Influence of Principals’ Management Strategies on Provision of Information Communication Technology Infrastructure in Public Day Secondary Schools in Kamukunji Sub County, Kenya

Abstract

The study sought to determine the influence of principals’ management strategies on provision of Information Communication Technology infrastructure in public day secondary schools in Kamukunji Sub County, Kenya. The research questions and objectives were based on the variables of study. The specific objectives of the study were: To determine the influence of principals’ management strategies of mobilization of financial resources, to examine the influence of principals’ management strategies on capacity building of staff, to assess the influence of principals’ management strategy of stakeholder involvement and to examine the influence of principals’ management strategy of involvement of staff in decisionmaking on provision of ICT infrastructure in public day secondary schools in Kamukunji Sub County, Kenya. The study was guided by the ICT Theory whose proponents are Davis, Bagozzi & Warshaw of 1989. This is due to increase in the extent of use of ICT in schools for classroom instruction and for school administration and management. The study used the descriptive survey research design which helped the researcher to collect and compare data from the phenomenon at the same time in the study. The study used census sampling technique to cover the entire study population. The research instruments used were document analysis, questionnaires as well as observation checklists. The target population was all the four public day secondary schools. The total respondents of the study were 40, consisting of one SCDE, one QASO, 4 principals, 5 deputy principals, 6 ICT teachers and 23 HODs. Piloting was randomly conducted in one day school and all the possible deviations and ambiguities from the expected research responses realized, was eliminated and corrected by consulting the research supervisors. SPSS version 29.0 was used in testing the reliability of the measurement items and Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.942 across a number of 36 items was obtained. This was an excellent test of reliability since the value obtained was above 0.80, meaning that the scale used was fine and satisfactory according to Mugenda (2003). The ethical considerations were observed during data collection as the researcher administered questionnaires and checklists to the respondents of the study. The quantitative data obtained from the study, was analyzed using SPSS and the measures of central tendency like the mean was obtained. Similarly, calculation of standard deviation was done to determine the measure of variability of the obtained data. The value of the weighted mean was used in making decisions using the perceptions of the respondents on particular measurement items. The results of the study revealed that principals had provided ICT infrastructure in their schools but they were not adequate. The capacity building of staff was not adequate as some teachers lacked essential ICT skills. There was stakeholder involvement in provision of ICT resources but it had not been fully actualized. Further, the study found that some principals involved teachers in decision making processes but were not involved in setting of school ICT goals and in school ICT tendering projects. There was also a low perception that teachers were involved in monitoring and evaluating ICT projects provided by principal. The schools did not have tracking devices for ICT infrastructure provided. The study concludes that most of the principals have not practiced better management practices for provision of ICT infrastructure. The study made several recommendations and among them was that, the MOE should design policies that support provision of ICT in all secondary schools.