STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY SECONDARY SCHOOL

PRINCIPALS TO IMPROVE

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN EMBU WEST DISTRICT

BY

MWAURA JAMES MAINA

E55/CE/16183/06

A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL

FULFILMENT FOR THE REQUIREMENT OF A MASTERS
DEGREE IN THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION,
KENYATTA UNIVERSITY

FEBRUARY 2010
 DECLARATION

This research project is my original work and has not been presented in any other
university.

……………………………………………… ……………………….
MWAURA JAMES MAINA DATE
E55/CE/16183/06

This research project has been submitted for examination with my approval as university
supervisor.
……………………………………………… ……………………….
DR. F. MUCHIRA DATE
(Lecturer),
Department of Educational Management, Policy and Curriculum Studies.

Kenyatta University

…………………………………… ………………….…………
PROF. GRACE BUNYI DATE

(Associate Professor),

Department of Educational Management, Policy and Curriculum Studies.

Kenyatta University

…………………………………… ………………………
DATE

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to recognize the assistance and support of Prof. Grace Bunyi and Dr. Muchira F

for their creative and valuable guidance in writing this project. I also wish to

acknowledge the support of Esther W. Mugo for her inspiration in the course of my

Academic journey and for her critique and useful advice.

iii
 DEDICATION
I dedicate this project to my family and to all those who in one way or another assisted
me in my academic journey

iv
 ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to establish the strategies employed by secondary school
principals to meet their academic performance improvement goals in Embu West
District. Three research questions were formulated to guide the study. Research question
one aimed at examining the strategies employed by secondary school principals in Embu
West District to meet their schools‟ academic performance improvement goals, research
question two focussed on establishing the differences between the academic
performance improvement strategies employed by principals from well performing and
poorly performing schools while research question three sought to identify academic
performance improvement lessons that can be learnt from schools that consistently
perform well at the KCSE level.

The review of literature covered literature on factors affecting academic performance,

including student-related factors, home environment factors, and school-related factors.
The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The sample was composed of 20
headteachers and 40 teachers. Data were collected by use of structured questionnaires.
The findings revealed that majority of the schools always employed strategies on
instructional leadership always. It was also revealed that majority of schools employed
strategies for clarification of vision and mission. Data further revealed that majority of
schools always employed strategies for expectations for success, they also employed
strategies for monitoring students progress always and also employed strategies aimed at
ensuring opportunity to learn/time on task always. It was revealed that there was no
difference in the strategies used by the headteachers in well performing and poorly
performing schools.

Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that all schools employed strategies
that were aimed at enhancing academic improvement. It was also concluded that there
were no difference on strategies used in well performing schools and poor performing
schools. The study further concluded that improvement on academic performance did
not depend on the use of improvement strategy since schools that performed well and
those that performed poorly claimed to employ the same strategies in the same way.

In the light of the research findings the researcher concluded that schools must seek to
establish factors that lead to poor academic performance and hence find ways of
addressing such factors. It was also concluded that the government should be involved
in the running of schools by providing the necessary resources and materials that would
enhance improvement of academic performance. lastly it was concluded that schools
that deteriorate every year should evaluate all aspects of learning to establish the root
cause of the same hence find ways of solving the problem. Taking the limitations and
delimitations of the study, the researcher suggested that a study on school based factors
that influence student academic performance should be conducted, a study on student
related factors that influence their academic performance should be conducted and also a
study on headteachers leadership styles and their influence on academic performance
should be conducted.

v
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page …………………………………………………………………………..……..i

Declaration ………………………………………………………………………………ii

Dedication ………………………………………………………………………………iii

Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………iii

Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………….vi

List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………………ix

List of Figures …………………………………………………………………………..xi

Acronyms and abbreviations …………………………………………………………...xii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study ………………………………………………………...1

1.2 Statement of the Problem ………………………………………………………..5

1.3 Purpose of the Study ……………………………………………………………..5

1.4 Objectives of the Study ………………………………………………………….5

1.5 Research Questions ……………………………………………………………...6

1.6 Significance of the Study ………………………………………………………...6

1.7 Scope and Limitations of the Study ……………………………………………...7

1.8 Assumptions ……………………………………………………………………..8

1.9 Theoretical Framework ………………………………………………………….8

1.10 Conceptual Framework ………………………………………………………...11

1.11 Definition of Terms …………………………………………………………….13

vi
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………….15

2.2 Factors affecting Academic Performance ……………………………………...15

2.3 Student-Related Factors Influencing Academic Performance …………………15

2.4 Home Environment Factors Influencing Academic Performance ……………...18

2.5 School-related Factors Influencing Academic Performance …………………...20

2.6 Summary of the Literature Review …………………………………………….21

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………….23

3.2 Research Design ………………………………………………………………..23

3.3 Target Population ………………………………………………………………23

3.4 Sample and Sampling Techniques ……………………………………………...24

3.5 Research Instruments …………………………………………………………...24

3.6 Reliability of the Instruments …………………………………………………..25

3.7 Validity of instruments …………………………………………………………25

3.8 Data Collection Procedure ……………………………………………………...25

3.9 Data Analysis Procedure ……………………………………………………….26

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION OF

FINDINGS

4.0 Introduction …………………………………………………………………….27

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4.1 Questionnaire return rate ……………………………………………………….27

4.2 Demographic Information of the respondents ………………………………….27

4.2.2 Demographic information of the Headteachers ………………………………...27

4.2.3 Demographic information for teachers …………………………………………32

4.3 Strategies for improving academic performance ……………………………….34

4.4 Strategies are employed by secondary school principals

to meet their academic performance improvement goals ………………………35

4.4.1 Strategies for Instructional leadership …………………………………………36

4.4.2 Strategies for School safety and orderliness ……………………………………41

4.4.3 Strategies for clarifying vision and mission ……………………………………46

4.4.4 Strategies for expectations for success …………………………………………50

4.4.5 Strategies for home-school relations …………………………………………...54

4.4.6 Monitoring of student progress ……………………………………………….58

4.4.7 Opportunity to learn/time on task ………………………………………………62

4.5 Differences in academic improvement strategies from well

and poorly performing schools …………………………………………………66

4.6 Performance improvement lessons ……………………………………………..67

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0 Introduction …………………………………………………………………….70

5.1 Summary ………………………………………………………………………..70

5.2 Conclusions …………………………………………………………………….72

5.3 Recommendations ……………………………………………………………...72

5.4 Suggestions for further research ………………………………………………..73

viii
REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………………..74

Appendix A: Questionnaire for Principals ……………………………………………..78

Appendix B: Questionnaire for Teachers ………………………………………………84

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1 Number of teachers in the schools …………………………………………..31

Table 4.2 Number of BOG teachers in the schools …………………………………….32

Table 4.3 Headteachers‟ responses on strategies for instructional leadership …………36

Table 4.4 Factors influencing academic performance …………………………………37

Table 4.5 Strategies used for ensuring strong instructional leadership ………………..38

Table 4.6 Teacher responses on strategies for instructional leadership ………………..39

Table 4.7 Teachers‟ responses on strategies to ensure strong instructional leadership ...40

Table 4.8 Teachers‟ responses on strategies instructional leadership ………………….41

Table 4.9 Headteachers‟ responses on strategies for school safety and orderliness …...42

Table 4.10 Headteachers‟ responses on strategies for school safety and orderliness ….43

Table 4.11 Teachers‟ responses on strategies for school safety and orderliness ……….44

Table 4.12 Safety and orderliness factors influencing academic performance ………...45

Table 4.13 Teachers responses on strategies for school safety and orderliness ………..46

Table 4.14 Strategies for clarifying vision and mission ………………………………47

Table 4.15 Strategies of on school mission vision and academic goals ………………..48

Table 4.16 Teachers responses on strategies on vision and mission in

their schools …………………………………………………………………….49

Table 4.17 Teachers responses on strategies for vision and mission of the school …….50

Table 4.18 Headteachers responses on strategies for expectations for success ……….51

ix
Table 4.19 Headteachers responses on strategies for success ………………………….51

Table4.20 Teachers responses on strategies for expectations for success ……………..52

Table 4.21 Teachers response on strategies for ensuring high

expectation for success …………………………………………………………53

Table4.2.2 Strategies for enhancing good home school relations ……………………...54

Table 4.23 Strategies for enhancing good home-school relations ……………………...55

Table 4.24 Teachers responses on strategies for good home school relations …………56

Table4.25 Home school relational factors influencing academic performance ………..57

Table 4.26 Teachers responses on strategies for good school community relations …...58

Table4.27 Strategies to ensure effective monitoring of student progress ……………..59

Table 4.28 Headteachers responses on adequately monitoring student progress ………60

Table 4.29 Teachers responses on strategies for monitoring students progress ………..61

Table 4.30 Teachers responses on strategies for monitoring student progress ………...62

Table 4.31 Strategies employed by headteachers to ensure there is opportunity to

learn …………………………………………………………………………….63

Table 4.32 Headteachers responses on strategies for opportunity to learn ……………64

Table 4.33 Teachers responses on strategies used by the headteachers to ensure

monitoring of students ………………………………………………………….65

Table 4.34 Teachers‟ responses on strategies on opportunity to learn …………………66

Table 4.35 Significant difference in the strategies used by headteachers from

well and poor performing schools ……………………………………………...67

x
 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Conceptual Framework …………………………………………………….12

Figure 4.1 Distribution of headteachers by gender …………………………………….28

Figure 4.2 Level of Education of the headteachers

…………………………………….29

Figure 4.3 Experience as Headteachers ………………………………………………...30

Figure 4.4 Teachers distribution by gender …………………………………………….33

Figure 4.5. Teachers distribution by level of education ………………………………..34

xi
 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

BoG : Board of Governors

I.Q. : Intelligence Quotient

KCSE : Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education

SES : Social Economic Status

SPSS : Statistical Package for Social Sciences

TSC : Teachers‟ Service Commission

UNESCO : United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization

WEAC : Wisconsin Education Association Council

xii
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Nations all over the world spend fortunes to enhance the education process. This is

because education is considered the cornerstone of economic and social development. It

improves the productive capacity of societies and their political, economic and scientific

institutions. It helps to reduce poverty by mitigating its effects on population, health and

nutrition. It also increases the value and efficiency of the labour offered by the poor. As

technology advances, new methods of production depend on well-trained and

intellectually flexible labour force.

Many governments in both the developed and developing countries allocate much of

their resources to education (UNESCO, 2005). This has resulted to considerable growth

of educational activities world over. To date, education is one of the largest sectors in

most countries (UNESCO, 2005). Kenya is no exception to this trend of increasing

allocation of resources towards education. For the investment in education to bear fruits,

students are expected to progress from one level of education to the next. However, this

progression can be hampered by poor academic performance at national examinations.

Otieno (2002) argues that examinations tell children how they are succeeding or failing.

He contends that education is very important and failure in the national examination

especially at the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) spells doom for the

students whose life becomes uncertain and full of despair. Examination performance

determines whether the students will proceed to university or to other tertiary

1
institutions. Therefore, a student‟s life is determined by academic performance in the

national examinations.

In Kenya, the means to judge academic achievement is through examinations. Kyalo and

Kuthuka (1992) argue that a certificate must not only certify that a candidate has

fulfilled the set requirements but also has attained results that compare favourably with

similar cohorts elsewhere. People who perform well in education are known to get better

paying jobs and to have a proportionately high productivity. Examinations are used to

decide the course one pursues in the institutions of higher learning. The top achievers

usually end up being placed in the socially prestigious careers like medicine, engineering

and accounting. These jobs are well paying and these people are usually placed highly in

production structures.

Researchers have shown that academic performance is affected by a number of factors,

including student-related factors like intelligence quotient (IQ) and willingness to learn

(Magiri, 1997); school-related factors like adequacy of resources and facilities (Musoko,

1983; Kunguru, 1986); teacher-related factors like teacher morale, teaching methods

(Muchina, 2003) and job satisfaction (Guthrie, 1982); and school administrators‟

leadership traits (Anyango, 2001; Orina, 2005) among others. Another factor that could

influence academic performance is school leadership. Often, when a school performs

well the principal is the first to be congratulated, while poor performance leads to the

principal receiving the blame.

