Influence of Principals‟ Inspirational motivation on Students‟ Performance at Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in Public Secondary Schools, Kenya

Abstract

Transformational leadership is an ideal attribute for principals in schools and the leadership dimension creates an environment in which learners can thrive academically and in all spheres of school life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of principals’ inspirational motivation on student academic performance in Kenya Certificate Secondary Examination (K.C.S.E) in Makueni County, Kenya. The objective that guided the study was to: establish how principals’ inspirational motivation influences students’ performance at K.C.S.E in Makueni with the hypothesis that there is no relationship between principals’ inspirational motivation with students’ mean scores at Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Makueni County, Kenya. The study used transformational leadership theory by Burns (1978) which has four dimensions namely idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration; all of which are critical in determining academic achievement. The conceptual framework of this study is based on the relationship between the independent variable (principal transformational leadership) with the dependent variable (academic performance) as perceived by primary cluster schools’ teachers. The sample comprised of 111 principals, 729 teachers, and 12 Ministry of Education officials drawn from 388 secondary schools. Questionnaires and interview guides were used to collect data. Validation of the questionnaires through test-re-test method and by use of expert judgment. . Reliability was computed using Cronbach’s alpha method. The coefficient value was 0.85 at alpha = 0.05. Data was analyzed using both descriptive Pearson’s correlation coefficient that test showed a strong correlation for Inspirational motivation and KCSE students’ mean scores. The result indicated a negative and strong correlation between inspirational motivation and students’ KCSE performance (r=-.217, p-value<0.05) respectively. It was concluded that principals’ articulation of the vision and the spirit of encouragement increased performance. The following recommendations were made: KEMI to carry out transformational leadership seminars for the principals on inspirational practices. The Ministry of Education Policymakers should establish policies on transformational leadership. Teacher trainers especially the universities ought to review curriculum to include analysis of school managers and also have simulated situations.