| dc.description.abstract | The Government through the Ministry of Education has invested heavily on teachers’
appraisal with the hope of improving educational standards. This is evidenced through
massive funds directed to the Department of Quality Assurance and Standards in charge of
teachers’ appraisal within the Ministry of Education since the introduction of subsidized
secondary education in 2003. Despite this massive investment on teachers’ appraisal by the
Government, much is yet to be achieved in terms of improved educational standards. This
study outlines the most relevant issues concerning teacher appraisal in secondary education
with particular emphasis to Vihiga Sub-county guided by the following objectives; To
establish the extent to which appraisal of teachers on planning and preparation influences
improvement of students’ academic performance, to determine the extent to which appraisal
of classroom environment influences improvement of students’ academic performance, to
assess how appraisal of teachers professional responsibilities influence improvement of
students’ academic performance, to assess how teachers appraisal on classroom instructions
influences improvement of students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in
Vihiga Sub-county. Descriptive survey design was adopted as a blue print that guided the
study. This enabled the researcher to collect and analyze data using both qualitative and
quantitative approaches. The study sampled 145 respondents for the study which included;
132 teachers and 13 principals. Stratified, purposive and random sampling techniques were
applied in selecting appropriate samples used in the study. Data collection was done using a
structured questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics in the
form of frequencies and percentage tables with the aid of SPSS (Statistical Packages for
Social Scientists). Qualitative data was transcribed, organized into various emerging themes
guided by the objectives of the study and reported in a narrative way. Findings of the study
revealed that; all teachers 97(100%) in Vihiga Sub-county planned their lessons before
attending classes. Appraisal of teachers on adequacy of planning and preparation by
principals, HODs and subject heads before attending classes assisted on improvement of
students’ academic performance to a large extent at 70(72.2%), 67(69.1%) and 57(58.8%)
respectively. Appraisal of teachers on adequacy of classroom environment by school
principals assisted on improvement of students academic performance to a large, medium and
small extent at 57(59%), 28(29%) and 12(12%) respectively. Appraisal of teachers’ on
professional responsibilities assisted in improvement of students’ academic performance to a
large, medium and small extent at 54(56%), 31(32%) and 12(12%) respectively. 67(69%)
teachers acknowledged that appraisal of teachers during classroom instructions assisted in
boosting students academic performance to a large extent while 30(31%) held a contrary
opinion. Based on the study findings, the study recommended that: Principals to identify
factors responsible for the dismal performance of most public secondary schools in Vihiga
Sub-county other than teachers’ planning and preparation. Spacious classrooms with good
ventilations be initiated to adequately accommodate learners during the teaching/ learning
process. Teachers’ professional responsibilities be appraised regularly as a pre-requisite
requirement of ascertaining their level of preparedness before and during the actual teaching.
Teachers to initiate myriad ways of appraising students during the teaching/learning process
in order to gauge their level of content mastery. | en_US |
