Effect of school culture on performance in kcse in secondary schools in Chogoria Division, Maara District

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish the impact of school culture on performance in public secondary schools in Chogoria Division, Maara District. The study was intended to find out whether a good school climate as perceived by teachers and head teachers, could be attributed to good performance of students in examinations. The study focused on the aspect of school climate/ culture alongside respondents' characteristics such as age, gender, experienced, qualification and the school factors such as size and student population. The major factor considered in this study was the role played by school culture in enhancing performance in secondary schools. The questionnaire return rate was 78.6% for both head teachers and teachers. Two sets of questionnaires for the principals and teachers were used to collect the data. The sample consisted of 14 head teachers and 112 teachers. Literature was reviewed in relation to the concept of the school as an organization, aspects of school culture, concepts of school performance, organizational climate and organizational culture and performance. The study applied a descriptive survey design and data was collected using two sets of questionnaires. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages. The results were then reported in narrative form with a series of tables. The study findings indicated that schools have varying cultures which influence the performance of students. Given the theoretical underpinnings of Schein (1980) the results of the study showed that the school culture is a useful concept for understanding schools as a "living environment". This was supported further by the fact that a strong organizational culture is related to better academic results and lower failure and dropout rates. The study further found out that a strong organizational culture is especially characterized by the dynamic, coherence and articulation of its various components. It gives rise to a greater degree of support for common values and greater commitment pursuing group objectives. On the basis of the above findings, it was recommended that there is need to consider ways of improving school culture in the district to enhance a conducive environment for students to perform well in KCSE. The researcher suggested that a study on the relationship between organizational culture of a school as perceived by the teachers and the facilities of the school be carried out. Further the study should be carried out in other regions of the country to ascertain the reliability of the findings.