Students’ Attitudes towards Active Participation in Lectures as Influenced by Instructional Factors in Teacher Education Programmes: A Comparative study of Selected Public and Private Universities in Nakuru County, Kenya

Students’ attitude towards active participation in lectures in teacher education programmes has become a major concern to education managers in higher education circles as well as parents and quality agents. This research study seeks to address the emotive twin problem of non-attendance of lectures and dormancy during lectures on the part of student teachers. In this study, the two problems are referred to as lack of active participation in lectures in teacher education programmes. The objective of this study was to determine students’ attitude towards active participating in lectures in teacher education programmes in selected universities in Nakuru County, Kenya.This study was based on the Theory of Cognitive Dissonance for attitude change propounded by Festinger Leon (1957). The researcher conducted a critical review of literature related to students’ attitude towards participating in lectures. This research study adopted the descriptive survey research design. After piloting, the instrument was validated.Using the split half method and Spearman-Brown Correction formulae, the questionnaire scored a reliability coefficient of 0.7 and was accepted as reliable in line with the threshold recommended by Fraenkel and Wallen (2000).Data was collected from a study population of 310 fourth year bachelor of education students in6 Private and Public Chartered universities offering teacher education programs in Nakuru County, Kenya. The sample size was 257. The researcher employed stratified, purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Data from students’ questionnaires were coded and analyzed using tools in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. Frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations were computed. One-way Analysis of Variance, Post Hoc Test and T-tests were carried out to measure significant differences between means of samples.The study found out that students’ attitude towards active participation in lectures was more positive in private universities (M = 2.60, SD = 0.41) than (M = 2.46, SD = 0.45) of public universities. The results further indicate that the difference between the two means was statistically significant, t (225) = 2.413, p=.017) at 0.05 alpha. This study therefore established that students enrolled in teacher education programmes in private universities have more positive attitudes towards active participation in lectures compared to their counterparts in public universities.The results of this study could be used by Commission for UniversityEducation and universities in Kenya to shape students’ attitude towards active participation in lecturesin teacher education programmes. The study recommends the need for further research on how quality of instructional activities can be improved with a view to inculcating in students a positive attitude towards active participation in lectures in these universities.

Kabarak j. res.innov.Vol.6 No. 1, pp 1-19 (2018) However, reports galore that some students enrolled in teacher education programmes do not actively participate in lectures.In responses to this assertion, researchers therefore developed interest in finding out factors that affect student participation in lectures.Siti, M., et al (2010) in their study of factors affecting classroom participation among Malaysian undergraduate students found out that lecturer traits and classmate traits play a significant role in promoting classroom participation.Mohd et al., (2012) reported similar findings on students of National University of Malaysia when they observed that classroom participation depends on the size of the classroom, personalities of the instructor, and students and the perception of peers.These studies did not delve into university students' attitude towards active participation in lectures.Moreover, Chandaran (2015) in his research in the National University of Singapore reported that several factors influence students' participation in the university classroom.The researcher found out that student -to -student impact, class attendance, marks received by the student , decreasing the amount of lectures and increasing the debates in class a concept called sufficient opportunities, availing equal opportunities for all students , type of questions asked and answers given, perceived value of classroom participation, emphasis on classroom participation, class management factor, students' abilities and ability to react fast, how they are assessed and especially how they participation is assessment , recording of classroom participation and encouragement given by the professor.These studies did not delve into university students' attitude towards active participation in lectures According to Angelopulo (2013), there is inconsistency in teaching in some universities and that there is lack of tuition materials which impacts students' attitudes and enrolment in universities.Ghrib (2003) carried out research on university students' attitude towards instructional materials which turned out to be 76% positive and 23% negative.In the same research study, it was found out that attitude towards reading were positive for 53% of the respondents.Their attitude towards handouts and textbooks was also positive.66% of the students also attend classes regularly showing positive attitude towards this particular learning activity.However, these studies did not delve into university students' attitude towards active participation in lectures.
Other researchers like Abdullah, Bakar, and Mahbob (2012), in identifying the factors for purpose of knowing the reasons that motivate the students to speak up in classroom, reported that the size of a classroom, personalities of the instructor and students and the perception of peers influenced students to speak up in class.Massingham and Herrington (2006) further noted that learning is a social construct and that the relationship between teachers and students appears to be a significant factor in the breadth and depth of student involvement in the learning process and the learning outcomes.Accordingly, the researchers reported that the main factors influencing student attitudes are the teaching processes used (i.e.motivating versus boring; constructivist versus transmissive; authentic versus theoretical) and the teaching style and personality of the teacher.These studies did not establish university students' actual attitude towards active participation in lectures.
According to the Nakuru County Development Profile (2013), Nakuru town has witnessed establishment of university campuses to meet the high demand for university Education with an enrollment of 28,597.The report further points out that the major challenge facing higher education sector in the County is improvement of quality of education and instruction.Given the evidence of need to improve quality of education and instruction, the researcher sought to compare students' actual attitude towards active participation in lectures in teacher education programmes in public and private universities within the County.Kabarak j. res.innov.Vol.6 No. 1, pp 1-19 (2018)

