Influence of institutional capacity on academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Usigu division-Bondo district, Kenya

Abstract

The education system in Kenya is largely examination oriented. The quality of education tends to be evaluated in terms of students passing national examinations. Academic performance of student results from factors related to pupils' personal characteristics and the pupils' environment- the school and the home. The poor KCSE results have denied many students who went through public secondary schools in Usigu division chances of competing favorably for national opportunities. This research aimed at investigating influence of institutional capacity on academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Usigu division- Bondo district, Kenya.

To achieve this purpose, the study was guided by the following objectives: to establish the extent to which physical facilities as a component of institutional capacity influence academic performance of students in public secondary schools, to assess the level at which human resources as a component of institutional capacity influence academic performance of students in public secondary schools, to investigate the extent to which school leadership as a component of institutional capacity influences academic performance of students in public secondary schools and to explore strategies that can be used to improve academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Usigu division.

This study sought to answer the following research questions: What is the extent to which school leadership influences academic performance of students in public secondary schools? To what extent do physical facilities influence academic performance of students in public secondary schools? What is the level at which human resources influence academic performance of students in public secondary schools? What are the strategies that can be used to improve academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Usigu division?

The study was anchored on the theory of Educational Production Function and conceptual framework that showed the interrelatedness of various components of institutional capacity that influence academic performance of students in public secondary schools. The study utilized- descriptive survey research design that involved administration of questionnaires to a sample of 97 respondents drawn from a target population of 130. This included 89 teachers and 8 principals. Since only 8 public secondary schools were considered for the study, all the principals were purposively sampled while the teachers were randomly sampled for the study. The data collected was edited, coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage counts with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between the variables in the study.

The analyzed data was then presented in form of frequency and percentage distribution tables. Study findings were discussed, conclusions drawn and fmally recommendations made to deal with the challenges revealed by the study. Although the study fmdingsrevealed inadequate physical facilities, and understaffing, in the public secondary schools, the teachers were found to be highly motivated and happy. Some conclusions drawn from the fmdings were that the low academic performance in the division was due to inadequacy of most physical facilities, most teachers had accumulated few years of teaching experience, and high handedness in school leadership.

This study recommends that the government employs more teachers to reduce understaffing, invent strategies for making teaching an attractive career through proper remuneration so that more people can be trained for employment by the TSC. Whereas this study revolved around the school environment, it further . recommends investigations into influence of home environment and student characteristics on academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Usigu division.