance in Chemistry. It is recommended that teachers adhere closely to schemes of work and lesson plans, schools allocate sufficient instructional time, and school leadership sustain regular monitoring of curriculum delivery.

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