Statement of the Problem
The problem which this study seeks to investigate is that some students enrolled in teacher education programmes in the universities do not actively participate in lectures (Kelly 2012;Bunoti, 2010;Kottasz, 2005).Thisproblem is tied to negative towards active participating in lectures (Biggs, 1999;Michael & Raymond, 2009: Hitchens &Listers, 2007).Iqbal (2010) further buttresses the existence of this problem by reporting a negative attitude of prospective teachers towards different degree programs in teacher education.Ifstudents' attitude towards active participation in lectures is not changed for the better, participating in lectures will reduce.Consequently, quality of teacher education programmes could be compromised.What then are students' attitudes towards participating in lectures as influenced by instruction based factors in teacher education programmes in the public and private universities in Nakuru County, Kenya?

Research Objective
The objective of this research study was to establish students' attitudes towards active participating in lectures as influenced by instructional factors in teacher education programmes in the universities within Nakuru County, Kenya.

Research Question
What are students' attitudes towardsactive participation in lecturesas influenced by instructional factors in teacher education programmes in the universities within Nakuru County, Kenya?

Significance of the Study
Attitude influences the success or overall performance of a person (Neo, 2010 cited by Butt and Shams, 2013).Lopper (2006) further defined attitude as a way of thinking and inclining towards optimism and pessimism.Iqbal (2010) reported a negative attitude of prospective teachers towards different degree programs in teacher education.Gross (2001) posits that attitude exert a strong influence on the way a person responds to a particular situation or thing.A positive attitude towards participating in lectures in teacher education programmes could therefore improve content ant context of learning and teacher training.
Teachers are an important resource in the teaching and learning processes in the country (Ministry of Education, science and technology, 2012).Since quality teacher education programs invariably impact on the quality of human capital (Okwakol, 2009), teacher training and professional development is pivotal to achieving development aspirations of Kenyans.Given that quality of instructional activities influences quality of graduates CHE (2008), the results of this study could be used by managers of teacher education programs to improve students' attitude towards participating in lectures and the overall quality of teacher education in Kenyan Universities.

Scope of the Study
This study only targeted student teachers joining chartered private and public offering to pursue Teacher Education Degree Programmes.The study only concentrated on students'attitudes towards participation in lectures as influenced by instruction based factors alone.Kabarak j. res.innov.Vol.6 No. 1, pp 1-19 (2018)

Limitations of the Study
Information unknown to the respondents could have led to guessing.However, the researcher only included in the study fourth year students who are believed to understand quality and attitude having stayed in the university long enough.

