Institutional factors influencing pupils’ performance in kenya certificate of primary education in public primary schools in Naivasha Central Division, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing the performance of KCPE in public primary schools in Naivasha Central Division Naivasha District.The study was guided by four objectives which included establishing the extent to which teacher- pupil ratio influences performance, examining the extent to which pupil–book ratio influences learners performance, determining the extent to which frequent internal assessment influences performance of learners and lastly examining how physical resources influence performance of learners. The research developed research questions to gather information in order to meet the objectives of the study. Related literature to the study was reviewed. The study was based on the ex- post factor research design focusing on public primary schools head teachers, teachers and pupils in Naivasha Central Division. The target population comprised of all the head teachers, teachers and pupils in all the 29 public primary schools in Naivasha Central Division. Data were collected by use of self administered questionnaires and data analyzed based on descriptive statistical method. A pilot study was conducted to test the reliability of the measuring instrument and was found suitable. The study findings revealed that various types of factors in institutions that influenced performance of learners in national examinations included teacherpupil ratio, pupil-book ratio, frequent internal assessment and physical resources such as libraries. The findings established that most schools in the study area are highly populated hence affecting the teacher- pupil ratio and pupil-book ratio which remained a concern of the head teachers and teachers is the area. It also came out that in almost all schools in the study area administer frequent internal assessments as a way of assisting and evaluating both the teachers and the learners’ progress in syllabus coverage and in education attainment. Based on the findings it was found that only a small percentage of the public primary schools in the area have physical resources such as libraries which can help improve performance of learners in national examinations. Most of the head teachers and teachers gave their opinion that the number of pupils attended to by one teacher affects pupils’ performance either positively or negatively. The larger the class, the more demanding the class is and individual needs and interests of learners’ especially slow ones are not adequately attended to. Smaller classes are comfortable to handle with teacher- pupil ratio of between 1:30 and 1:40 per class. Head teachers and teachers gave their opinion about pupil-book ratio. Most of them agreed that there is a direct relationship between access to learning materials and performance of learners. The more a learner is exposed to books the more the learner acquires more information hence improved learning outcomes. This was so to library resources where most of the heads and teachers termed it as a base and a rich environment for knowledge acquisition and exposure to information leading to improved learning outcomes. Lastly the study concluded that frequent continuous assessment to pupils is one formative way of evaluating learners and teachers use it to impart exam answering skills to learners and also as a way of exposing learners to answering questions as the pupils /candidates wait to be summative evaluated during national examination. Thus frequent internal assessment is common to all public primary schools in the study area. It was therefore concluded that the level at which each of the head teachers and teachers is able to cope with the challenges in his / her school concerning those institutional factors that influence pupils performance in national examinations in public primary schools is reflected in the performance index of that school. Taking the limitations and delimitations of the study the researcher made the following suggestions for further study; that a research should be carried out to investigate the effect of teacher-pupil ratio in relation to slow learners; a research should be done on the role of government policy in ordering textbooks by schools instructional materials select committee; and a research should be done to establish the relationship between head teacher’s training and its effect on pupils’ performance in national examinations. The major recommendations were that alternative ways of dealing with shortage of teachers, and pupil-book ratio should be sort by both the schools and the government. Head teachers should look for quality and relevant assessment tests that will add quality to their pupils. Schools should not ignore the importance of library resources and should therefore have library lessons in the main timetable. Lastly, TSC should basically recruit teachers to cater for staff establishment.