Students' Performance in Biology

This study investigated factors influencing students’ performance in biology in secondary schools in Borama District. A factor was defined as a constituent or an element that brings about certain effects or results. Performance was defined as accomplishment of a given task measured against preset known standards of accuracy and completeness. Biology is a key subject in the global education. Despite the evidence of poor performance the actual factors responsible had not been investigated. Guided by the Contingency Theory the study used a cross-sectional survey on stratified random sample of 365 students and 27 biology teachers from 16 secondary schools in Borama District. Data was collected using questionnaire in February 2016 and analyzed using simple regression method. The study established that staffing [F (1 363) = 4.059 p = .000 R = .474 R2 adj. = .169]; physical resources [F (1 363) = 687.522 p = .000 R = .890 R2 adj. = .654]; and students’ characteristics [F (1 363) = 11.550 p = .000 R = .900 R2 adj. = .810] had a significant influence on students’ performance in biology in secondary schools in Borama District.