Instructional Factors and Students' Attitude towards Attending Lectures in the Universities
Attitude towards attending lectures have drawn the attention of many researchers.Amitava and Majundra (2010) in their research found out that students' academic performance depend, among other things, on students' attendance in the class as well as presence of trained teachers.Biggs (1999), on the other hand notes that since human attention is limited to ten to fifteen minutes in passive situations, students may not like sitting in a lecture theatre.This could cause some universitystudents notto attend lectures regularly.These studies did not delve into determining the actual attitude possessed by students in relation to activeparticipation in lectures in teacher education programme in Nakuru County, Kenya.
At the educational level, lecture quality needs to be made interesting and perhaps other modes of teaching and learning appropriate in the twenty-first century such as activity-based learning conducted on a larger scale (Kelly, 2012).This will encourage students to attend lecture sessions in the universities.According to researchers, motivation -extrinsic and intrinsic is the major factor causing students to attend either lectures or tutorials.Unfortunately, not all students are motivated to study and learn, let alone attend classes.Some students found lectures boring and not worth attending (Kottasz, 2005).This study did not delve into determining the actual attitude possessed by students towards active participation in lectures in teacher education programme in Nakuru County, Kenya.
Other research studies on attendance of lectures were carried out by Michael and Raymond (2009) and Hitchens and Lister (2007).They agree that some of the reasons that provided varied attitudes between positive and negative attitudes for students to attend lectures were: lecturers who adapt to students; lecturers who are enthusiastic and happy; lecturers who give assessment hints; lecturers who provide written materials; absence of lecture notes or textbooks; lecturers who cover beyond what is given in the notes; lectures who do not have accents; lectures taking place in far distance halls; lectures taking too long or too short; poor scheduling which affects the relationships between lectures and practical sessions; lecturers reading from the slides or notes without adding value; lecturers who blame students; lecturers who handle questions poorly; unpleasant lecture rooms and physical environment; the times at which lectures are scheduled; assessment deadlines also prevent students from attending class because they preoccupy themselves with completing the assignments.It seems therefore that quality of lecturer factors influences students' attitude towards attending classes in the developed world.These studies did not delve into determining the actual attitude possessed by students towards active participation in lectures in teacher education programme in Nakuru County, Kenya.
Other factors which influence students' attitude towards attending lectures were reported by Clay and Breslow (2006).Chief among them are: whether students expect to learn from the lectures, difficulty of the class and the materials to be taught, how lecturers align what appears in the homework, tests and final exams, how interested the students are in the subject matter and how the lecturers raise student interest in the subject matter especially if the lecturer presents course material in a clear and cogent manner.Kabarak j. res.innov.Vol.6 No. 1, pp 1-19 (2018) More findings on students' attitude towards attendance of lectures indicate that students occasionally are genuinely sick, are too busy, tutorials are boring, they don't like the lecturers, they feel bothered attending class, they don't like the subject, lecturers themselves are boring, they can get the same information from internet, they can pass the subject without attending class and that lectures are generally a waste of time (Massingham and Herrington, 2006).Concerning Ugandan universities, Bunoti (2010), reported that students miss lectures due to clashes in the timetable, Lecturer absenteeism, power cuts and strikes.These studies did not delve into determining the actual attitude possessed by students towards active participation in lectures in teacher education programme in Nakuru County, Kenya..

Theoretical Framework
This study was embedded on the theory of Total Quality Management (TQM) advanced by W.E Deming (Deming, 1986).Total Quality Management presupposes that organizational survival can only be ensured if there are high quality resources and services leading to customer satisfaction.According to Hashmi (2013), TQM is a culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services that satisfies their needs.
On the other hand, American Society for Quality (ASQ) (2015), argues that TQM is a management approach for long term success through customer satisfaction.It is customer and process centered.It aims at improving processes, services and products.For the purpose of this study, students are seen as customers while instructional activities are considered as processes.Instructional activities assist in the transformation of student-teachers into qualified pedagogues and andragogues.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory propounded Leon Festinger (1957) states that when there is an inconsistency between attitudes, beliefs or opinions (dissonance), something must change to eliminate the dissonance.Among the three ways of eliminating dissonance is changing the dissonant beliefs or attitudes so that they are not dissonant or inconsistent.If the university managers want students to change their attitudes towards participating in lectures, then the quality of instructional factors must be changed.That is, dissonance must be reduced by changing quality of instructional factors.Dissonance can only be reduced by removing conflicting beliefs or attitudes, situation or behavior.This theory is applied in decision making and problem-solving situations.

Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework presented in Figure 1 above shows that active participation in lectures by students enrolled in teacher education programmes depends on their attitude towards instructional factors.

Research Design
This study adopted a cross-sectional survey design.Mugenda and Mugenda (2008) observed that cross-sectional surveys help researchers to establish whether significant associations among variables exist at some point.Surveys gather data at a particular time with the intention of describing the nature of existing conditions, or identify standards against which conditions can be compared (Cohen & Manion, 1997;Trochim, 2006).This research study purposed to establish students' attitude towards participating in lectures in teacher education programmes in Public and Private Universities in Nakuru County, Kenya.