The school principal is the most important person in a school setting. As the chief

executive of a school, he/she is charged with the responsibility of managing the day to

2
day affairs of the institution, and ensuring that all members of the school community are

moving in the right direction. A prime task of school heads is to exercise leadership of

the kind that results in a shared vision of the directions to be pursued by the school, and

to manage change in ways that ensure that the school is successful in realizing the

vision. In a world of increasingly rapid change, what is the terra firma on which a robust

concept of the headteacher as a leader and manager of change can be built? Sullivan and

Glanz (2000) have proposed that the profession should adopt school improvement as its

centre of gravity. This means that the headteacher, in making school-related decisions,

should always have school improvement in mind.

Placing school improvement at the centre of the profession ensures that the job of the

head is pedagogically and educationally grounded, and tied directly to the core business

of schooling. It requires heads that have a solid knowledge of the learning process and of

the conditions under which students learn in the school setting. It also places a premium

on knowledge about educational change and school improvement. In short, it

emphasizes the role of the head as a knowledge manager with respect to the core

business of the school, namely teaching and learning, in a context of change and the

ongoing imperative for improvement (Glanz, 2000). This implies that headteachers are

at the centre of school improvement, and if they fail in this task then the entire school

fails.

A key role of the headteacher is to ensure that each of the elements that contribute to

improved student learning outcomes is present, working effectively and in alignment

with all other elements (Hill, 2006). This means that the headteacher is thus, as it were,

3
the chief architect of the school, the one who has the overview of systems, processes and

resources and how they combine to produce intended student learning outcomes.

This implies that the headteacher is able to articulate the significance of all key

elements, to justify their design and configuration, and to be in a position to make

judgments regarding the operational effectiveness of each element and of the total

impact of all of the elements as they function in combination with one another. When

outcomes are not being realized, or when evidence accumulates that particular elements

are not working effectively, the head is responsible for ensuring that the redesign work is

carried out (Hill, 2006). This could mean minor readjustments but, in cases of endemic

failure to reach required standards, is more likely to involve transforming the whole

ecology of the school in order to obtain the desired results.

This study will examine the strategies employed by secondary school principals to

improve academic performance in Embu West District. The study will be guided by the

Effective Schools Model by Lezotte (2001), which argues that an Effective School is a

school that can, in measured student achievement terms, demonstrates the joint presence

of quality and equity. Lezotte (2001), after a series of studies, came up with seven

correlates of effective schools, that is, strong instructional leadership, clear and focused

mission, safe and orderly schools, climate of high expectations for success, frequent

monitoring of student progress, positive home – school relations, and opportunity to

learn/time on task..

4
1.2 Statement of the Problem

While some schools consistently perform well in KCSE, others seem to perform poorly

year in year out. Even among schools that perform poorly, some record improved

performance from one year to another, while others record decline in performance. Yet

all schools set their academic goals aimed at improving academic performance. What is

not clear is the strategies that school leadership employ to meet school academic goals.

It would be important to find out the strategies that school principals employ to improve

academic performance and attain their schools‟ academic goals. By assessing such

strategies, it is possible to establish what principals from schools that achieve their

academic goals do differently, and thereby recommend similar management approaches

to poorly performing schools for improvement of academic performance.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study was to establish the strategies employed by secondary school

principals to meet their academic performance improvement goals in Embu West

District.

1.4 Objectives of the Study

The study objectives were to:

1. Examine the strategies employed by secondary school principals in Embu West

District to meet their schools‟ academic performance improvement goals.

5
 2. Establish the differences between the academic performance improvement

strategies employed by principals from well performing and poorly performing

schools.

3. Identify academic performance improvement lessons that can be learnt from

schools that consistently perform well at the KCSE level.

1.5 Research Questions

The study was guided by the following research questions:

1. Which strategies are employed by secondary school principals in Embu West

District to meet their academic performance improvement goals?

2. What are the differences between the academic performance improvement

strategies employed by principals from well performing and poorly performing

schools?

3. Which performance improvement lessons can be learnt from schools that

consistently perform well at the KCSE level?

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study would be most significant to school principals, students and parents who

would like to see their schools perform better in national examinations. For school

principals, the study provided data that could be used to improve management practices

for improved academic performance. By identifying the strategies employed by

principals of well performing schools, principals of poorly performing schools will learn

lessons that could enable them improve management structures and academic

6
performance in their schools. Secondary school students would benefit from the study

because findings will reveal the way students in well performing schools interact with

other members of the school community (principals and teachers) and the school

environment (such as school resources). Through this, students in poor performing

schools would be encouraged to adopt strategies employed by well performing schools

in order to improve academic performance. Parents would also benefit from the study in

that they expect that their investment in education will reap benefits, and this is best

realized when students perform well and join institutions of higher learning. Similarly,

as key stakeholders of schools, parents need information on how best to support the

schools to bring about academic success, and this study will provide such information.

The study would also add to the existing body of knowledge by testing the Effective

Schools Model in Kenya.

1.7 Scope and Limitations of the Study

The study aimed at finding out the strategies employed by secondary school principals to

improve academic performance in Embu West District. Study participants were school

principals and teachers. Participating schools were selected from those that have been

consistently performing well for the last five years (2004 – 2008) and those that have

been consistently performing poorly for the same period.

The study was limited by the fact that there are many factors that influence academic

performance, such as students‟ intelligence (IQ), willingness to learn, and entry

behaviour, and parental socioeconomic status. These factors could not be controlled in

7
the study. Another limitation was that some schools may have had recent changes of

leadership which may have lead to change of management structures and strategies.

1.8 Assumptions

1. Well performing schools had unique strategies for managing academic

performance that are not employed by poorly performing schools.

2. By adopting the academic performance management strategies employed by well

performing schools, poor performing schools could improve their academic

performance.

1.9 Theoretical Framework

This study was based on the Effective Schools Model by Lezotte (2001). According to

Lezotte, an Effective School is a school that can, in measured student achievement

terms, demonstrates the joint presence of quality and equity. Lezotte (2001), after a

series of studies, came up with seven correlates of effective schools - strong instructional

leadership, clear and focused mission, safe and orderly schools, climate of high

expectations for success, frequent monitoring of student progress, positive home-school

relations, and opportunity to learn/time on task.

According to Lezotte (2001), strong instructional leaders are proactive and seek help in

building team leadership and a culture conducive to learning and professional growth. In

the effective school, the principal and others act as instructional leaders and effectively

and persistently communicate and model the mission of the school to staff, parents, and

students.

8
Having a clear and focused mission means everyone knows where they are going and

why. A clear focus assists in aligning programs and activities for school improvement.

To effectively determine a specific focus, school leadership and stakeholders use a

collaborative process to target a few school goals and then build consensus around them.

A safe and orderly school is defined as a school climate and culture characterized by

reasonable expectations for behaviour, consistent and fair application of rules and

regulations, and caring, responsive relationships among adults and students (Lezotte,

2001). Classrooms are warm and inviting, and learning activities are purposeful,

engaging, and significant. Personalized learning environments are created to increase

positive relationships among students and between students and their teachers. Students

feel that they belong in the school community, and children are valued and honoured;

their heritage and background are viewed as “assets,” not deficiencies.

In a climate of high expectations, the mantra “all students can learn” must be followed

by instructional practices and teacher behaviour that demonstrate that teachers believe in

the students, believe in their own efficacy to teach students to high standards, and will

persist in teaching them. Teaching advanced skills and teaching for understanding

together with basic skills are required for all students to achieve at high levels.

Frequent monitoring of teaching and learning requires paying attention both to student

learning results and to the effectiveness of school and classroom procedures (Lezotte,

2001). Learning is monitored by tracking a variety of assessment results such as test

scores, student developed products, performances, and other evidence of learning.

Teaching is monitored by teachers themselves through self-reflection and by supervisors

9
for program and teacher evaluation. Assessment results are used for planning instruction

for individual students as well as for school-wide decision making and planning.

Classroom and school practices are modified based on the data.

According to Lezotte (2001), family and community involvement is a general term used

to describe a myriad of activities, projects, and programs that bring parents, businesses,

and other stakeholders together to support student learning and schools. Families and

other adults can be involved in the education of young people through a variety of

activities that demonstrate the importance of education and show support and

encouragement of students learning. These are legitimate approaches for involvement

and do not necessarily require adults spending time at the school site.

Opportunity to learn and student time on a task simply means that students tend to learn

most of the lessons they spend time on. Time on task implies that each of the teachers in

the school has a clear understanding of what the essential learner objectives are, grade-

by-grade and subject-by-subject. Once it is clear what students should be learning, they

should be given time to learn it. In an effective school, teachers allocate a significant

amount of classroom time to instruction on the essential skills. Students of all abilities,

races, gender, and socioeconomic status have equal opportunities to learn.

The theory is relevant to this study in that the seven correlates of effective schools

require effective leadership in the part of the principal. This is in line with Sullivan and

Glanz‟s (2000) assertion that a prime task of school heads is to exercise leadership of the

kind that results in a shared vision of the directions to be pursued by the school, and to

manage change in ways that ensure that the school is successful in realizing the vision.

10
By identifying the correlates of well performing schools in Kenya, the study will not

only test Lezotte‟s (2001) effective schools model, but also suggest measures that

schools that consistently perform poorly can take to improve academic performance.

1.10 Conceptual Framework

The purpose of this study was to establish the strategies employed by secondary school

principals to improve academic performance in Embu West District. The conceptual

framework for the study borrows from Lezotte‟s (2001) Effective Schools Model. Figure

1 presents the conceptual framework of the study.

11
Figure 1.1: Conceptual Framework

Strong instructional
leadership

Clear and focused mission

Safe and orderly schools

Achievement
Effective teaching of academic
Climate of high
and learning process performance
expectations for success goals

Frequent monitoring of
student progress Dependent variable

Positive home – school

relations

Opportunity to learn/time on
task

Independent variables

Source: Adapted from Lezotte, L. (2001), Correlates of Effective Schools: The first and
second generation; Okemos, MI, Effective Schools Products, Ltd.

As shown in figure 1, schools whose leaders promote the seven correlates of effective

schools enjoy effective teaching and learning processes. These seven correlates are the

independent variables of the study, and include: strong instructional leadership, clear and

focused mission, safe and orderly schools, climate of high expectations for success,

12
frequent monitoring of student progress, positive home – school relations, and

opportunity to learn/time on task. In this study, the researcher hypothesized that schools

that perform well in Embu West District exhibit these correlates more than poorly

performing schools. Academic performance is the dependent variable of the study.

1.11 Definition of Terms

Correlates: These are factors or aspects that are associated with good or poor academic

performance.

Effective school – This refers to a school that, in measured student achievement terms,

demonstrates the joint presence of quality and equity. It is a school where

students are encouraged to perform to their maximum potential, regardless of

their entry behaviour.

Examination: The process of evaluating how well a student has learnt a particular

concept.

Poor Performing Schools – In this study, this refers to secondary schools that

consistently obtain a mean grade of below C+ in Kenya Certificate of Secondary

Education examinations.

Principal - Refers to the executive officer in a school, who has been given the

authoritative power in matters concerning the administration of the school by the

T.S.C. In this study term principal and Headteachers are used interchangeably.

13
Well Performing Schools – In this study, this refers to secondary schools that

consistently obtain a mean grade of at least C+ and above in Kenya Certificate of

Secondary Education examinations.

14
 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter covers a review of literature related to the study. The literature review

given in this chapter covers literature on factors affecting academic performance,

including student-related factors, home environment factors, and school-related factors.

2.2 Factors affecting Academic Performance

Researchers have shown that there are many factors that affect academic achievement of

students. According to the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC, 2005),

high-achieving students are likely to have the following characteristics: positive feelings

about their school experiences; attribute their success in high school to such things as

hard work, self-discipline, organization, ability, and high motivation; tend to watch

relatively little television during the school week; tend to associate with students who

also were successful in school; and avid readers. In this section, a number of factors that

have been shown to have an influence on students‟ academic performance are discussed.

2.3 Student-Related Factors Influencing Academic Performance

Using the framework of public choice theory, a number of studies have tried to establish

whether the amount of effort exerted in the classroom can be an effective criteria used to

evaluate student performance. Two studies (Schuman et al 1985 and Michaels and

Miethe 1989) used a random sample of 424 and 676 undergraduates respectively. The

Schuman et al (1985) study (1) used hours studied under different time frames as a

15
gauge of effort while the Michaels and Miethe (1989) study (2) used quantitative and

qualitative measures to gauge effort. The Schuman et al (1985) study found no

relationship between hours studied and grades, while the Michaels and Miethe (1989)

study only found a positive relationship for freshmen and sophomores.

