Educational Management

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    Discipline management strategies, demographic characteristics and institutional performance of public secondary schools in upper eastern region, kenya
    (Chuka University, 2024) Njoka Lawrence Mutembei
    The performance of educational institutions continues to be a cause of concern to stakeholders due to the significant role they play to the individual learner, the community and the nation in general. In Kenya, indiscipline in public secondary schools has been reported with some leading to violent riots that not only disrupt learning but also cause damage to property and ultimately compromise the overall school performance. The significance of discipline management strategies and their contribution in the performance of institutions has necessitated studies illustrating this relationship. However, up to 2022, existing literature continues to limit this discourse on the relationship between discipline management and students’ academic performance in disregard of other performance attributes such as performance in cocurricular activities. This study sought to determine the relationship between discipline management strategies, demographic characteristics and the performance of public secondary schools in Upper Eastern region, Kenya as a contribution in bridging the existing knowledge gap. It sought to determine the relationship between corrective, preventive and punitive discipline management measures and institutional performance. It also sought to establish the influence of Principals’ personal characteristics as well as the effect of institutional characteristics in the relationship between their discipline management strategies and institutional performance. The study adopted descriptive survey research design and correlational design with mixed methods approach that used both qualitative and quantitative methods. Respondents were 314 persons out of 317 sampled from 1521 Principals, Senior teachers and County Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (CQASOs) drawn from the 3 counties in the Upper Eastern region, Kenya using multistage sampling consisting of purposive, stratified and simple random sampling. They responded to questionnaires and interview schedules. Validity of the instruments was ascertained through face, content and construct validity techniques while reliability was determined using Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient from the pilot study carried out in Kirinyaga County. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically while quantitative data was cleaned, coded and analyzed descriptively and inferentially with the aid of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27. Frequency, and percentages as well as mean and standard deviation were used to describe the existing relationship between study variables while hypothesis was tested using logistic regression at 0.05 level of significance. The study findings will be useful to the Ministry of Education and Teachers Service Commission for policy formulation as well as schools’ Board of Management Principals and even students in the management of discipline. The study established that corrective as well as preventive discipline management strategies positively and significantly related to institutional performance. Punitive discipline management strategies however showed no significant relationship with institutional performance. Further, the study established that a principal’s teaching experience, experience as a principal, the type of school as well as school category by residential positively and significantly influences the relationship between discipline management strategies and institutional performance. It is therefore recommended that the use of corrective and preventive discipline management strategies be enhanced for better institutional performance while that of punitive strategies be minimized.
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    Principals' leadership skills, personal characteristics and the performance of public secondary schools in South Rift region, Kenya
    (Chuka University, 2024) Barkwang Stephen Ngetich
    Performance of educational institutions continues to be a cause of concern to stakeholders due to the significant role of these institutions to the individual learner, the community and the nation in general. For secondary schools, principals are the overall leaders charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the schools are effectively and efficiently managed and therefore, meet their set goals. The leadership skills of a principal to a great degree determine how the institution he or she leads is managed. Previously, studies have attempted to underscore the existing relationship between principals' leadership skills and students' academic performance in disregard of other concepts of institutional performance. This study sought to determine the relationship between principals' leadership skills, personal characteristics and the performance of public secondary schools in South Rift region, Kenya as a contribution in bridging the existing knowledge gap. The specific objectives of the study were; determine the relationship between principals' financial management skills, establish the relationship between principals' instructional leadership skills as well as determine the relationship between principals' human resource management skills and institutional performance. It also sought to establish the influence of principals' personal characteristics as well as the institutional characteristics in the relationship between principals' leadership skills and institutional performance. The study adopted descriptive cross-sectional survey research design and correlational research design with mixed methods approach that used both qualitative and quantitative methods. A sample of 336 was obtained from 2050 respondents, comprising 1023 principals, 1023 senior teachers, and 4 County Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (CQASOs) using multistage sampling techniques. Data was obtained from 331 individuals who participated in the study giving it a return rate of 98.51%. They responded to questionnaires items and interview guide. Prior to this, the research instruments were pretested in Kajiado county. Data obtained was analyzed descriptively and inferentially with the aid of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27.0 computer software. Frequency and percentages were used to describe the existing relationship between study variables while hypothesis was tested using logistic regression at 95% level of significance. Findings showed that principals financial management skills, their instructional leadership skills as well as their human resource management skills were each positively and significantly related with institutional performance. Further, principals' level of education as well as their experience was found to positively and significantly influence the relationship between principals' leadership skills and institutional performance. Similarly, type of school was found to significantly influence the relationship between principals' leadership skills and institutional performance. It is therefore recommended that Ministry of Education in collaboration with Teachers Service Commission should ensure that school principals get adequate in-service training on financial management and human resource management prior to their deployment and refresher training periodically undertaken to enhance their leadership and management skills for better institutional performance.