Study Location
The study was conducted in chartered public and private universities in Nakuru County, Kenya.Nakuru County Development Profile (2013) documents that Nakuru County is one of the 47 Counties of the Republic of Kenya provided in the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.The County is situated within the Great Rift Valley and boarders seven other counties namely; Kericho, Baringo, Laikipia, Nyandarua, Narok, Kajiado and Kiambu.The county covers an area of 7,495.1.The County headquarter is Nakuru Municipality.

Study Population
The study population was based on fourth year Bachelor of Education (Arts) students enrolled in the regular programme.The census was as follows: Public P (110), Public Q (65), Private X (65), and Private Y (70), totaling 310 in the sampled universities.

Sampling Techniques
With a target population 310 students in 6 universities, the researcher used stratified random sampling technique to stratify the universities into public and private.There are four public universities with campuses in Nakuru Municipality.Purposive sampling was used to sample two universities which offer bachelor of education degrees.There are four private universities with campuses in Nakuru Municipality.To sample two private universities for this study, the researcher used simple random sampling technique.This led to selection of 2 private and 2 public university campuses offering education courses.To sample actual participants, the researcher used simple random sampling technique.As Kerlinger (1999) puts it, statistics calculated from large samples are more accurate, other things equal, than those calculated from small samples.

Sample Size
According to the Krejcie and Morgan Table of Determination of sample size, ∑ N=310 has a corresponding value of s=257.Using a sample size of 257, each university was apportioned the following samples on the basis of the ratio of the population of their students taking education Arts.The study sampled two public and two private universities, constituting 66 per cent of the target population of the universities under study.One private university was used for pilot study.

Research Instrument
The researcher used students' questionnaire to collect data on students' attitude towards attending lectures as influenced by their perception of the quality of instructional factors.Positive, Indifferent and Negative attitudes towards attending lectures had corresponding numerical values of 3, 2 and 1 used to enter related data.

Validity of Research Instrument
Content validity refers to how accurately an assessment or measurement tool taps into the various aspects of specific construct in question, or the responses by the person answering the questions influencing other factors (Clause, 2015).After the development of the instrument, colleagues looked at each item with respect to relevance and conformity with research objectives.

Piloting of Research Instruments
A pilot study was carried out in one of the private universities in Nakuru to estimate the reliability of the students' questionnaires prior to actual data collection exercise.This is consistent with Johnson and Christensen (2012) who advocates for piloting of research instruments prior to actual administration.A sample of 30 students was involved in the piloting exercise.The pilot instrument was administered under conditions similar to the one of actual administration.

Reliability of Research Instruments.
The split-half method and Spearman Brown prophesy formulae used yielded 0.7 reliability coefficient.In order to test internal reliability after collection of data, the Cronbach Alpha method was used to estimate the reliability.The method was selected because it is ideal for estimating internal reliability of a test tool that has been administered only once and is constructed using items that are of the multiple choice type (Cohen & Manion, 2007).The Cronbach test is regarded as a versatile means of measuring internal consistency of a research instrument (Mugenda, 2008).A reliability coefficient of .07 and above is acceptable as measure of dependability according to Johnson and Christensen (2012).The tools were therefore deemed reliable given that the coefficients were above the 0.7 threshold recommended by Fraenkel and Wallen (2000).

Data Collection Procedures
The researcher obtained research permit from National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation prior to engaging in data collection.Permission was sought from the University Administration of various universities.The researcher trained research assistants on how to collect data within.Data on quality of accommodation resources were collected in the premises of respective universities.Research assistants were trained on matters involving data collection and how to handle respondents.

Data Analysis and Presentation
Data from the questionnaires were coded and entered for analysis using the IBM SPSS (version 20).Descriptive and Inferential statistical tools were used to analyze data collected by questionnaires.Descriptive statistics included percentages, means and frequencies.Inferential statistics were derived from ANOVA, Post Hoc Test and T-tests.To confirm the existence of significant differences in students' attitude towards active participation in lectures in teacher education programmes within and between private and public universities, the researcher used ANOVA and T-tests.Tables were used to present these results.

