Relationship between competitive strategies and performance of public secondary schools in the kenya certificate of secondary examination in the Nairobi city county

Abstract

This study was carried out with the sole objective of establishing the relationship between competitive strategies and performance of public secondary schools in the Kenya certificate of secondary examination in the Nairobi city county. The study took the form of a descriptive research design. Primary data was collected from a sample size of 45 respondents. Frequencies and percentages as well as descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The study established that public secondary schools in Nairobi use a number of competitive strategies such as utilisation of performance targets for teachers; benchmarking for best practice in the education sector; offering rewards to teachers and top performing students; enforcing discipline among students; recruitment of highly skilled teachers; ensuring that students are engaged in frequent continuous assessment tests and having in place a clear vision that the school pursues. Others include installation of quality facilities such as laboratories and books and efficiency and effectiveness in school operations. It was evident from the findings that there is a strong positive relationship between performance of the schools and adoption of competitive strategies. The schools should be urged to adopt the competitive strategies in order to enhance their performance. Utilisation of performance targets for teachers; benchmarking for best practice in the education sector and offering rewards to teachers and top performing students were found to be the commonly used competitive strategies by public secondary schools in Nairobi County. The study recommends that schools should put more effort in implementation of these strategies since they have a strong positive correlation with performance. Implementing them will assist the schools in enhancing their level of performance in KSCE exams. In general, the findings of the study established that a significant relationship exists between adoption of competitive strategies and the performance of secondary schools. As a result of this, the study recommends that all secondary schools in Nairobi City County should be encouraged to implement competitive strategies to enhance their performance.