Effect of Self-Esteem of Over-Age Learners on their Academic Achievement in Public Secondary Schools of Butula Sub County, Kenya

Just like food, education is a basic need for everyone in Kenya. With introduction of free primary in 2003 and subsequently free day secondary education in 2008 in Kenya there has been an increased urge for education by over-age leaners in schools. Academic achievement has remained low in in public secondary schools in Butula Sub County despite the efforts made by the government to make it better for every learner. Over-age learners are among those who contribute to the poor academic achievement in public secondary schools in Butula Sub County.  The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of self-esteem on academic achievement of over-age learners in public secondary schools of Butula Sub County. The study employed Walberg’s theory of Academic Achievement and descriptive research design. The target population was 2306 form four students and 54 teachers from 27 public secondary schools. 321 over-age learners and 10 teachers from 5 secondary schools gave their views in this study. Stratified random sampling, simple random sampling and purposive random sampling were used to sample schools, students and teachers respectively. Questionnaire and interview schedules were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics such as percentages, mean, median, standard and Analysis of variance, (ANOVA) for inferential statistics were used to analyze data.  the findings reveal that (58.6%) of over-age learners agreed that they feel useless about their academic achievement at times, (71.7%) disagreed to the statement ‘I feel I am a person worthy in my academic achievement, at least on an equal plane with others’. ANOVA indicated a significant effect of over-age learners’ self-esteem on their academic achievement; F (18, 259) = 1.771, P = 0.028. The findings of this study concluded that there is a statistically positive effect of self-esteem on academic achievement of over-age learners. It was recommended that there is need to explore the use of guidance and counseling as interventions to inspire and motivate learners into appreciating self-worth so as to nurture strong self-esteem and academic achievement.