Level of influence of school leadership as a component of institutional capacity on academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Usigu division – Bondo district, Kenya.

Abstract

Every country is interested in ensuring that its citizens make a good contribution to its development. This is especially true in less developed countries where it is assumed that a higher competitive advantage may come from a knowledge-based economy. This could be achieved through ensuring good academic performance in learning institutions. The education system in Kenya is largely examination oriented. The quality of education tends to be evaluated in terms of students passing national examinations (Eshiwani, 1993). Poor student academic performance results from factors related to pupils’ personal characteristics (Thompson & Standford, 1975) and factors related to the pupils’ environment- the school and the home (Liitle & Thompson, 1983). Disparities in performance continued to be noticed as one of the many challenges facing education and had raised a lot of concern. The study has been guided by the following objective: To investigate the extent to which school leadership as a component of institutional capacity influences academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Usigu division.