Few studies seem to focus on the role that class effort plays in determining academic

performance. While in the field of educational psychology, empirical studies of primary

and secondary school students have shown that effort is a key indicator of academic

outcomes, these samples usually contain students at two extremes. These extremes are

those who care excessively about studies and hence put in a lot of effort and those who

do not care at all and therefore put in little effort. In previous studies with samples of

students who obviously care about grades, no strong relationship between the amount of

time spent studying and final year end grade was found, controlling for socio-economic

status (SES) (Cheo 2002).

Yet effort can have many indirect effects that may explain the lack of direct correlation

with academic outcomes. The presence of externality effects from high achievers to

lower achievers highlights the role that knowledge and effort plays in the modem

classroom. A significant amount of research has focused on the issue of the "peer group"

effect in recent economic analysis of education. Education economists such as Ferris

(2002) and Johnson (2002) have done studies that highlight the spill-over effects that

higher achievers tend to generate within a classroom learning environment to increase

the overall quality of education for all students.

16
Knowledge need not necessarily be communicated explicitly, i.e. the high achiever

tutors the low achiever, but may be communicated as a social norm for performance. To

illustrate this, Marks (2002) explains that academic standards operate like social norms

which exhibit public good characteristics. 'Academic standards' help identify the quality

of academic performance (e.g. a grading system or peer review) but the benefit they

confer strongly resembles a public good (Marks, 2002). In our setting, the norm would

then be to participate actively in class, however since participation itself requires

personal cost while conveying benefits to non-participants, this would lead to free-riding

and an inefficient production of this norm.

To illustrate this, a previous study by Summers and Wolfe (1977) used differences in

composite achievement scores between grade three and grade six as a measure of

schools' value added and found that an increase in the percentage of high achievers in a

student's school has two offsetting effects on student scores: one that significantly

improves all students' scores and a second that reduces individual scores by an amount

that correlates with student ability. Marks' (2002) interpretation of the externality effect

of class participation as a public good could account for Summers and Wolfe's (1977)

finding of an offsetting effect that reduces individual scores according to ability. Once

knowledge is surrendered in a classroom via a written or oral presentation, homework or

even a set of well-written notes, it can be available at almost no cost to the other

members of the class, subject to memory and time constraints. This externality may be

negative or positive depending on how competitive the class environment is in assessing

the quality of knowledge freely propagated.

17
Cheo (2003) concludes that greater effort in the classroom does not necessarily lead to

higher marks (direct causality); adding that instead, it may convey externality effects to

other people. A competitive environment ensures that all observable information prior to

decision-making correctly reflects the market value of such knowledge. In this way,

misperception is not a significant problem. To maintain such a classroom environment

necessitates the facilitator, usually the teacher, to openly critique students' contributions

in the form of highlighting useful knowledge and downplaying the bad (Cheo, 2003).

Without adequate feedback to students, it is possible that lecturers or tutors who had

originally assumed that their charges were learning what they were trying to teach, will

be regularly faced with disappointing results from exams.

2.4 Home Environment Factors Influencing Academic Performance

The family is the primary social system for children. Rollins and Thomas (1979) found

that high parental control were associated with high achievement. Cassidy and Lynn

(1991) included a specific factor of the family's socioeconomic status, crowding, as an

indicator of how being disadvantaged affects educational attainment. They found that a

less physically crowded environment, along with motivation and parental support, were

associated with higher educational levels of children. Religiosity as an aspect of the

family environment is another independent variable possibly influencing academic

achievement (Bahr, Hawks, & Wang, 1993).

According to Hammer (2003) the home environment is as important as what goes on in

the school. Important factors include parental involvement in their children's education,

how much parents read to young children, how much TV children are allowed to watch

18
and how often students change schools. Achievement gab is not only about what goes on

once students get into the classroom. It's also about what happens to them before and

after school. Parents and teachers have a crucial role to play to make sure that every

child becomes a high achiever. Parental influence has been identified as an important

factor affecting student achievement. Results indicate that parent education and

encouragement are strongly related to improved student achievement (Odhiambo, 2005).

Phillips (1998) also found that parental education and social economic status have an

impact on student achievement. Students with parents who were both college-educated

tended to achieve at the highest levels. Income and family size were modestly related to

achievement. Peng and Wright‟s (1994) analysis of academic achievement, home

environment (including family income) and educational activities, concluded that home

environment and educational activities explained the greatest amount of variance. In

conclusion denying the role of the impact of a student's home circumstances will not

help to endow teachers and schools with the capacity to reduce achievement gaps

(Hammer, 2003).

Allen and Kickbusch (1992), cited in WEAC, (2005), found that the higher-achieving

students plan to continue their education after graduation from high school, participate

extensively in extracurricular activities, have a few absences each school year, more

likely to engage in recreational reading and to check books out of the school or public

library on a regular basis, watch less television, spend more time each evening doing

their home work, have friend who have positive attitudes toward school and who rarely

cut classes or skip school, have positive feelings about their teachers and about specific

19
courses they take and attribute success in school to hard work rather than ability. This

study attempted to reveal the relationship between motivation, family environment,

student characteristics and academic achievement.

2.5 School-related Factors Influencing Academic Performance

Research exploring school related factors that explain why some students achieve high

academic performance than others has revealed three theoretically important

determinants. They include, school plant, leadership behaviour of the principal, teacher

and characteristics. Eshiwani (1983) identified the following policy-related factors that

may cause poor academic performance:

 School plant and resources (Textbooks, library and laboratory facilities).

 Leadership behaviour of the principal (school administration and management).

 Teacher characteristics (training, teacher certification, professional commitment,

experience and transfer index).

Research conducted in the United States indicated that very small schools have lower

academic performance than large schools. However, a school cannot provide a

reasonably well-qualified staff for the different subjects of curriculum below a minimum

size. There will be an optimum size of school beyond which the level of attainment falls.

A number of studies in several African countries (Foster and Chigret, 2006; Heyneman,

1984) found a strong relationship between resources and students achievement. They

gave the laboratory a central and distinctive role in education. In addition, studies done

in less developed countries such as Uganda, India, Ghana, Brazil and Malaysia,

indicated that access to textbook availability is positively related to students

20
achievement. For example, the data for India and Chile showed that a block of factors,

which included textbook availability accounts for more of the variance in test scores

than does a block, which includes home circumstances and student‟s age and sex

(Heyneman et al 1984). Among the most recent studies undertaken in Kenya regarding

factors influencing academic performance are those carried out by Kathuri (1984), and

Eshiwani (1983).

Kathuri‟s (1984) research reveals that schools resources including textbook availability

are not significantly related to performance in Certificate of Primary Education (CPE).

However, he summarizes his work by saying that teaching resources may not be

significant in totality but very critical in some situations and subjects. Eshiwani (1983)

identifies that schools which consistently perform well tend to have sound and efficient

leadership. He further stresses that school leadership is a crucial factor in the success of

a school. The qualities that are expected of a school principal include setting a climate of

high expectations for staff and students, encouraging collegial and collaborative

leadership and building commitment.

2.6 Summary of the Literature Review

Literature reviewed in this section has shown that there are many factors that affect

academic achievement of students, with higher-achieving students likely to have the

following characteristics: positive feelings about their school experiences; attribute their

success in high school to such things as hard work, self-discipline, organization, ability,

and high motivation; tend to watch relatively little television during the school week;

tend to associate with students who also were successful in school; and avid readers.

21
The literature reviewed regarding factors influencing academic performance further

revealed that school resources including textbook availability, students‟ discipline,

school leadership, parental involvement, gender, and student attitudes are significant

determinants of academic performance. The researcher did not come across local studies

that sought to establish the academic performance improvement strategies employed by

school principals in well performing and poorly performing schools. This is despite the

fact that there are schools that consistently perform well in KCSE examinations and

others where poor performance is endemic. To fill this research gap, the study will

investigate the strategies employed by secondary school principals from well performing

and poorly performing schools to improve academic performance.

22
 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

In this chapter, details on how the research was conducted are presented. The chapter is

divided into seven sections: the research design, target population, sample and sampling

technique, research instruments, reliability and validity of instruments, data collection

procedures and methods of data analysis.

3.2 Research Design

The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The design is considered appropriate for

the study because according to Kothari (1985) survey is concerned with describing,

recording, analyzing and reporting conditions that exist or existed. Kerlinger (1973)

argues that survey method is widely used to obtain data useful in evaluating present

practices and in providing basis for decisions. The descriptive survey research design

enabled the researcher to collect, analyse and report data on the various strategies

employed by school principals to improve academic performance.

3.3 Target Population

The target population for the study was all the public secondary schools in Embu West

District. All the principals and teachers in these schools comprised the population of the

study. In Embu West District there were 55 public secondary schools. Of these schools,

3 were boys only, 5 were girls only, while 47 were mixed gender schools.

23
3.4 Sample and Sampling Techniques

A sample is a small portion of a target population. Sampling means selecting a given

number of subjects from a defined population as representative of that population. Any

statements made about the sample should also be true of the population (Orodho 2002).

It is however agreed that the larger the sample the smaller the sampling error.

Stratified random sampling was employed to select twenty schools – 10 of the top

performing schools and 10 of the bottom performing schools in the district. The

principals of the 20 schools took part in the study. From each of the 20 schools, two

teachers were randomly selected to participate in the study, giving a total of 40 teachers.

The study sample therefore comprised of 20 principals and 40 teachers from 20 public

secondary schools in Embu West District.

3.5 Research Instruments

The study employed questionnaires as the research instruments for data collection.

Questionnaires were administered to school principals and teachers. The questionnaire

were used for data collection because, as Kiess and Bloomquist (1985) observe, it offers

considerable advantages in the administration: it presents an even stimulus potentially to

large numbers of people simultaneously and provides the investigation with an easy

accumulation of data. Gay (1992) maintains that questionnaires give respondents

freedom to express their views or opinion and also to make suggestions.

24
3.6 Reliability of the Instruments

Before the actual data collection, piloting of questionnaires will be done on two

secondary schools in Embu West District, which will not participate in the actual study.

Piloting enabled the researcher to test the reliability of the instruments. The researcher

used the pilot study to identify any items in the questionnaires that are ambiguous or

unclear to the respondents and change them effectively. The pilot study also enabled the

researcher to familiarize himself with administration of the instrument.

3.7 Validity of instruments

Validity is defined as the accuracy and meaningfulness of inferences, which are based

on the research results (Mugenda & Mugenda, 1999). In other words, validity is the

degree to which results obtained from the analysis of the data actually represents the

phenomena under study. Borg and Gall (1989) define validity as the degree to which a

test measures what it purports to measure. The pilot study helped to improve face

validity and content of the instruments. According to Borg & Gall (1989), validity of an

instrument is improved through expert judgment. As such, the researcher sought

assistance from his supervisor, in order to help improve content validity of the

instrument.

3.8 Data Collection Procedure

The researcher got an introduction letter from Kenyatta University and a research permit

from the Ministry of Education. After this, the researcher booked an appointment with

the sample schools through the principals to visit and administer the questionnaires. The

25
researcher then visited each of the schools and administer the questionnaires himself.

The respondents were given instructions and assured of confidentiality after which they

were given enough time to fill in the questionnaires, after which the researcher collected

the filled-in questionnaires.

3.9 Data Analysis Procedure

After all the data was collected, it was coded and entered in the computer for analysis

using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics such as

percentages, means and frequencies were used to report the data. The results of data

analysis were reported in summary form using frequency tables, bar graphs and pie

charts.

26
 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS

4.0 Introduction

This chapter focuses on the demographic information of the respondents, presentations,

interpretation and discussions of findings. The presentations were done based on the

research questions.

4.1 Questionnaire return rate

Completion rate is the proportion of the sample that participated as intended in all the

research procedures. Out of the 20 questionnaires administered to the headteachers, all

of them (100%) returned the questionnaires. Out of the 40 questionnaires administered

to the teachers 36 (90%) returned the questionnaires. These percentage rates were

deemed adequate for the study.

4.2 Demographic Information of the respondents

4.2.2 Demographic information of the Headteachers

The demographic information of the head teachers was based on their gender, level of

education, age, academic qualification, teaching experience and category of schools. To

establish the gender of the respondents, they were asked to indicate the same. The data is

presented in figure 4.1.

