Achievement Emotions and Student Engagement as Predictors of Academic Achievement among Form Three Students in Trans-Nzoia County, Kenya

Poor academic achievement is ubiquitous in secondary school settings in Kenya and a major source of concern. Despite the government’s and educational stakeholders’ numerous efforts and interventions, students from public secondary schools have not been performing well; Kwanza Sub-County in Trans-Nzoia County is not immune. Several factors, such as learner, school, and motivational factors, have been attributed to this failure; however, there is little empirical data on how achievement emotions and student engagement predict the student’s academic achievement. The present research sought to examine this. The study was grounded on control value theory (Reinhard Pekrun, 2006) and Self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2017). Based upon a correlational research design, 3927(2012 boys) form three students from 51 public secondary schools in Kwanza Sub-County, Trans-Nzoia County in 2023 were targeted in the study. Simple, stratified, and judgmental sampling techniques were utilized and a sample size of 454 students was obtained. The current study adapted the achievement emotions questionnaire and student engagement in school questionnaire. Data analysis was done through the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. Findings from the study demonstrated that there were significant positive, albeit weak associations between achievement emotions; r (391) = .21 P