| dc.description.abstract | The head teacher is the leader in a school, the pivot around which many
aspects of the school revolve, and the person in charge of every detail of
the running of the school, be it academic or administrative. K.C.P.E results
in Kieni East District in general point to the fact that measures need to be
put in place to ensure better performance (D.E.O report, 2014). The
purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of head teachers’
management strategies on K.C.P.E performance in public primary schools
in Kieni East District. Specifically, the researcher aimed to examine the
following objectives, Influence of Curriculum and Instruction on academic
Performance, Influence of Staff Personnel on K.C.P.E Performance,
Influence of Student Personnel Management on K.C.P.E Performance,
Influence of Finance Management on K.C.P.E Performance and Influence
of School Community Relations on K.C.P.E Performance in public
primary schools in Kieni East District. Descriptive survey design was
used because information was collected without changing the environment
(i.e., nothing was manipulated). It was the best method for collecting
information that demonstrated relationship between the independent and
dependent variables. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 30
head teachers and 121 teachers in public primary schools in Kieni East
District. Frequencies and percentages were used in the analysis with the
help of SPSS software. The study found that, the teachers did not always
finish the syllabus in time and in addition, the teachers indicated that the
head teacher did not always supervise curriculum. The study found that
head teachers of primary schools in Kieni East District had good
management practices in personnel management of staff; however this
was not extended to the students especially in the area of decision making
which led to poor performance. The study also found that head teachers
had good financial management skills however this was at a very basic
level since the school heads could not for example audit finances. The
study finds that head teachers rarely supervised curriculum
implementation. The findings also indicated that the school head had poor
management of physical facilities. The study found that head teachers of
primary schools in Kieni East District had good management practices in
community relations. The research showed that the head teachers had poor
management practices in personnel management, curriculum
implementation and physical facilities; which led to poor performance in
KCPE due poor relationship with the students, failure to complete syllabus
coverage and overcrowding in classes. The study concluded that the
headteachers of public primary schools in Kieni East District had good
management practices in finance and community relations. They also had
poor management in personnel management, curriculum implementation
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and physical facilities The recommendation were (a) that the Ministry of
Education should provide special training to primary school head teachers
to improve their skills in financial management; (b) that Quality
Assurance and Standards Officers (QASOs) should ensure supervision of
teachers by head teachers and place emphasis on curriculum
implementation and syllabus coverage; and (c) the head teachers of public
primary schools should involve teachers in managing school facilities. | |