27
Figure 4.1 Distribution of headteachers by gender

Female

Male

Data on the gender of headteachers indicated that 13 (65%) were male while 7 (35%)

were females. This shows that majority of the schools including mixed schools involved

in the study were headed by male headteachers. The headteachers were further asked to

indicate their level of education. The data is presented in figure 4.2.

28
Figure 4.2 Level of Education of the headteachers

20

F
r
e
q
10
u
e
n
c
y

0
Masters B.Ed

Level of education

Data on the level of education of the headteachers indicated that 4 (20%) had a master of

education degree while the rest 16 (80%) had a Bachelor of education degree. The data

shows that all the head teachers were adequately prepared as teachers by virtue of being

trained as teachers.

The headteachers were also asked to indicate their experience as headteachers. The data

is presented in figure 43.

29
Figure 4.3 Experience as Headteachers

16 years

15 years

12 years Less than 1 year

10 years

9 years

7 years 5 years

Findings on the experience of the headteachers as headteachers indicated that most of

them 6 (30%) had been head for 5 years, 5 (25%) had been heads for less than one years

while the rest had different experience as heads on between 7 and 16 years. Apparently

there were heads who had a great experience and hence were well versed with the

strategies that they used in their schools to improve academic performance.

The research further asked the headteachers to indicate the number of teachers in their

schools both the TSC commission and those employed by the BOG. The data is

presented in table 4.1

30
Table 4.1 Number of teachers in the schools
Number of teachers F %
6 teachers 1 5.0
7 teachers 10 55.0
8 teachers 1 5.0
9 teachers 1 5.0
12 teachers 1 5.0
13 teachers 3 20.0
16 teachers 1 5.0
19 teachers 1 5.0
22 teachers 1 5.0
Total 20 100.0

Findings on the number or teachers employed by the TSC in the schools indicated that

most schools had 7 teachers as shown by the 10 (55%) of the teachers who indicated so.

Three schools (20%) had 13 teachers, while the rest had different number of teachers

ranging from 6 to 22 teachers all employed by the TSC. These findings show that

majority of schools had teachers employed by the TSC. The study also sought to

establish the number of teachers in each school that were employed by the BOG. The

headteachers responded to the item as tabulated in table 4.2.

31
Table 4.2 Number of BOG teachers in the schools
Number o f BOG teachers F %
None 2 10.0
1 teacher 2 10.0
2 teachers 5 25.0
3 teachers 7 35.0
4 teachers 1 5.0
6 teachers 1 5.0
9 teachers 2 10.0
Total 20 100.0

Findings on the number of teachers in the schools that were employed by the BOG

indicated that 7 (35%) had three BOG teachers each, 5 (25%) schools had 2 teachers

each, 2 (10%) schools had 1 teacher, 2 (10%) more had 9 teachers while 1 (5%) school 4

teachers and another 1 (5%) school had 6 teachers. These findings shows that there were

schools that had a considerable number of BOG teachers.

4.2.3 Demographic information for teachers

The demographic information of the teaches was based on their gender, level of

education, and teaching experience. Data on the gender of the teachers indicated that 19

(52.8%) were male while 17 (47.2%) were female. The data shows that there was an

almost balanced sample in terms of gender distribution of the teachers. This information

is presented in figure 4.4.

32
Figure 4.4 Teachers distribution by gender

20

F
r
e
q 10
u
e
n
c
y

0
Male Female
Gender

The teachers were further asked to indicate their level of education. Data is presented in
figure 4.4.

33
Figure 4.5. Teachers distribution by level of education

BA with PGDE

Secondary education

Diploma

Masters

Bachelors degree

B.Ed

Data on the level of education of the teachers showed that 3 (8.3%) had a master of

education degree, 7 (19.4%) had a Bachelors degree, 15 (41.7%) had a Bachelor of

Education degree, 8 (22.2%) had a diploma, 2 (5.6%) had a secondary education while 1

(2.8%) had a bachelors degree with a PGDE. Asked to indicate their experience as

teachers, 1 (2.8%) had an teaching experience of 6 months, 3 (8.3%) had an experience f

2 years, the same number had an experience of 6 years, most of them had an experience

of 15 years as indicated by 7 (19.4%) teachers.

4.3 Strategies for improving academic performance

In order to establish the strategies that were employed by the headteachers to improve

academic performance, the researcher focused on the strategies employed, whether there

34
were differences between the academic performance improvement strategies employed

by principles from well performing schools and poor performing schools and lastly the

research sought to determine which performance improvement lessons that could be

learnt from schools that consistently performing well schools. This section discusses the

these factors

In a bid to establish the strategies set by the secondary school principals to meet their

academic performance, the principals were asked to indicate whether they set academic

target for the school term in KCSE means score improvement. In this item all the

principals indicated that they did set such targets. Asked to rate their schools in

achieving academic performance, 13 (65%) said they were satisfactory while 7 (35%)

said they were unsatisfactory.

4.4 Strategies are employed by secondary school principals to meet their

academic performance improvement goals

The study further sought to establish the extent to which school headteachers employed

several strategies that aimed at promoting academic performance in schools. These

strategies were based on strategies on instructional leadership, school safety and

orderliness, clarification of vision and mission of the school, strategies on expectations

for success, home-school relations, monitoring of students progress and opportunity to

learn. The respondents namely the teachers and the headteachers were asked to indicate

the extent to which the school principals employed the strategies in a scale of „always‟,

„sometimes‟, „rarely‟ and „never‟. The responses of the headteachers and the teachers are

discussed in the section below. In each of the category of strategies, the mean scores of

35
 the frequency (f) and percentage (%) were calculated to establish how certain strategies

were employed.

4.4.1 Strategies for Instructional leadership

The headteachers were asked to indicate the extent to which they engaged in the

strategies for improvement of academic performance. Their responses are presented in

table 4.3.

Table 4.3 Headteachers’ responses on strategies for instructional leadership

Strategies for Instructional leadership Always Sometimes Rarely Never

f % F % f % f %
Making sure teachers keep updated professional 20 100 - - - - - -
documents (schemes of work, lesson plans and
records of work)
Visiting teachers in classes to supervise 4 20 3 20 4 20 8 40
teaching
Involving teachers to decide on best strategies 20 100 - - - - - -
to improve teaching and learning
Providing all the teaching and learning 17 85 3 15 - - - -
resources needed for improved performance
Supervising teachers to ensure they complete 18 90 2 2 10 - - -
the syllabus in time
Building team work among teachers to ensure 20 100 - - - - - -
they support one another
Holding regular staff meetings to discuss 18 90 2 10 - - - -
academic progress
Holding staff appraisal meetings to discuss 13 65 7 35 - - - -
strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for
academic improvement
Mean score 16 80 2 10 1 5 1 5

Findings on the strategies used by the headteachers on ensuring instructional leadership

indicated that 16 (80%) employed such strategies always, 2 (10%) employed them

sometimes while 1 (5%) each rarely or never employed them. A further analysis

indicated that all the headteachers 20 (100%) made sure that teachers kept professional

36
documents updated, all of them involved teachers to decide on best strategies to improve

teaching and learning and also build teamwork among teachers to ensure they supported

one another. It was however found that majority of the head teaches did not visit

teachers in classes to supervise teaching as indicated by4 (20%) who rarely did so and 8

(40%) who never did so.

The head teachers were asked to indicated in their opinion which leadership factors had

greatly influenced academic performance of their schools. The findings are presented in

table 4.4.

Table 4.4 Factors influencing academic performance

Factors influencing academic performance F %
Leading by example, syllabus completion regular exams 1 5.0
Delegation, follow up, consultation motivation 2 10.0
Open communication for stake holders supervision 1 5.0
Functional departments, teaching, delegation, discipline 2 10.0
Team work, supervision, syllabus coverage 4 20.0
Involvement of stakeholders teacher models materials 4 20.0
Modeling, supervision, delegation 3 15.0
Monitoring, guidance, self motivation, determination 2 10.0
Support from BOG 1 5.0
Total 20 100.0

Data on the factors that influenced academic performance indicated team work,

supervision, syllabus coverage, involvement of stakeholders teacher models materials as

indicated by 4 (20%) of the respondents in each category. Asked what strategies they

37
used to ensure there was a strong instructional leadership among the HODs, BOGs and

teachers in their schools, the headteachers indicated as indicated in table 4.5.

Table 4.5 Strategies used for ensuring strong instructional leadership

Strategies F %
Regular consultations and listening to their views 1 5.0
Capacity building, commitment, motivation 2 10.0
Involvement of all in decision making, communication, meeting 1 5.0
Meetings and consultations 6 30.0
Team work, meetings accomplishment of duties 4 20.0
Meetings, discussions, academic committees within BOG 5 25.0
Briefings, directing, seminars meetings 1 5.0
Total 20 100.0

Findings indicated that 6 (30%) reported that meeting and making consultation was a

major strategy, 5 (25%) rated meetings, discussions, academic committees within BOG

as a strong strategy while 4 (20%) rated team work, meetings accomplishment of duties

as a major strategy.

Teachers responses on Strategies for Instructional leadership

To further establish the extent to which headteachers employed strategies for enhancing

instructional leadership, the teachers were asked to indicate the same. Their responses

are presented in table 4.6.

38
 Table 4.6 Teacher responses on strategies for instructional leadership
Strategies on Instructional leadership Always Sometimes Rarely Never
F % f % f % f %
Making sure teachers keep updated 34 94.4 2 5.6 - - - -
professional
Visiting teachers in class to supervise teaching 7 19.4 6 16.7 3 8.3 20 43.6
Providing all the teaching and learning 30 83.3 6 16.7 - - - -
resources needed for improved performance
Supervising teachers to ensure they complete 24 66.7 12 33.3 - - - -
the syllabus on time
Building team work among teachers to ensure 36 100 - - - - - -
they support one another
Holding regular staff meetings to discuss 31 86.1 4 11.1 1 2.8 - -
academic progress
Holding staff appraisal meetings to discuss 19 52.8 10 27.8 5 13.9 2 5.6
strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for
academic improvement
Mean 26 72 6 16.6 1 2.7 3 8.3

Findings from the teachers indicated that on average 26 (72%) indicated that their

headteachers employed strategies for instructional supervision always while (16.6%)

said that they did it sometimes. A further analysis indicated that 34 (94.4%) said that

their headteachers made sure that teachers kept their professional documents updated, 30

(83.3%) indicated that their headteachers provided all teaching and learning resources

needed for improved performance, all of them indicated that they built team work

among teaches to ensure they supported each other while 31 (86.1%) said that their

principals held staff meeting to discuss academic progress.

Teachers were further asked to indicate strategies that their schools employed to ensure

that there is a strong instructional leadership. They responded as indicated in table 4.7.

39
Table 4.7 Teachers’ responses on strategies to ensure strong instructional
leadership
Strategies for instructional leadership F %
Democratic leadership, consultation with stakeholders 14 38.9
Headship not focused on academics illiterate BOG 3 8.3
Teamwork, involve all stake holders 5 13.9
Supervision of teaching staff, and dialogue 4 11.1
Motivation, equality in load distribution 1 2.8
Teamwork, leading by examples, motivation 1 2.8
Teachers as role models, health students teacher relationship 2 5.6
commitment
Inspection of school records 2 5.6
Good teachers relationship positive attitude 3 8.3
Involve teachers in academic decisions support them 1 2.8
Total 36 100.0

Findings revealed that most of the teachers 14 (38.9%) felt that their headteachers had

democratic leadership and held consultation with stakeholders. There was also team

work and involving of all stakeholders as indicated by 5 (13.9%) and also supervision

of teaching staff and dialogue as indicated by 4 (11.1%). Teachers were further asked to

indicate what strategies their schools employed to ensure that there was a strong

instructional leadership. Their responses are presented in table 4.8.

40
Table 4.8 Teachers’ responses on strategies instructional leadership.
Strategies for strong instructional leadership F %
Holding strategic meetings to plan 10 27.8
Involve teachers in deciding best practices 7 19.4
Regular inspection and delegation of duties 5 13.9
Regular updates of academic progress 1 2.8
Team work and constant meetings 7 19.4
Proper keeping of records 2 5.6
Departmental meetings and encouragement all to achieve 3 8.3
Having a common goals and all to work towards the same 1 2.8
Total 36 100.0

Findings showed that schools held strategic meetings to plan as indicated by 10 (27.8%),

7 (19.4%) involved teachers in deciding the best practices, the same number 7 (19.4%)

encouraged team work and constant meetings while 5 (13.9%) had regular inspection

and delegation of duties.

