| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of headteachers communication strategies on students performance at Kenya certificate of secondary education in public schools in Homa – Bay District, Kenya. The objectives of the study were; to determine how the official language of communication, joint open air meetings with students, method of school calendar dates circulation and how discussions in staff meetings influence academic performance in public secondary schools. The study used a descriptive research design, stratified and simple random sampling were used to select a sample of 20 head teachers, 146 teachers, 436 students and 75 support staffs out of a target population of 36 head teachers, 364 teachers, 4355 students and 375 support staff for the study. The researcher used questionnaires and interview schedules to collect data. Data were collected in
eight days. The head teachers and teachers’ questionnaires were administered by the researcher while the students questionnaires and interview schedules were administered by two research assistants with guidance of the researcher. The respondents filled in the data and they handed over the completed questionnaires to either the researcher or research assistants respectively. Quantitative data were grouped according to the research questions and were analyzed using tally system to get frequency counts. Percentages were calculated using a scientific calculator to be able to describe the findings depending on the magnitude of the percentage responses for each item on the questionnaire. Data were presented by use of frequency distribution tables, bar graphs and pie charts.
Qualitative data were condensed using categorization of data according to related responses from various respondents. The related responses were counted and quantified. However, some of the qualitative data that could not be quantified were grouped thematically and a general narrative was written to describe the results. The researcher found out that the head teachers had adopted communication strategies with open air meetings encouraging a two – way communication. Head
teachers engaged in use of official language of communication, good method of calendar distribution and discussions in the staff meetings to promote academic performance. The head teachers were also apologetic and sensitive to others in conversation. The study concluded that communication strategies adopted by the head teacher greatly influence the school performance at KCSE. Therefore, the ability of the head teacher to manipulate their staff, students and support staff through effective communication strategies enhances a good performance which leads to improved urge for parents to fight for the few chances that might be available in the school for their children. The researcher recommended that head teachers should undertake in-service courses to improve their communications skills. This could help them understand the best communication strategies to adopt depending on their school situations and improve in management planning which leads to improved school academic performance. The researcher suggested further research on the communication
strategies adopted by the head teachers in various parts of the country so as to compare the findings with those of the study. Such studies would add to the findings of this study. | en |
