Influence of head teachers’ instructional supervision practices on pupils’ performance in kenya certificate of primary education examinations in kisii south sub-county, kenya

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of head teachers’ instructional supervision practices on pupils’ performance in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Examinations (KCPE) in Kisii South Sub-County, Kenya. The study sought to determine the extent to which head teachers’ supervision of syllabus coverage, target setting, classroom observation and model teaching lessons influence pupils’ performance in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education Examinations in Kisii South Sub-County. The study was guided by Contigency Theory. The study used descriptive survey design in which a target population was a total of 58 head teachers, 690 teachers and 1820 pupils in public primary school from the three zones within Kisii South Sub-County. Simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 32 schools. A sample size of 32 head teachers, 138 teachers and 273 pupils was used. Purposive sampling technique was then used to select one head teacher, four teachers and nine pupils in each of the sampled schools. Questionnaire tool was used as the main data gathering instrument from the total sample size of 443. An analysis of the pilot data gave a Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient of 0.78, 0.79 and 0.77 for head teachers, teachers and pupils respectively hence the instruments were reliable. The validity of the instruments was done by conducting a pilot study on two schools that were not included in the actual study. The researcher also sought the supervisors’ guidance in order to further improve validity of the instrument. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to collect and analyze data. The study utilized all the 420 questionnaires that were returned by the respondents. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer programme version 20 was utilized in analyzing the quantitative data. The data was presented in frequency distribution tables and bar graphs. Qualitative data was discussed according to the themes. The study findings through a cross tabulation between independent variables and pupils’ average mean scores in KCPE indicated that head teachers who were very strong in instructional supervision of syllabus coverage, target setting, classroom observation and model teaching lessons generally had pupils’ average mean scores of 300 marks and over in KCPE whereas those who were strong ranged between an average of 250-299 (marks) mean score in KCPE. For the faulty strong ones, majority of them registered 200-249 marks in their schools. The weak ones in carrying the above practices hardly attained above 200 average mean scores. This implies that the above head teachers’ instructional supervision practices influence pupils’ performance in KCPE. The researcher suggests that head teachers should continue with focused instructional supervision by checking syllabus coverage regularly, conducting target setting, classroom observation and model teaching lessons in order to enhance pupils’ performance. The researcher recommends that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) should emphasize on target setting as a mandatory practice for all teachers. The Ministry of Education should increase deputy head teachers’ supervisory powers so that he or she can assist the head teacher in instructional supervision. For further research a similar study can be replicated in other Sub-Counties and in secondary schools. An investigation on the attitude of teachers towards head teachers’ instructional supervision can be explored.