4.4.2 Strategies for School safety and orderliness

The headteachers were further asked to indicate the strategies that they employed in

ensuring school safety and orderliness in their schools. The were therefore asked to

indicate the extent to which their employed certain measures that ensured school safety

and orderliness. The findings are presented in table 4.9.

41
Table 4.9 Headteachers’ responses on strategies for school safety and orderliness
Strategies on School safety and Always Sometimes Rarely Never
orderliness f % f % f % f %
Discussing students' discipline with 20 100 - - - - - -
parents
Involving teachers to identify ways of 17 85 3 15 - - - -
improving discipline in the school
Ensuring that the school climate is 20 100 - - - - - -
conducive for teaching and learning
The school compound is clean and orderly 19 95 1 10 - - - -
The school has all the necessary physical 14 70 6 30 - - - -
and material resources
Providing guidance and counseling to 20 100 - - - - - -
students
Mean 18 90 2 10

Data on the extent to which headteachers employed strategies on school safety and

orderliness indicated that on average, majority 18 (90%) employed the strategies always

while 2 (10%) employed them sometimes. It was found that all the headteachers 20

(100%) discussed students discipline with parents, all of them 20 (100%) ensured that

the school climate was conducive for teaching and learning and also all of them

provided guidance and counseling to students.

The headteachers were further asked to indicate the strategies they employed in their

schools to ensure the school was orderly, safe and had an environment that was

conducive for effective teaching and learning. The findings are presented in table 4.10.

42
Table 4.10 Headteachers responses on strategies for school safety and orderliness
Strategies for safe and orderly school F %
Listening to students views and maintain safety measures 1 5.0
Team leadership, prefect empowerment 2 10.0
Delegation, fence maintenance, cleaning 1 5.0
Meetings for prefects, houses masters address issues when hot 5 25.0
Understanding students needs, respect discipline G and C 4 20.0
Following school program, security systems supervision G&C 6 30.0
Involvement, discipline, motivation supervision 1 5.0
Total 20 100.0

In this item 6 (30%) indicated that they made sure that the school programme was well

followed, that there was security systems, supervision and they provided students with

guidance and counseling. Another 5 (25%) headteachers indicated that they frequently

had meetings with prefects, house masters and solved issues when still hot.

Teachers responses on strategies for ensuring school safety and orderliness

To establish the strategies employed by the schools in ensuring school safety and

orderliness, the teachers were asked to indicate the extent to which their headteachers

employed such strategies. Their responses are presented in table 4.11.

43
 Table 4.11 Teachers’ responses on strategies for school safety and orderliness
Strategies for safety and ordeliness Always Sometimes Rarely Never
F % f % f % f %
Discuss students discipline with parents 17 47.2 19 52.8 - - - -
Ensuring that the school climate is conducive 34 94.4 2 5.6 - - - -
for teaching and learning
The school compound is clean and orderly 36 100 - - - - - -
The school has all the necessary physical and 27 75 9 25 - - - -
material resources
Providing guidance and counseling to students 34 94.4 1 2.8 1 2.8 - -
Mean 12 33.3 6 16.6 0.2 0.5 - -

Data revealed that an average of 12 (33.3%) agreed that their headteachers employed

strategies for school safety and ordeliness always, 6 (16.6%) said such strategies were

employed sometimes. All the teachers 36 (100%) indicated that their school compounds

were clean, while 34 (94.4%) indicated that their headteachers ensured that the school

climate was conducive for teaching and learning.

The teachers were further asked to indicate in their opinion which school safety and

orderliness factors influence academic performance of their schools. Their responses are

presented in table 4.12.

44
Table 4.12 Safety and orderliness factors influencing academic performance
Safety and orderliness factors f %
Involving teachers in seeking for ways of improving discipline 1 2.8
Discipline, cleanliness provision of resources 7 19.4
Updating the daily attendance books 1 2.8
Involving all stake holders on ways of improving discipline 4 11.1
Security, discipline, cleanliness availing resources 4 11.1
G&C involve teachers and students in decision making 1 2.8
Observance of time and following the time table 11 30.6
Conducive school climate for teaching and learning 2 5.6
Discipline, conducive environment G& C services 2 5.6
Observance of time 3 8.3
Total 36 100.0

Findings as presented in table 4.12 on the teachers responses on strategies that

headteachers employed to ensure safety and orderliness indicated that most of them 11

(30.6%) said that headteachers ensured that the time table and school time was well

followed. Another 7 (19.4%) said that their headteachers ensured discipline, cleanliness

and provision of resources. Teachers were further asked to indicate what strategies their

principal employed to ensure that their school were orderly, safe, and had an

environment that was conducive for effective teaching and learning. Findings are

presented in table 4.13.

45
Table 4.13 Teachers responses on strategies for school safety and orderliness
Strategies for safe and ordered environment f %
Involving teachers in discipline solutions 1 2.8
High level of discipline, motivation, facilities improvement 3 8.3
Delegation of duties, creating good relationship with community 1 2.8
Team work among all stakeholders 5 13.9
Cleanliness, provision of needed materials security agents 4 11.1
All stake holders take responsibility of their involvement 1 2.8
Having drug free zones, watchmen, safe buildings, fire equipment 9 25.0
Dialogue, teachers std, staff G&C supportive teachers students 2 5.6
Proper supervision 2 5.6
Provide security, discipline, safe environment provide food 3 8.3
Constant supervision of students by those of duty 4 11.1
Discipline, support teachers, constant communication 1 2.8
Total 36 100.0

Data from the teachers responses on how their headteachers employed strategies to

ensure safety and orderliness in the school revealed that most 9 (25%) said their

headteachers ensured that school was a drug free zone, had watchmen, safe buildings

and fire equipment. Five (13.9%) said that their headteachers ensured teamwork among

the stakeholders.

4.4.3 Strategies for clarifying vision and mission

The headteachers were further asked to indicate the extent to which they effected

strategies focusing on clarification of vision and mission. The responses are presented in

table 4.14.

46
 Table 4.14 Strategies for clarifying vision and mission
Strategies clarifying vision and mission Always Sometimes Rarely Never
F % f % f % f %
Clarifying the school vision and mission to 16 80 4 20 - - - -
teachers, students and parents
Ensuring teachers set achievable and realistic 18 90 2 10 - - - -
academic performance goals for their
subjects
Following up to ensure that teachers are 19 95 1 5 - - - -
working towards realization of their
performance goals
Encouraging students to set academic 17 85 3 15 - - - -
performance goals at the beginning of each
term
Comparing goals set by students at the 15 75 5 25 - - - -
beginning of the term and their end of term
performance to identify causes of failure to
attain targets
Reminding students of their core business in 20 100 - - - - - -
the school and encouraging them to remain
focused
Setting overall school goals with the teachers 19 95 1 5 - - - -
and motivating them towards attainment of
the set goals
Ensuring that all the stakeholders (teachers, 19 95 1 5 - - - -
students, parents) participate in setting school
goals and objectives
Mean 18 90 2 10

Finding from the headteachers strategies that they used to enhance clarification of vision

and mission as presented in table 4.14 indicated that majority of them employed such

strategies always as indicated by a mean of 18 (90%). Only a few of them 2 (10%) who

employed them sometimes. A further analysis indicated that all the headteachers 20

(100%) reminded students of their core business in the school and encouraged them to

remain focused.

The headteachers were asked to what strategies they employed to ensure teachers,

student , BOG were aware of the school mission, vision and academic goals and that

47
they were working towards their achievement. They responded as indicated in table

4.15.

Table 4.15 Strategies of on school mission vision and academic goals.

Strategies F %
Reminding them, involving teachers in setting goals 4 20.0
Sensitization and forums, reports QASO 1 5.0
Reminding, talking to them recites school anthem 2 10.0
Meetings, setting goals, BOG meetings to review progress 3 15.0
Posting school mission and vision at strategic places 5 25.0
Communicating to sensitize them and using academic fora 5 25.0
assemblies
Total 20 100.0

In this item headteachers indicated that they constantly reminded students and the

stakeholders on the mission and vision of the school, and also by communicating to

sensitize them during academic for and at assemblies.

Teachers responses on strategies for clarification of vision and mission

Teachers were also asked to indicate the to which their principals employed strategies

that aimed at clarifying vision and mission of the school. There were therefore asked to

indicate the extent to which such strategies were employed. The findings are presented

in table 4.16.

48
 Table 4.16 Teachers responses on strategies on vision and mission in their schools
Strategies for school vision and mission Always Sometimes Rarely Never
f % f % f % f %
Clarifying the schools mission and vision to 18 50 14 38.9 4 11.1 - -
teachers, students and parents
Ensuring teachers set achievable and realistic 35 97.2 1 2.8 - - - -
academic performance goals for their subjects
Ensuring that teachers are working towards 36 100 - - - - - -
realization of their goals
Encouraging students to set academic 22 61.1 5 13.9 9 25 - -
performance goals at the beginning of each term
Comparing the goals set by students at the 20 55.6 5 13.9 11 30.6 - -
beginning of the term and their end of term
performance to identify causes of failure to attain
goals
Reminding students of their core business in the 36 100 - - - - - -
school and encouraging them to remain focused
Setting overall school goals with the teachers and 31 86.1 5 13.9 - - - -
motivating them towards attaining of the set
goals
Ensuring that all stakeholders (teachers and 28 77.8 8 22.2 - - - -
students, parents) participate in setting school
goals and objectives
Mean 28 77.7 5 13.8 3 8.3 - -

Findings from the teachers responses as presented in table 4.16 revealed that an average

of 28 (77.7%) said that their headteachers employed strategies on vision and mission.

Five (13.8%) said their headteachers did so sometimes while only 3 (8.3%) said their

headteachers did so rarely. The teachers were also asked to indicate the strategies that

their principals employed to ensure that teachers, students parents and BOG are aware of

the school mission, vision and academic goals and that they are working towards their

achievement. Their responses are presented in table 4.17.

49
Table 4.17 Teachers responses on strategies for vision and mission of the school
Strategies for vision and mission of the school f %
Ensuring that all stakeholders are involved in setting goals 3 8.3
Constant reminding students and teachers on school mission 3 8.3
Seeking ways of fulfillment on school mission 4 11.1
Display school mission at gate, students to set goals 4 11.1
Constant meetings with those involved 8 22.2
Information boards, motivations strategies reminding at assembly 9 25.0
Organize BOG to discuss board matters, organize meetings teachers 2 5.6
Calling for meetings and induction of students 2 5.6
Meetings with parents students disseminate information 1 2.8
Total 36 100.0

Responses from the teachers indicated that 9 (25%) said their head teachers, made sure

that the school mission was put on the information boards, had motivation on strategies

and reminded students about the school mission and vision during assembly. Eight of the

teachers (22.2%) said that headteachers had constant meeting with the involved so as to

remind and discuss with them on vision and mission of the school.

4.4.4 Strategies for expectations for success

The study further aimed at establishing the strategies that headteachers put in place to

ensure expectations for success. They were therefore asked to indicate the extent to

which they employed such strategies. Their responses are presented in table 4.18

50
 Table 4.18 Headteachers responses on strategies for expectations for success.
Strategies for Expectations for success Always Sometimes Rarely Never
f % f % f % f %
Making it clear to students that the school has 20 100 - - - - - -
high hopes that they will perform well in KCSE
exams
Encouraging teachers to 'think and act like 20 100 - - - - - -
winners not losers'
Assisting teachers to identify threats that may 18 90 2 10 - - - -
hinder academic success
Making clear to teachers that the school 20 100 - - - - - -
administration has confidence in them that they
can lead students to academic success
Ensuring that all teachers have 'no child left 18 90 2 10 - - - -
behind attitude; that is all students can do well
irrespective of their entry behaviour
Mean 19 96 1 4 0 0 0 0

Findings revealed that majority of the headteachers, 19 (96%) always employed

strategies for expectation for success. They were further asked to indicate the strategies

that they employed to ensure that their teachers had expectations for success, that is,

ensuring that teachers believed in the students and believe in their own efficacy to teach

students to high standards. They responded as indicated in table 4.19.

