Ph. D in Educational Administration

ASSESSMENT OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR’S SUPPORT IN IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITAL LITERACY PROGRAMME IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN KITUI COUNTY,KENYA

2023-01-01T00:00:00Z

ASSESSMENT OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR’S SUPPORT IN IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITAL LITERACY PROGRAMME IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN KITUI COUNTY,KENYA ESTHER WAMBUA The establishment of the Digi School, also known as the Digital Literacy Programme, by the Kenyan government aims to provide pupils with the essential skills required to succeed in the information-driven economy of the twenty-first century. The main goal of the effort was to familiarise kids enrolled in public elementary schools in Kenya with technology improvements, while also providing instructors with the essential skills to effectively provide digital learning resources. The primary aim of this research was to determine the extent of readiness among public elementary schools in Kitui County, Kenya, to adopt and execute digital literacy programmes. The research aimed to investigate whether school administrators actively supported teachers in accessing digital literacy training, aided in the maintenance of digital literacy learning devices, examined the influence of teachers' beliefs and attitudes on the implementation of digital literacy, and coordinated with relevant authorities to ensure the provision of necessary resources. The study used a descriptive methodology. The study sample consisted of a total of 7560 participants, with 3280 individuals serving as school administrators, including both head teachers and deputy head teachers, and 4280 individuals serving as classroom instructors. The researcher used a random sampling technique to identify 164 institutions from the overall population. A total of 789 answers were gathered, with each category in the sample being allotted 10% of the total. The aforementioned group included 428 individuals serving as classroom teachers and 328 individuals holding positions as school administrators. The provision of information via surveys was facilitated by the voluntary participation of instructors and school officials. To verify the dependability of the research equipment, a test-retest technique was used. The data analysis process included the use of SPSS, a programme often used in the social sciences for descriptive and statistical analysis. The use of percentages and frequencies as a means of conveying information and providing descriptions. According to the poll, a significant number of educators obtained authorization from their superiors to participate in digital training sessions. The study put out a recommendation to do more research on the integration of digital literacy in primary public schools across the country. Further investigation is necessary to ascertain if students' academic performance shown any enhancements subsequent to their engagement in digital literacy training. The primary objective of this study is to examine the impact of different digital learning programmes on student results.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ATTRIBUTES OF SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MAKUENI COUNTY, KENYA

2023-01-01T00:00:00Z

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ATTRIBUTES OF SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MAKUENI COUNTY, KENYA JACKLINE K. MUTHAMA The performance of students in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in Makueni County has been dismal. There have been various dialogues at county and sub- county levels on how to remedy the situation, but the consensus still lacks. There is no convergence in empirical literature as to whether organizational culture affect performance owing to mixed findings. The general objective of this research was to ascertain the nexus between the attributes of school organizational culture and student academic performance of public schools in Makueni County, Kenya. The specific objectives were to: investigate the influence of the mission statement on students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Makueni County, Kenya; to explore the effect of the vision statement on the students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Makueni County, Kenya; determine the influence of adhocracy culture on the students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Makueni County, Kenya and to examine the effect of market-oriented culture on the students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Makueni County. This research employed descriptive survey design. The study is grounded on organizational culture assessment and organizational configuration theories. Regarding philosophical orientation, the study is grounded on positivist research paradigm. The target population comprised 114 public secondary schools in Makueni County. The researcher adopted proportionate stratified sampling technique to select the desired sample size of 1,140 respondents. A structured questionnaire and a checklist were used to collect data. A pilot study was conducted using respondents from 10 schools from the target population which was not included in the final sample. Random sampling was used to identify the 114 schools whereby 570 HODs and 570 students participated in the study. The questionnaires were administered to the respondents with the help of the research assistants. The Cronbach’s alpha was used to evaluate reliability and all items had a coefficient that was < 0.07. Content validity was established by ensuring that the questionnaire items covered all the study objectives. The researcher secured research permit from the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) to conduct this study. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study findings established that mission statement (β = 0.50, t = 2.93, p < 0.05), vision statement (β = 0.52, t = 3.21, p < 0.05), adhocracy culture (β = 0.56, t = 2.85, p < 0.05) and market-oriented culture (β = 0.54, t = 2.89, p < 0.05) had a positive significant effect on student academic performance from the teacher’s point of view while from the students’ point of view, the mission statement (β = -0.51, t = -3.47, p < 0.05), vision statement coefficient (β = -0.44, t = -3.30, p < 0.05), adhocracy culture (β = -0.53, t = -3.08, p < 0.05) and market-oriented culture (β = -0.50, t = -3.42, p < 0.05) had negative significant effect on the student academic performance. The findings are expected to make valuable contributions to theory propagation, policy formulation and management practice. The study concludes that attributes of the school organizational culture had a significant effect on the student academic performance. The study recommends that future studies should utilize longitudinal datasets; combine both public and private schools while undertaking analogous studies and also go beyond Makueni County to include others counties so as to aid in generalization of the study finding.

