Influence Of Board Of Management Governance Practices On Students’ Performance In Kenya Certificate Of Secondary Education In Athi River Sub-county, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of Board of management governance practices on students’ performance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in Athi River Sub-county, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to determine the influence of monetary incentives to teachers, provision of rewards to students, involvement of teachers in target setting and provision of learning resources on students’ Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education performance. The research used descriptive survey design. The study targeted 13 public secondary schools in Athi-River Sub-county. The target population was 208 Board of Management members, 13 Board of management chairpersons, 13 principals and 260 teachers in Athi-River Sub-county secondary schools. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 13 schools to ensure that all the schools were well represented according to the various regions. Census technique was used to select all the 13 principals and 13 Board of management chairpersons. Simple random sampling was used to select 97 other Board of management members and 132 teachers. The sample size of this study was therefore 255 respondents. The main instrument for the study was questionnaires that were administered to school heads, teachers, Board of management. Panel of experts in the education field were used to ascertain instrument validity. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20.0 was used to carry data analysis. The study produced both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics were presented in terms of tables and figures. Inferential statistics were presented as ANOVA tests and regression coefficients. The findings revealed that provision of incentives to teachers, provision of rewards to students, involving teachers in target setting and provision of learning resources were found to be satisfactory variables in explaining students performance. This was supported by coefficient of determination also known as the R square of 48%. Regression of coefficients results showed that provision of enough learning resources and students performance was highly correlated, positively and significantly related (r=0.340, p=0.000). Provision of incentives and students’ performance was also positively and significantly related (r=0.291, p=0. 000). Further, results indicated that provision of rewards and students performance were positively and significantly related (r=0.262, p=0.000). It was further established that target setting and students’ performance were positively and significantly related (r=0.228, p=0.000). Based on the findings the study concluded that provision of incentives, provision of rewards, target setting and sufficient learning resources influence students’ performance. The study recommended that the training institutes like KEMI should organize tailor made courses for BOM members to equip them with the right knowledge on best governance practices in schools. This will help them identify the best ways to reward teachers and students, organize management of schools and acquisition of learning resources.