SPORTS PARTICIPATION IN RELATION TO ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF COLLEGE STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY OF WESTERN KENYA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/ajssi.v1i1.7217Keywords:
Academic performance, Co-curricular activities, Sports participation, Teacher trainees, Western KenyaAbstract
Participation in sports is believed to help students, but data from teacher-training colleges in Kenya remain underexplored. With an emphasis on age and gender as moderating factors, the current study examined the relationship between academic success and participation in extracurricular sports among college teacher trainees in Western Kenya. Using a cross-sectional research design, the study included 2,450 diploma trainees from three Western Kenyan public teacher training colleges. Stratified random sampling was used to choose a sample of 343 trainees. A self-administered questionnaire created by the researchers was used to collect data; in a pilot test with 40 students, the Cronbach’s alpha was 0.73. Academic achievement was categorized as either Distinction, Credit, or Pass. Using SPSS version 27, chi-square tests of independence were conducted at a significance level of 0.05. According to the study’s findings, participation in sports was strongly associated with academic achievement across age groups (χ² = 26.293, df = 8, p = .001), with trainees aged 19-22 having the highest proportion of distinctions. There was no statistically significant gender difference in academic performance between participants and non-participants (p = .354). Overall, female trainees fared marginally better, although this difference was not statistically significant. According to the results, well-structured sports participation helps college students succeed academically, particularly younger trainees. Teacher training colleges in Western Kenya should consider formalizing co-curricular sports programs as part of a broader plan to improve trainee performance and overall development
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Copyright (c) 2026 Cherono Sharon, Nicholas Kinyua Bailasha, Juliah Githang’a (Author)
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