Institutional factors influencing students’ performance in kenya certificate of secondary education in public schools in Lari district, Kiambu county, Kenya
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to investigate how the institutional factors
influence the students’ performance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary
Education (KCSE) in Lari District. The study was guided by the following
five objectives; to determine the extent to which the management of Free
Secondary Education(FSE) fund affects the student’ performance, to establish
the relationship between the provision of the institutions’ physical facilities
and the students’ performance, to determine how the provision of instructional
materials affects the students’ performance, to assess the contribution of the
teacher pupil ratio to the students’ performance and to establish how the inservicing
of the teachers affects the students’ performance. The study
employed descriptive survey design and the target population consisted of 1
District Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (DQA&SO), 38
headteachers and 432 teachers of the public secondary school in Lari District.
A sample of 1 DQA&SO 20 headteachers and 220 teachers was taken using
stratified random sampling technique. Three sets of questionnaires and an
interview schedule were used as the research instruments. To determine the
validity of the research instruments, the researcher first had the instruments
appraised by the supervisors and then they were tested through a pilot study of
two schools from the neighboring Githunguri District. To determine the
reliability of the instrument, the researcher used the test-retest method and
then computed the two scores using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation
Coefficient (r) formula. The correlation Coefficient for both the headteachers
and the teachers were found to be reliable for the study. The researcher sought
for permission from the National Council for Science and Technology
(NCST). She then visited the Lari District Education Office for permission and
thereafter proceeded to the schools where she administered the questionnaires
in person. The researcher used descriptive statistics to analyse the quantitive
data while qualitative data was reported through narrative. The study’s
findings were; many of the schools’ Board of Management (BoM) members
are not trained in financial management, the headteachers are inadequately inserviced
in financial management, many of the schools have inadequate
facilities and resources and many of the teachers are not able to enhance their
professional skills. The study made the following recommendation; the
Ministry of Education (MoE) should ensure that all the schools’ managers are
equipped with adequate financial management skills, the Teachers Service
Commission (TSC) should ensure the public schools are adequately staffed,
the schools’ BoMs and Parents Teachers Associations (PTAs) should explore
on ways of expanding the institutions’ facilities and resources
Citation
Degree of Masters in Education in Educational Administration, University of Nairobi, 2014Publisher
University of Nairobi
Collections
- Faculty of Education (FEd) [5968]