Table 4.19 Headteachers responses on strategies for success

Strategies F %
Monetary motivation, building confidence in them 1 5.0
Encouraging them during assemblies and giving rewards 6 30.0
Maintaining discipline, guest speakers, guidance and couselling 1 5.0
Talking about need to sacrifice 2 10.0
Challenging results with an aim to getter better 5 25.0
Role modeling, motivating teachers, having seminars and academic 5 25.0
for a
Total 20 100.0

51
 Findings indicated that most of the headteachers 6 (30%) used strategies such as

encouraging teachers and students during assemblies, and giving rewards to those that

performed well.

Teachers’ responses on expectations or success

The teachers were further asked to indicate the extent to which their head teachers

employed strategies for expectations for success. Their findings are presented in table

4.20

Table4.20 Teachers responses on strategies for expectations for success.

Strategies for expectations for success Always Sometimes Rarely Never
F % f % f % f %
Making it clear to students that the school has 36 100 - - - - - -
high hopes that they will perform well in
KCSE
Encouraging teachers to 'think' and act like 32 88.9 4 11.1 - - - -
winners and not losers'
Assisting teachers to identify threats that may 26 72.2 10 27.2 - - - -
hinder academic success
Making clear to teachers that the school 36 100 - - - - - -
administration has confidence in them that
they can lead students to academic success
Ensuring that all teachers have a 'no child left 30 83.3 6 16.7 - - - -
behind' attitude, that is all students can do well
irrespective of their entry behaviour
32 88.9 4 11.1

Findings revealed that an average of 32 (88.9%) teachers indicated that their

headteachers employed such strategies always, while 4 (11.1%) did so sometimes. In

the same analysis, all the teachers 36 (100%) said that their head teachers always made

clear to students that the school had a high hopes and that they would perform well in

KCSE. All of them also reported that their headteacher made clear to teachers that the

52
school administration had confidence in then that they could lead students to academic

success.

Teachers were further asked to indicate strategies that their school principal employed to

ensure that teachers have high expectations for success, that is ensuring that teachers

believe in the students, and believe in their own efficacy to teach students to high

standards. Their responses are presented in table 4.21.

Table 4.21 Teachers response on strategies for ensuring high expectation for
success
Strategies for ensuring high expectations for success f %
Making students have high hopes of doing well 4 11.1
Encourage teachers and students to make realistic targets to 9 25.0
performance
Promoting teachers activities to uplift standards 4 11.1
High level of discipline, reminding them on the expectations 4 11.1
Speaking to them, strengthen G&C, teacher be mentors 1 2.8
Involvement of all stakeholders 9 25.0
Appreciate, motivate make them owners of schools 4 11.1
Constant reminder that teachers and students can achieve 1 2.8
Total 36 100.0

Findings revealed 9 (25%) teaches reporting that they did so by encouraging teachers

and students to make realistic targets to performance. It was reported by another 9 (25%)

that their principals involved all the stakeholders namely teachers students and parents in

ensuring high students expectations for success.

53
4.4.5 Strategies for home-school relations

The study further aimed at establishing the strategies the headteachers used in ensuring

good home school relations. They were therefore asked to indicate the extent to which

they employed strategies that enhanced the same. Their responses are presented in table

4.2.2

Table4.2.2 Strategies for enhancing good home school relations

Strategies for Home - School relations Always Sometimes Rarely Never
f % f % f % f %
Inviting parents to discuss academic 17 85 3 15 - - - -
progress of their children
Ensuring all parents attend school 16 80 4 20 - - - -
meetings
At the beginning of each term, holding 12 60 5 25 3 15 - -
'academic clinics' with parents of students
who perform poorly to explore possible
measures
Advising parents on home environment 20 100 - - - - - -
factors that promote learning of their
children
Reminding parents of their duty in 20 100 - - - - - -
ensuring students are disciplined
Parents providing all the necessary support 14 70 6 30 - - - -
materials (eg text books) to students
Parents supporting the school to purchase 19 95 1 5 - - - -
or construct required resources for
improved teaching and learning
Parents offering moral support to teachers 3 15 19 95 5 25 - -
and the school administration
Mean 15 75 5 24 1 1 00 00

Findings from the head teachers as indicated in table 4.22 revealed that majority of the

headteachers employed strategies for enhancing good home school relations always and

indicated by a mean of 15 (75%), 5 (24%) employed such strategies sometimes.

However it was noted the parents did not offer moral support to teachers and school

54
administration which they did sometimes. They were in an open question asked to

indicate the strategies they employed to ensure that their school related well and

interacted adequately with parents and the community for effective teaching and

learning. They responded as indicated in table 4.23.

Table 4.23 Strategies for enhancing good home-school relations

Strategies for good home-school relations F %
Parents meeting, encouraging them to visit school 1 5.0
Open days, students talks 3 15.0
Open door policy community participation, link with community 1 5.0
Good school community relationship treat parents well 2 10.0
Coordination with parents understanding, involvement 3 15.0
Involving them in school activities 5 25.0
Frequent meetings, inviting local leaders on prize giving days 5 25.0
Total 20 100.0

Findings indicated that headteachers involved parents in school activities such as prize

giving days, sports as indicated by 2(25%),and at one point some headteachers invited

the community around to come and share meals together.

Teachers responses on strategies used for home-school relations

To establish how the school principals put strategies for better home-school relations,

the teachers were asked to indicate how their principals employed those strategies. Their

responses are presented in table 4.24.

55
 Table 4.24 Teachers responses on strategies for good home school relations
Strategies for home – school relations Always Sometimes Rarely Never
F % f % F % f %
Inviting parents to discuss academic progress 26 72.2 8 22.2 2 5.6 - -
of their children
Ensuring all parents attend school meetings 32 88.9 4 11.1 - - - -
At the beginning of each term, holding 25 69.4 9 25 2 5.6 - -
'academic clinics' with parents of students who
perform poorly to explore possible solutions
Advising parents on home environment factors 19 52.8 17 47.2 - - - -
that promote learning of their children
Reminding parents of their duty in ensuring 22 61.1 14 38.9 - - - -
students are disciplined
Parents providing all the necessary support 24 66.7 11 30.6 1 2.8 - -
materials (e.g text books) to the students
Parents supporting the school to purchase or 25 69.4 2 5.6 9 25 - -
construct required resources for improved
teaching and learning
Parents offering moral support to teachers and 17 47.2 6 16.7 13 36.1 - -
the school administration
Mean 23 63.8 8 22.2 5 13.8 - -

Data from the teachers on the extent to which principals put strategies for home – school

relations indicated that on average 23 (63.8%) indicating that they put such strategies

always, 8 (22.2%) employed them sometimes and 5 rarely employed the strategies.

Majority of the teachers 32 (88.9%) indicated that their headteachers always ensured that

all parents attended school meetings, 25 (69.4%) teachers said that their head teachers

always ensured that they held meetings at the beginning of each term, held academic

clinics with poorly performing students, the same number indicated that parents always

supported school by purchasing the required resources while 24 (66.7%) indicated that

parents always provided all the necessary support and materials to the students.

56
Teachers were further asked in their opinion which home school relations factors

influenced academic performance of secondary schools. Their responses are presented in

table 4.25.

Table4.25 Home school relational factors influencing academic performance

Strategies for home school relations F %
Holding clinics at the beginning of the term 3 8.3
Un-conducive environment for learning 3 8.3
Parental negligence, inability for parents to pay school fees and 1 2.8
student follow-up
Community to be involved in maintain discipline 4 11.1
Divorce, separation, financial problems 13 36.1
Getting parents involved to get involved in schools 1 2.8
Discipline, encouraging students, support student 1 2.8
Neglect of parental responsibility 5 13.9
Parents to provide for the children 4 11.1
Academic meetings with parents for poor students 1 2.8
Total 36 100.0

Data showed that 13 (36.1%) reported that divorce, separation and financial problems

were some of the home factors that influenced students academic performance. Five

(13.9%) reported neglect of parental responsibility as a factor that influenced academic

performance. Teachers were further asked to indicate what strategies that their

principals employed to ensure that the schools related well and interacted adequately

with parents and the community for effective teaching and learning. Their responses are

presented in table 4.26.

57
Table 4.26 Teachers’ responses on strategies for good school community relations
Strategies for good school community relations F %
Parental support to school, offer resources 1 2.8
Inviting parents to school, involve community provision services 4 11.1
Promoting community by making them provide firewood, water, 4 11.1
cereals
Open door policy 14 38.9
Involving parents and community in school activities 1 2.8
Clinics, AGM allow students to participate in school matters 2 5.6
Academic clinics and workshop for stakeholders 2 5.6
Empowering parents on the importance of education 3 8.3
Updating parents on children progress 4 11.1
Parents encouraged to visit schools and reminding them 1 2.8
Total 36 100.0

Data showed that strategies like the open door policy was employed by the head teachers

to ensure good community school relations. This was reported by 14 (38.9%) of the

teachers. Other strategies included Inviting parents to school and involving the

community in the provision of services, promoting community to by making them

provide firewood, water and cereals to school.

4.4.6 Monitoring of student progress

The research also aimed at establishing the extent to which head teachers employed

strategies that enhanced monitoring of students progress. They responded as indicated in

table 4.27.

58
 Table4.27 Strategies to ensure effective monitoring of student progress
Strategies for monitoring of student
progress Always Sometimes Rarely Never
f % f % f % f %
Supervising teacher-made exams to ensure
they are of high quality 17 85 3 15 - - - -
Ensuring teachers revise all exams with
students after marking 13 65 7 35 - - - -
Discussing academic progress with
individual students 16 80 1 5 3 15 - -
Holding meetings with teachers to discuss
students' progress on specific subjects 16 80 4 20 - - - -
Mean
16 80 3 15 1 5

Findings revealed that majority of the headtechers employed strategies aimed at

enhancing student progress this was indicated by a mean of 16 (80%) who always

employed such strategies. A few of them 3 (15%) and 1 (5%) who employed them

sometimes and rarely respectively. The headteachers were further asked to indicate the

extent to which they employed strategies for monitoring student progress. Their

responses are presented in table 4.28.

59
Table 4.28 Headteachers’ responses on adequately monitoring student progress
Strategies for monitoring of student progress F %
Computerized students progress, making parents aware 1 5.0
Results analysis by departments report forms parents come to school 3 15.0
Implementing reports by QASO having performance graph and 1 5.0
teachers acting like mentors
Maintain academic progress, academic clinics discussions 2 10.0
Having 2 exams, marked and shown to parents 3 15.0
Updating records, mentoring and discussion of results 5 25.0
Holding academic clinics with parents sign report cards 5 25.0
Total 20 100.0

Findings in the strategies that headteachers used for monitoring students indicated that

that most headteacher 5 (25%) updated their records, mentored students and discussed

students results while the same number of headteachers said that they held academic

clinics with parents and made sure that parents signed report cards.

Teachers’ responses on monitoring of students progress

The teachers also asked to indicate the extent to which their headteachers employed

strategies for monitoring of students progress. Table 4.29 presents their responses

60
 Table 4.29 Teachers responses on strategies for monitoring students progress.
Strategies for monitoring of students Always Sometimes Rarely Never
progress f % f % f % f %

Ensuring there are regular continuous 36 100 - - - - - -

assessment tests to monitor students progress
Supervising teacher-made exams to ensure 18 50 17 47.2 1 2.8 - -
they are of high quality
Ensuring teachers revise all exams with 14 38.9 20 55.6 2 5.6 - -
students after marking
Discussing academic progress with individual 27 75 9 25 - - - -
students
Holding meetings with teachers to discuss 28 77.8 8 22.2 - - - -
students' progress on specific subjects
Mean 25 69 11 30 00 00 00 00

Data showed that on average, 25 (69%) indicated that the headteachers employed the

strategies always, 11 (30%) said they employed them sometimes. For example all the

teachers 36 (100%) reported that their headteachers ensured there were regular continous

assessment tests to monitor students progress, majority 28 (77.8%) reported that their

headteachers always held meetings with teachers to discuss students progress while 27

(75%) indicated that their headteachers always discussed academic progress with

individual students always. Teachers were further asked to indicate what strategies their

school principal employed to ensure that their schools adequately monitored students‟

academic progress. Their findings are presented in table 4.30.

