Joash A. Migosi

Determinants of research productivity among academics in Kenya

This study sought to examine the factors that influence research productivity (RP) among academic staff in selected universities in Kenya. Toutkoushians (2006) model that links RP to a variety of economic variables is used. Stratified sampling was used ensuring incorporation of the academics heterogeneity factors such as gender, rank, type of university (private or public) and academic qualification. The study used 277 academics randomly drawn from universities in Kenya. 17 heads of department were also included to provide information on institutional factors that enhance RP. A pre-tested questionnaire and document analysis were used to collect data. Percentages, means and standard deviations were used to describe the data. Inferential statistics involved the use of principal factor analysis. The findings showed that personal, institutional and human capital factors were critical predictors of RP among academics in Kenya. Policy implications of these findings are discussed.

Parental involvement, parenting style, secondary school student attitude towards schooling and academic performance in Kenya

The study sought to find the relationship between parental involvement, parenting style, students attitude towards school and academic performance. A correlational survey research design was used. Cronbachs alpha (α) for questionnaires from pilot study indicated that, parental involvement α = 0.7, authoritarian parenting α = 0.6, authoritative style α = 0.8, permissive parenting style α = 0.6 and attitude towards school had α = 0.6. Pearson correlation test on data from a sample of 200 students (100 girls and 100 boys) from public secondary schools in Embu North District, showed, parental involvement had positive significant relationship with both students attitude towards school and academic performance, authoritarian style had negative insignificant correlation with attitude towards school, but had significant negative correlation with academic performance, permissive parenting style had negative significant correlation with both attitude towards school and academic performance while attitude towards had positive significant relationship with academic achievement. There is need for parents to be sensitised on parenting.

Gender differences in publication productivity: narrowing the gap

The number of scientific publication by a country is an important indication of its science generation and development. The aim of this study was to compare publication output among university faculty in selected public and private universities in Kenya by gender. Publications, in refereed research journals, were used as a surrogate for research productivity. Survey research design was employed in this study. Questionnaires were used to collect information from university academic staff drawn from public and private universities. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 15 was used to aid in data analysis where cross-tabulations, correlations and ANOVA computations were made. The results obtained from this study indicated that research productivity among different gender of the academic staff do not differ significantly. These findings justify the need to develop national and institutional research policies to guide and manage research in Kenya. Also, academic staff across the ranks should be motivated so as to increase their research productivity.