Ethical Considerations
The researcher adhered to ethical requirements for research in the Republic of Kenya.No respondent was coerced or threatened to divulge any information against their will.Information obtained from the respondents was used purely for the purpose of this research and nothing else.Respondents were assured of confidentiality in the treatment of their responses.Questionnaires were coded and did not require respondents to indicate their names.The universities were assigned the following pseudonyms for ethical considerations: Public P, Public Q, Private X, and Private Y.

Students' Attitudes towards Active Participation in Lectures in Teacher Education
Programmes.
This section presents findings in tables and related discussions.In order to establish students' attitude towards active participation in lectures, the researcher first determined instructional related factors that influence students'attitudes towards that influence active participation in lectures ( See Table 2).
The objective of this research study was to establish students' attitudes towards active participation in lectures in teacher education programmes in the universities within Nakuru County, Kenya.Table 3 presents percentages of respondents on their attitudes towards active participation in lectures as influence by their perception of quality of instruction in teacher education programmes in teacher education programmes in the universities within Nakuru County, Kenya.Kabarak j. res.innov.Vol.6 No. 1, pp 1-19 (2018) Between 46% and 67% of the respondents had positive attitude towards active participation in lectures due to the perception that lecturers reinforce students while teaching, give tutorials , present their lectures logically, attend all classes in the semester, do not merely dictate notes , do not ridicule students in class nor use official lecture hours on irrelevant stories.Those reporting indifferent attitudes towards active participation in lectures had the perception that lecturers do not always demonstrate these quality attributes of good teaching.This implies that if lecturers demonstrate quality attributes of teaching, the attitude of students on teacher education programmes would be positive towards active participation in lectures.These findings are consistent with that of Siti, et al., (2010) in their study of factors affecting classroom participation among Malaysian undergraduate students.They found out that lecturer traits and classmate traits play a significant role in promoting classroom participation.Mohd et al (2012) also corroborated these findings on students of National University of Malaysia when they observed that classroom participation depends on the size of the classroom, personalities of the instructor, and students and the perception of peers.

Students' Attitude towards Active Participation in Lectures as Influenced by instructional Factors: Means and Standard Deviations
Table 4 presents means and standard deviations of respondents' attitude towards active participation in lectures as influenced by instructional factors.The Table was interpreted using attitude rating scale of Negative=1.00 to 1.66; Indifferent=1.67 to 2.33; and Positive = 2.34 to 3.00.Respondents reported positive attitude (2.34 to 3.00) towards active participation in lectures as result of their perception that lecturers have mastery of knowledge and skills, attend lectures punctually, give relevant examples, have mastery of language of instruction, give students course outlines, cover course outlines, use teaching aids, use relevant teaching methods and provide quality teaching manuals to students.It implies that students on teacher education programmes in the universities in Nakuru County would develop positive attitude towards active participation in lectures if quality of teaching activities were improved.Kabarak j. res.innov.Vol.6 No. 1, pp 1-19 (2018) Respondents reported positive attitude (2.34 to 3.00) towards active participation in lectures because lecturers gave them chance to ask questions and gave satisfactory answers respectively.Positive attitude towards active participation in lectures was also associated with students' perception that lecturers give tutorials ,present their lectures logically, attend all classes in the semester, explain lecture notes ,do not ridicule students in class nor use official lecture hours on irrelevant stories.It suggests that if instructional leaders deliver quality teaching, students' attitude towards active participation in lectures will be more positive.He noted that several factors influence students' participation in the university classroom.Chief among them are : student -to -student impact, class attendance, marks received by the student , decreasing the amount of lectures and increasing the debates in class a concept called sufficient opportunities, availing equal opportunities for all students , type of questions asked and answers given, perceived value of classroom participation, emphasis on classroom participation, class management factor, students' abilities and ability to react fast, how they are assessed and especially how they participation is assessment , recording of classroom participation and encouragement given by the professor.All these factors tend to inculcate positive attitudes towards active participation in classroom.
The researcher thencomputed means of students' attitude towards active participation in lectures as influenced by their perception of the quality of teaching activities: This was done for individual universities and presented in

Comparison of Students' Attitudes towards Active Participating in Lectures by University
To find out whether there is significant difference in students' attitude towards active participating in lectures by University, ANOVA test was used.6 reveal that the differences in the mean scores of the universities was statistically significant at the 0.05 level, F (3, 223) = 3.622, (p = .014)or (p <.05).It suggests that students' attitude towards active participation in lectures as influenced by their perception of quality of teaching activities varied from one individual university to another significantly.