61
Table 4.30 Teachers responses on strategies for monitoring student progress
Strategies for monitoring of students progress F %
Intensifying discussion with students on the academic 3 8.3
progress
Examining students and analyzing results 3 8.3
Teachers to keep records of examinations 1 2.8
Checking class register from time to time 4 11.1
Academic clinics remedial teaching to poor students 13 36.1
Discussing results at staff meeting and academics clinics 4 11.1
Discussing results with students themselves 1 2.8
Giving assessments at least twice and external exams 3 8.3
Having regular evaluations of programmes 4 11.1
Total 36 100.0

Data showed that academic clinics, remedial teaching to poor students were some to the

strategies used by the headteachers in monitoring of students progress. This was

indicated by 13 (36.1%). Other strategies were intensifying discussion with students on

the academic progress as indicated by 3 (8.3%) examining students and analyzing

results, discussing the results at staff meetings and having academic clinics and also

having regular evaluations of programmes.

4.4.7 Opportunity to learn/time on task

The study also sought to establish the strategies that headteachers put in place to ensure

that there was opportunity to learn. They were therefore asked to indicate the same.

Their responses are presented in table 4.31.

62
 Table 4.31 Strategies employed by headteachers to ensure there is opportunity to
learn
Opportunity to learn/time on task
Always Sometimes Rarely Never
f % f % f % f %
Ensuring that instructional time allocated for
each subject is adequate to ensure syllabus is 20 100 - - - - - -
covered and learning takes place
Ensuring that teachers attend schools and are
punctual to the largest extent possible 20 100 - - - - - -
Monitoring school attendance and
punctuality by students to ensure that they do 20 100 - - - - - -
not miss classes
Ensuring that the teacher-student ratio is
manageable for all subjects e.g by hiring 19 95 1 5 - - - -
additional BOG teachers where necessary
Ensuring that there are adequate instructional
materials per student, both for learning at 14 70 6 30 - - - -
schools and at home
Ensuring that there is adequate time in the
classrooms for learning each task 19 95 1 5 - - - -
Mean
18 93.4 1 6.6 00 00 00 00

Findings indicated that most of the head teachers employed strategies aimed at ensuring

opportunity to learn/time of task as indicated by a great majority who did so always as

shown by 18 (93.4%). A negligible number 1 (6.6%) employed the strategies sometimes.

The headteachers were further asked to indicate what strategies do you employ to ensure

that your school provides each student with adequate opportunity to lean and that there

is adequate time for meaningful syllabus coverage (i.e. syllabus is covered and students

have leant all concepts).Their responses are presented in table 4.32.

63
Table 4.32 Headteachers’ responses on strategies for opportunity to learn
Strategies for opportunity to learn F %
Good book-student ratio, teachers keep students busy discuss 1 5.0
Extra tuition, revision meeting with teachers 3 15.0
Student sent home, not punishment during classes extra teaching 1 5.0
Extra teaching, teachers available for holiday tuition 7 35.0
Provision of required materials and equipment 8 40.0
Total 20 100.0

Findings indicated that 8 (40%) ensured that there was provision of required materials

and equipment, 7 (35%) ensured that there was extra teaching and that teachers were

available for holiday tuition.

Teachers responses on strategies used for opportunity to learn

To establish the strategies that headteachers used to ensure creating opportunity for

students to learn the teachers were asked to indicated how often the headteachers used

some given strategies. The data is presented in table 4.33.

64
 Table 4.33 Teachers’ responses on strategies used by the headteachers to ensure
monitoring of students
Strategies for monitoring of students Always Sometimes Rarely Never
progress f % f % f % f %

Ensuring that instructional time allocated for 36 100 - - - - - -

each subject is adequate to ensure syllabus is
covered and leaning takes place
Ensuring that teachers attend school and are 36 100 - - - - - -
punctual to the largest extent possible
Monitoring school attendance and punctuality 35 97.2 1 2.8 - - - -
by students to ensure that they do not miss
classes
Ensuring that the teacher-student ratio is 21 58.3 15 41.7 - - - -
manageable for all subjects e.g by hiring
additional BOG teachers where necessary
Ensuring that there are adequate instructional 35 97.2 1 2.8 - - - -
materials per student both for learning at
school and at home
Ensuring that there is adequate time in the 31 86.1 5 13.9 - - - -
classrooms for learning each task
Mean 32 89 4 11.1 - - - -

On average, 32 (89%) teachers reported that their headteacher used the strategies always

while 4 (11.1%) said their headteachers did it sometimes. Further analysis showed that

all the teachers 36 (100%) indicated the their headteachers always ensured that

instructional time allocated for each subject was adequate to ensure syllabus covered and

learning tool place. All of them also said that their headteachers always ensured that

teachers attendance and punctuality by students was kept and the students never missed

classes.

Teachers were further asked to indicate what strategies their school principals employed

to ensure that their school provided each student with adequate opportunity to learn, and

that there was adequate time for meaningful syllabus coverage (i.e. syllabus is covered

and students have learnt all concepts). Their responses are presented in table 4.34.

65
Table 4.34 Teachers’ responses on strategies on opportunity to learn
Strategies for opportunity to learn f %
All the above 1 2.8
Attending lessons teachers to create more contacts with stud 3 8.3
Allocate time for remedial teaching Saturdays and holidays 1 2.8
Preparing and implementing school time table for smoothness 4 11.1
Discourage absenteeism, punctuality all teach 13 36.1
Provide timetable, syllabus completion, parents to pay fees in kind 1 2.8
to avoid students absenteeism
Having adequate time for all learning tasks 1 2.8
Remedial teaching, revision materials, commitment of parent 2 5.6
Provision of learning resources 2 5.6
Completion of syllabus by creating extra time for same 3 8.3
Punctuality, presence in school remedial classes 4 11.1
Teachers to use time for students and cover syllabus 1 2.8
Total 36 100.0

Findings revealed that majority of the teachers indicated that their principals discouraged

absenteeism and ensured punctuality as indicated by 13 (36.1%). Other strategies

included preparing and implementing school time table for smoothness, ensuring

punctuality, presence of teachers in school and having remedial classes, and completion

of syllabus by creating extra time.

4.5 Differences in academic improvement strategies from well and poorly

performing schools

The study also wanted to find out whether there was any significant different between

strategies employed by headteachers from well performing schools and that that

performed poorly. To establish the difference, the school involved in the study were

categorised into well performing and poorly performing by taking the mean scores over

three years. Sum of Squares (SS) were worked out, degree of freedom (df), mean scores

(Ms) and using ANOVA test (F) to test significance of mean differences. The Spearman

66
Rank Correlation coefficient (p or rho) was then applied to establish whether there was

any linear relationship between strategies used by headteachers in well performing

schools and from poorly performing schools.. The findings are presented in Table 4.35.

Table 4.35 Significant difference in the strategies used by headteachers from well
and poor performing schools
Strategies SS df Ms F p
Well performing Between group 9.083 5 2.694 .296 .826
Within group 678.147 6 9.021
Total 87.120 11
Poor performing Between group 39.342 3 15.686 1.545 .244
Within group 183.423 18 10.307
Total 222 .765 21

The p value was greater than .05 the test therefore showed that there were no significant

difference in the strategies used by headteachers in the well performing schools and

poorly performing schools. That was revealed well performing schools (F=.296, p >

.05), poorly performing school (F=1.545, p > .05). These findings therefore showed that

there was not difference in the strategies used by the headteachers in well performing

and poorly performing schools. This therefore implied that there were other factors that

influenced performance and not the strategies for improving performance.

4.6 Performance improvement lessons

To establish the performance improvement lessons that could be learnt from schools that

performed well, responses from the headteachers and teachers from such schools were

categorised and analysed together. The lessons learnt from well performing school

indicated that schools need to ensure that strategies for instructional leadership were

67
employed which included making sure teachers keep updated professional documents,

involving teachers to decide on best strategies to improve teaching and learning,

building team work among teachers to ensure they support one another, providing all the

teaching and learning resources needed for improved performance and also holding

regular staff meetings to discuss academic progress

It was also found that schools that performed well had put in place strategies for School

safety and orderliness.This included providing guidance and counseling to students,

discussing students' discipline with parents, making sure that the school has all the

necessary physical and material resources, ensuring that the school climate is conducive

for teaching and learning and involving teachers to identify ways of improving

discipline in the school.

Other lessons focused on strategies for clarifying vision and mission. This included

clarifying the school vision and mission to teachers, students and parents, comparing

goals set by students at the beginning of the term and their end of term performance to

identify causes of failure to attain targets, setting overall school goals with the teachers

and motivating them towards attainment of the set goals and also ncouraging students to

set academic performance goals at the beginning of each term.

There was also strong strategies for expectations for success. This included making it

clear to students that the school has high hopes that they will perform well in KCSE

exams, making clear to teachers that the school administration has confidence in them

that they can lead students to academic success, encouraging teachers to 'think and act

like winners not losers'.

68
Further lessons were based on strategies for home-school relations. This included

inviting parents to discuss academic progress of their children, reminding parents of

their duty in ensuring students are disciplined and encouraging parents to offer moral

support to teachers

Lessons on monitoring of student progress included discussing academic progress with

individual students, holding meetings with teachers to discuss students' progress on

specific subjects and ensuring teachers revise all exams with students after marking.

Lastly lessons that could be learnt from the well performing schools included lessons

from opportunity to learn/time on task. This included monitoring school attendance and

punctuality by students to ensure that they do not miss classes, ensuring that there are

adequate instructional materials per student, both for learning at schools and at home

and ensuring that there is adequate time in the classrooms for learning each task.

69
 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0 Introduction

This chapter focuses on the summary, conclusions and recommendations. The chapter

summarizes the findings, gives conclusions and recommendations and suggests areas of

further research.

5.1 Summary

The purpose of the study was to establish the strategies employed by secondary school

principals to meet their academic performance improvement goals in Embu West

District. Three research questions were formulated to guide the study. Research question

one aimed at examine the strategies employed by secondary school principals in Embu

West District to meet their schools‟ academic performance improvement goals, research

question two focussed on establish the differences between the academic performance

improvement strategies employed by principals from well performing and poorly

performing schools while research question three sought to identify academic

performance improvement lessons that can be learnt from schools that consistently

perform well at the KCSE level.

The review of literature covered literature on factors affecting academic performance,

including student-related factors, home environment factors, and school-related factors.

The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The sample was composed of 20

70
headteachers and 40 teachers. Data were collected by use of structured questionnaires.

The findings revealed that :-

 Majority of the headteachers always employed strategies on instructional

leadership always this was revealed by 16 (80%). This was confirmed by a

majority of teaches 26 (72%) who reported that their always employed strategies

for instructional supervision always.

 Majority of the headteachers 18 (90%) employed strategies for clarification of

vision and mission. This was supported by majority of teachers 28 (77.7%) who

also said the said that their headteachers employed strategies on vision and

mission always.

 Majority of the headteachers 19 (96%) always employed strategies for

expecations for success. This was also shown by 32 (88.9%) of the teachers who

indicated that their headteachers employed such strategies always.

 Majority of the schools employed strategies for home – school relations. This

was shown by 15 (75%) headteachers who said they employed the strategies and

23 (63.8%) teachers who reported that their headteachers employed strategies

for home-school relations.

 A majority of 16 (80%) headteachers indicated that they always employed

strategies for monitoring students progress. This was also supported by 25

(69%) teachers who reported that their headteachers employed such strategies.

71
  Most of the head teachers always employed strategies aimed at ensuring

opportunity to learn/time of task as indicated by a great majority who did so

always as shown by 18 (93.4%) headteachers and 32 (89%) teachers.

 There was not difference in the strategies used by the headteacher in well

performing and poorly performing schools. This therefore implied that there

were other factors that influenced performance and not the strategies for

improving performance.

5.2 Conclusions

Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that all schools employed strategies

that were aimed at enhancing academic improvement. It was also concluded that there

were not difference on strategies used in well performing schools and poor performing

schools. The study further concluded that improvement on academic performance did

not depend on the use of improvement strategy since schools that performed well and

those that performed poorly claimed to employ the same strategies in the same way.