SCHOOL CLIMATE AS A DETERMINANT OF TEACHER PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KITUI COUNTY, KENYA

2022-01-01T00:00:00Z

SCHOOL CLIMATE AS A DETERMINANT OF TEACHER PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KITUI COUNTY, KENYA MANG’UU STELLA NDAMBO Any educational organization that wants to be successful must place a high priority on fostering a supportive school climate and raising the caliber of its faculty. Teachers in Kitui County have expressed concern about a hazardous learning environment. Despite the fact that studies on the school environment in Kenya have been conducted, none of them have gone into further detail about the connection between the school climate and failing teachers. A study of this kind was necessary as a result. The goal of this study in Kitui County was to determine how the school environment impacts teachers' productivity. The findings of this study may be helpful for secondary school administrators who want to improve the settings of their institutions. The aim of the variables included in this study was to explore the relationship between teacher academic success and school culture. The study's objectives were to: (1) ascertain the impact of easily accessible teaching and learning resources on teachers' performance in public secondary schools in Kitui County; (2) examine the impact of teaching workload on teachers' performance in public secondary schools in Kitui County; and (3) investigate the impact of principals' leadership styles on teachers' performance in Kitui County public secondary schools. and The purpose of this study is to look at how cooperation affects academic performance in the public secondary schools in Kitui County. This study used a mixed methods approach and descriptive survey research design to uncover and evaluate the viewpoint of teachers and the indicators of school environment, which were based on three motivational theories: the McGregor theory x and y, Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, and Hertzberg's two factor theory. Participants were 2417 instructors from Kitui County's 400 public secondary schools. A combination of random and systematic procedures were used to choose 488 instructors and 40 school administrators. A proportionate selection process was used to randomly choose 20% of the 2417 instructors from each sub-county. Due to this, a total of 528 respondents—40 administrators and 488 instructors— took part in the survey. To gather the data, principals and teachers were given interview schedules and questionnaires, and records were evaluated. We evaluated the validity of the instrument using factor analysis. Split-half reliability calculations were made for principal checklists and teacher surveys. A pilot project to assess research tools involved 25 educators and 5 administrators from Katulani sub-county. The reliability of the questionnaires and interview schedule was generally excellent (0.89 for the former and 0.8 for the latter). The data were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation since it offers a quantitative evaluation of the strength of a link between two variables. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the analysis of the data. Descriptive statistics were presented using percentages, frequencies, and tabular presentations of the data, which were then analyzed in light of the study's objectives. The study discovered and concluded that there was a statistically significant correlation between teaching and learning resources, teachers' workload, principals' leadership, and teacher performance using Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis. The study concluded that there was a link between the school climate and teachers' performance at the public secondary schools in Kitui County. The research advises administrators to provide enough instructional resources and balance teachers' workloads, especially with regard to assessments, in order to enhance the indicators of the school environment.

STRATEGIC PLANNING: A REFORM TOOL FOR IMPROVING PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES BY PRINCIPALS OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NYAMIRA COUNTY- KENYA

2021-01-01T00:00:00Z

STRATEGIC PLANNING: A REFORM TOOL FOR IMPROVING PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES BY PRINCIPALS OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NYAMIRA COUNTY- KENYA SEJE SYLVANS ODHIAMBO Performance management practices in most public secondary schools in Kenya over the years have failed to achieve the desired levels thereby creating a ‘performance improvement zone’ which required intervention measures. Strategic planning was adopted and embraced by many schools by 2014 and was seen as a reform tool that could be used to improve performance management in schools. Even though there was an intervention by the Ministry of Education (MOE), by 2015, notable gaps still exist and many schools are still experiencing low achievement levels in management practices. Despite secondary school principals having been trained on strategic planning, there is scanty documented literature on the implementation of the reform tool for improving performance management practices in public secondary schools in Kenya, specifically in Nyamira County. This study therefore, sought to: establish the development of strategic plans, explore the levels of strategic plan implementation, determine the levels of strategic plan control and evaluation, and, explore the extent to which strategic planning was being used. A survey research design was used in this study. The sampled population was 135 public secondary schools in the County. Purposive sampling was used to select, Nyamira county, public secondary schools and Simple random sampling further used to select 45 secondary schools. 45 principals, 45 Board of Management (BOM) and Parents Association (PA) heads of departments were purposively sampled. Slovin formula was further used to determine the number of HODs (3) per school giving a total of 315 respondents. Data was collected through questionnaires for principals, deputy principals and HODs while interview schedules for PA and BOM chairpersons. Document analysis was also used in obtaining secondary data from Schools Strategic plans, Standards assessment and Audit reports. The validity of the instruments was established through scrutiny by the study supervisors. The data from questionnaires were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) computer programme version 22.0 and descriptive and inferential statistics generated. Qualitative data from interview schedules were analyzed thematically and reported in a narrative and direct quote. Data was quantified using descriptive statistics like frequencies and percentages and findings presented in charts, tables and graphs. The major findings of the study indicated that although all the schools had developed strategic plans with clear designs and structures for strategic direction, most Principals were not effectively implementing the strategic plans and strategies were not effectively controlled and evaluated and thus, all these affected improvements in performance management practices. It was therefore concluded that the challenges noted in the performance management practices in the secondary schools were as a result of failure to use strategic planning as a tool for improving performance. Strategic planning, if effectively used by Principals can be a reform tool for driving performance improvement in management practices and it was therefore recommended there is need to strengthen the usage of strategic planning to improve performance management to the desired levels. Finally, further research should be carried out in more counties to determine correlation between strategic planning tool and performance improvement practices.