Comparison of Students' Attitudes towards Active Participating in Lectures by University
A post hoc test to find out whether there was a significant difference in students' attitudes towards active participating in lectures as influenced by instructional factors.The universities were paired for multiple comparisons.The findings are presented in Table 7.  7 indicate that the difference in students' attitudes towards active participation in lectures as influenced by instructional factors in the paired groups of universities was not statistically significant.It implies that student teachers' attitude towards active participation in lectures were not different between the pairs.

Differences in Students' Attitudes towards Active Participation in Lectures by University Category
Difference in students' attitudes towards active participation in lectures as influenced by instructional factors was analyzed by university category.This was done using t-test.The results are presented in The results posted in Table 8 indicates that the mean of students' attitude towards active participation in lectures as influenced by instructional factors washigher in private universities (M = 2.60, SD = 0.41) than (M = 2.46, SD = 0.45) of public universities.The results further indicate that the difference between the two means was statistically significant, t (225) = 2.413, p=.017).The higher means posted indicated that students enrolled in teacher education programs in private universities had more positive attitude towards active participation in lectures as influenced by prevailing instructional factors compared to students of public universities.An index of students' attitude towards active participation in Lectures as influenced by instructional factors was determined for each university.These statistics were then transformed into attitude levels using the scale: Negative=1.00 to 1.66; Indifferent=1.67 to 2.33; and Positive = 2.34 to 3.00.This conversion generated levels of attitude towards active Participation in Lectures as influenced by instructional factors.Table 9 presents the findings.Table 9 shows that 70.3% of all respondents had positive attitude towards active participation in Lectures as influenced by instructional factors.Another 24.9% and 4.8% reported indifferent and negative attitudes towards active participation in Lectures as influenced by instructional factors.Negative attitude towards active participation in Lectures could have been influenced by instructional factors.Private Y university students led in the number of students with positive attitude towards active participation in Lectures (79%) followed by Public Q (77.1%) then Private X (75.5 %.).Public P has the highest percentage of students reporting indifferent (33.8%) and negative (8.8%) attitude towards active participation in Lectures as influenced by instructional factors.This could imply that instructional factors may not be of good quality (See table 2)

CONCLUSION
Students enrolled in teacher education programmes in private universities tend to have more positive attitude towards participating in lectures because of better quality of instruction (see table 2).

RECOMMENDATION
Quality of instruction should be improved with a view to fostering positive attitudes towards active participation in lectures in teacher education programmes in the universities in Nakuru County, Kenya.

Table 1
Sample size of the study

Table 2
Instructional Factors in Teacher Education Programmes in Universities in Nakuru County, KenyaTable3reveals that 60% to 78% of all respondents reported that they had positive attitude towards active participation in lectures due to their perception that lecturers have mastery of knowledge and skills, attend lectures punctually, give relevant examples, have mastery of language of instruction, give students course outlines, cover course outlines, use teaching aids, use relevant teaching methods and provide quality teaching manuals to students.According to table 80, 80.9 % and 78.3% of the respondents had positive attitude towards active participation in lectures because lecturers gave them chance to ask questions and gave satisfactory answers respectively.

Table 4
Students' Attitude towards Active Participation in Lectures as Influenced by Instructional Factors: Means and Standard Deviations

Table 5 Table 5
Kabarak j. res.innov.Vol.6 No. 1, pp 1-19 (2018) Students' Attitude towards active participation in Lectures as Influenced by Instructional Factors byUniversity Table 82 indicates that students pursuing teacher education programmes in Private Y, Private X, Public Qand Public P university reported a positive attitude towards active participating in lectures as influenced by their perception of quality of teaching activities in their universities .

Table 6
Table 6 contains the relevant statistics.Comparison of Students' Attitudes towards active participating in lectures by University

Table 8 Table 8
Comparison of students' Attitudes towards Active Participation in Lectures by UniversityCategory

Table 9
Levels of Students' Attitude towards Active Participation in Lectures as Influenced by Instructional Factors