5.3 Recommendations

In the light of the research findings the researcher wishes to make the following

recommendations:

That schools must seek to establish factors that lead to poor academic performance and

hence find ways of addressing such factors;

72
That the government should be involved in the running of schools by providing the

necessary resources and materials that would enhance improvement of academic

performance;

That schools that deteriorate every year should evaluate all aspects of learning to

establish the root cause of the same hence find ways of solving the problem

5.4 Suggestions for further research

Taking the limitations and delimitations of the study, the researcher makes the following

suggestions for further research:

i. School based factors that influence student academic performance

ii. Student related factors that influence their academic performance

iii. Headteachers leadership styles and their influence on academic performance.

73
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Guthrie, G. (1982). Reviews of Teacher Training and Teacher Performance in
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Marks, D. (2002). Academic Standards as Public Goods and Varieties of Free-Rider
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77
 APPENDIX A
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PRINCIPALS

The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect data on the strategies employed to

improve academic performance in secondary schools. The researcher assures you that
the information gathered will be treated with utmost confidentiality and for academic
purposes only. Please tick (√) where appropriate or fill in the required information.

Section 1: Background Information

1. Your gender Male ( ) Female ( )

2. Level of education
Masters ( ) Bachelors Degree ( )
B. Ed ( ) Diploma ( )
Others (Specify)………………………………………………………
3. Years of experience in headship ……………..years.
4. How many teachers are there in your school?
TSC teachers…………… BoG teachers……………… Total………………
5. How many students are there in your school
Boys………………… Girls………………… Total………………

Section 2: Academic Performance of the School

1. Do you set academic targets for the school in terms of KCSE mean score
improvement?
Yes ( ) No ( )
2. In the table below, indicate the Targeted mean scores for your school for the
period 2005 – 2008.
Academic year 2005 2006 2007 2008

Targeted Mean score

3. How do you rate the school in terms of achieving academic performance targets?
[ ] Very Satisfactory [ ] Satisfactory

78
 [ ] Unsatisfactory [ ] Very Unsatisfactory

Section 3: Strategies for Improving Academic Performance

In the tables below, indicate the extent to which you engage in the following
activities as a school principal. Use the scale below to respond.

A: Instructional Leadership
A - Always S - Sometimes R - Rarely N - Never
Instructional leadership A S R N
Making sure teachers keep updated professional documents (schemes
of work, lesson plans and records of work)
Visiting teachers in class to supervise teaching
Involving teachers to decide on best strategies to improve teaching
and learning
Providing all the teaching and learning resources needed for improved
performance
Supervising teachers to ensure they complete the syllabus on time
Building teamwork among teachers to ensure they support one another
Holding regular staff meetings to discuss academic progress
Holding staff appraisal meetings to discuss strengths, weaknesses and
opportunities for academic improvement

1. In your opinion, which leadership factors have greatly influenced academic

performance of your school?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. What strategies do you employ to ensure that there is strong instructional
leadership (among the heads of departments, BoGs and teachers) in your school?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….

79
 B: School Safety and Orderliness
A - Always S - Sometimes R - Rarely N - Never
School safety and orderliness A S R N
Discussing students‟ discipline with parents
Involving teachers to identify ways of improving discipline in the school
Ensuring that the school climate is conducive for teaching and learning
The school compound is clean and orderly
The school has all the necessary physical and material resources
Providing guidance and counselling to students

1. What strategies do you employ to ensure that your school is orderly, safe, and
has an environment that is conducive for effective teaching and learning?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
C: Clarification of Vision and Mission
A - Always S - Sometimes R - Rarely N - Never
Clarification of Vision and Mission A S R N
Clarifying the school vision and mission to teachers, students and parents
Ensuring teachers set achievable and realistic academic performance goals for
their subjects
Following-up to ensure that teachers are working towards realization of their
performance goals
Encouraging students to set academic performance goals at the beginning of
each term
Comparing the goals set by students at the beginning of the term and their end
of term performance to identify causes of failure to attain targets
Reminding students of their core business in the school and encouraging them
to remain focused
Setting overall school goals with the teachers and motivating them towards
attainment of the set goals
Ensuring that all stakeholders (teachers, students, parents) participate in
setting school goals and objectives

80
 1. What strategies do you employ to ensure that teachers, students, parents, and
BoGs are aware of the school mission, vision and academic goals, and that they
are working towards their achievement?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
D: Expectations for Success
A - Always S - Sometimes R - Rarely N - Never
Expectations for success A S R N
Making it clear to students that the school has high hopes that they
will perform well in KCSE exams
Encouraging teachers to „think and act like winners and not losers‟
Assisting teachers to identify threats that may hinder academic
success
Making clear to teachers that the school administration has
confidence in them that they can lead students to academic success
Ensuring that all teachers have a „no child left behind attitude‟, that
is, all students can do well irrespective of their entry behaviour

1. What strategies do you employ to ensure that your teachers have high
expectations for success, that is, ensuring that teachers believe in the students,
and believe in their own efficacy to teach students to high standards?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….

81
 E: Home – School Relations
A - Always S - Sometimes R - Rarely N - Never
Home – School Relations
Inviting parents to discuss academic progress of their children
Ensuring all parents attend school meetings
At the beginning of each term, holding „academic clinics‟ with parents of
students who perform poorly to explore possible measures
Advising parents on home environment factors that promote learning of
their children
Reminding parents of their duty in ensuring students are disciplined
Parents providing all the necessary support materials (e.g. textbooks) to the
students
Parents supporting the school to purchase or construct required resources
for improved teaching and learning
Parents offering moral support to teachers and the school administration

1. What strategies do you employ to ensure that your school relates well and
interacts adequately with parents and the community for effective teaching and
learning?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
F: Monitoring of Students’ Progress
A - Always S - Sometimes R - Rarely N - Never
Monitoring of student progress
Ensuring there are regular continuous assessment tests to monitor students‟
progress
Supervising teacher-made exams to ensure they are of high quality
Ensuring teachers revise all exams with students after marking
Discussing academic progress with individual students
Holding meetings with teachers to discuss students‟ progress on specific
subjects

82
 1. What strategies do you employ to ensure that your school adequately monitors
students‟ academic progress?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….

G: Opportunity to Learn
A - Always S - Sometimes R - Rarely N - Never
Opportunity to Learn/Time on Task
Ensuring that instructional time allocated for each subject is adequate to
ensure syllabus is covered and learning takes place
Ensuring that teachers attend schools and are punctual to the largest extent
possible
Monitoring school attendance and punctuality by students to ensure that they
do not miss classes
Ensuring that the teacher-student ratio is manageable for all subjects e.g. by
hiring additional BoG teachers where necessary
Ensuring that there are adequate instructional materials per student, both for
learning at school and at home
Ensuring that there is adequate time in the classroom for learning each task

1. What strategies do you employ to ensure that your school provides each student
with adequate opportunity to learn, and that there is adequate time for
meaningful syllabus coverage (i.e. syllabus is covered and students have learnt
all concepts)?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….

83
 APPENDIX B
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS

The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect data on the strategies employed to

improve academic performance in secondary schools. The researcher assures you that
the information gathered will be treated with utmost confidentiality and for academic
purposes only. Please tick (√) where appropriate or fill in the required information.

Section 1: Background Information

1. Your gender Male ( ) Female ( )

2. Level of education
Masters ( ) Bachelors Degree ( )
B. Ed ( ) Diploma ( )
Others (Specify)………………………………………………………
3. Years of experience as a teacher ……………..years.
Section 2: Strategies for Improving Academic Performance
In the tables below, indicate the extent to which your school principal engages in the
following activities. Use the scale below to respond.

A: Instructional Leadership
A - Always S - Sometimes R - Rarely N - Never
Instructional leadership A S R N
Making sure teachers keep updated professional documents (schemes of
work, lesson plans and records of work)
Visiting teachers in class to supervise teaching
Involving teachers to decide on best strategies to improve teaching and
learning
Providing all the teaching and learning resources needed for improved
performance
Supervising teachers to ensure they complete the syllabus on time
Building teamwork among teachers to ensure they support one another
Holding regular staff meetings to discuss academic progress
Holding staff appraisal meetings to discuss strengths, weaknesses and
opportunities for academic improvement

84
 1. In your opinion, which leadership factors influence academic performance of
secondary schools?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. What strategies does your school employ to ensure that there is strong
instructional leadership (among the principal, heads of departments and BoGs)?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
B: School Safety and Orderliness
A - Always S - Sometimes R - Rarely N - Never
School safety and orderliness A S R N
Discussing students‟ discipline with parents
Involving teachers to identify ways of improving discipline in the
school
Ensuring that the school climate is conducive for teaching and learning
The school compound is clean and orderly
The school has all the necessary physical and material resources
Providing guidance and counselling to students

1. In your opinion, which school safety and orderliness factors influence academic
performance of secondary schools?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….

85
 2. What strategies does your principal employ to ensure that your school is orderly,
safe, and has an environment that is conducive for effective teaching and
learning?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….

C: Clarification of Vision and Mission

A - Always S - Sometimes R - Rarely N - Never
Clarification of Vision and Mission A S R N
Clarifying the school vision and mission to teachers, students and parents
Ensuring teachers set achievable and realistic academic performance goals
for their subjects
Ensuring that teachers are working towards realization of their goals
Encouraging students to set academic performance goals at the beginning
of each term
Comparing the goals set by students at the beginning of the term and their
end of term performance to identify causes of failure to attain targets
Reminding students of their core business in the school and encouraging
them to remain focused
Setting overall school goals with the teachers and motivating them
towards attainment of the set goals
Ensuring that all stakeholders (teachers, students, parents) participate in
setting school goals and objectives

1. What strategies does your principal employ to ensure that teachers, students,
parents, and BoGs are aware of the school mission, vision and academic goals,
and that they are working towards their achievement?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….

86
 D: Expectations for Success
A - Always S - Sometimes R - Rarely N - Never
Expectations for success A S R N
Making it clear to students that the school has high hopes that they will
perform well in KCSE exams
Encouraging teachers to „think and act like winners and not losers‟
Assisting teachers to identify threats that may hinder academic success
Making clear to teachers that the school administration has confidence in
them that they can lead students to academic success
Ensuring that all teachers have a „no child left behind attitude‟, that is, all
students can do well irrespective of their entry behaviour

1. What strategies does your principal employ to ensure that teachers have high
expectations for success, that is, ensuring that teachers believe in the students,
and believe in their own efficacy to teach students to high standards?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
E: Home – School Relations
A - Always S - Sometimes R - Rarely N - Never
Home – School Relations
Inviting parents to discuss academic progress of their children
Ensuring all parents attend school meetings
At the beginning of each term, holding „academic clinics‟ with parents of
students who perform poorly to explore possible measures
Advising parents on home environment factors that promote learning of
their children
Reminding parents of their duty in ensuring students are disciplined
Parents providing all the necessary support materials (e.g. textbooks) to the
students
Parents supporting the school to purchase or construct required resources
for improved teaching and learning
Parents offering moral support to teachers and the school administration

87
 1. In your opinion, which home – school relations factors influence academic
performance of secondary schools?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. What strategies does your principal employ to ensure that your school relates
well and interacts adequately with parents and the community for effective
teaching and learning?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
F: Monitoring of Students’ Progress
A - Always S - Sometimes R - Rarely N - Never
Monitoring of student progress
Ensuring there are regular continuous assessment tests to monitor students‟
progress
Supervising teacher-made exams to ensure they are of high quality
Ensuring teachers revise all exams with students after marking
Discussing academic progress with individual students
Holding meetings with teachers to discuss students‟ progress on specific
subjects

1. What strategies does the principal employ to ensure that your school adequately
monitors students‟ academic progress?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….

88
 G: Opportunity to Learn
A - Always S - Sometimes R - Rarely N - Never
Opportunity to Learn/Time on Task
Ensuring that instructional time allocated for each subject is adequate
to ensure syllabus is covered and learning takes place
Ensuring that teachers attend schools and are punctual to the largest
extent possible
Monitoring school attendance and punctuality by students to ensure
that they do not miss classes
Ensuring that the teacher-student ratio is manageable for all subjects
e.g. by hiring additional BoG teachers where necessary
Ensuring that there are adequate instructional materials per student,
both for learning at school and at home
Ensuring that there is adequate time in the classroom for learning each
task

1. What strategies does the principal employ to ensure that your school provides
each student with adequate opportunity to learn, and that there is adequate time
for meaningful syllabus coverage (i.e. syllabus is covered and students have
learnt all concepts)?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….

89