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    Selected students and institutional based factors influencing internal efficiency of postgraduate studies in public and private universities in kenya
    (Chuka University, 2024) Komen Kibet
    Higher education contributes to national development by generating both human and economic capital. In Kenya, the higher education sector has experienced significant growth, marked by an increase in the number of public and private universities, with a primary focus on enhancing access, quality, and relevance in response to labor market demands. Despite these efforts, the enrollment rate in higher education remains low, with high dropout and low completion rates for doctoral and master’s degrees, indicating substantial levels of wastage. This study aimed to establish the influence of selected student and institutional factors on the internal efficiency of postgraduate studies in public and private universities in Kenya. It was guided by the production function theory and human capital theory. The study employed descriptive and correlational research designs. The target population was 84,983 respondents, comprising 49 graduate school directors, 3,835 academic staff, and 81,099 postgraduate students. Proportionate and simple random sampling methods were used to select 398 respondents, consisting of 15 directors, 90 academic staff, and 293 students. Data were collected using questionnaires and interview schedules. A Likert scale was utilized for closed-ended questions, and interview schedules were used to gather data from graduate school directors. Data from academic staff and postgraduate students were collected via questionnaires. The research instruments were subjected to reliability and validity tests before use. Content, face, and construct validity were confirmed before administering the instruments. A pilot study was conducted in two universities to determine the reliability coefficient of the instruments using Cronbach’s Alpha, resulting in an average reliability coefficient of 0.812, which exceeded the 0.7 threshold, indicating that the instruments were reliable. The data were cleaned, sorted, and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0. Hypotheses were tested using simple linear regression at α = 0.05. The study findings revealed that the cost of postgraduate programs, student characteristics, physical facilities, and academic staff characteristics influenced the internal efficiency of universities in Kenya. The study recommends that the government increase funding for higher education and make financial resources available in a manner similar to the sponsorship model used for undergraduate programs. Additionally, universities should be equipped with the necessary facilities, including fully functional libraries, suitable laboratories for teaching and learning, and reliable Internet connectivity. The study further suggests improving the management of research and instruction by enhancing oversight and recruiting sufficient, competent faculty members. Lastly, it advises prospective postgraduate students to balance their social and academic lives by choosing a study model that fits their schedules and effectively managing their time, priorities, roles, and responsibilities.
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    Influence of selected social-economic factors on retention and academic achievement among pupils in public day primary schools in Isiolo county, Kenya
    (Chuka University, 2020-12) Muchunku, Jackson
    In Kenya, retention and academic achievement of children in primary schools has remained a major challenge. There has been low retention rates and low academic achievement in public primary schools in Isiolo County. Empirical data showing the factors influencing retention and academic achievement of pupils in public day primary schools in Isiolo County are unavailable. The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of selected socio-economic factors influencing retention and academic achievement among pupils in public day primary schools in Isiolo County. The objectives of this study were to: determine the influence of household income, establish the influence of education of parents, determine the influence of parental occupation and, establish the influence of family environment on retention and academic achievements of pupils in public day primary schools, in Isiolo County. This study used Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory. This study used a correlation design that adopted both quantitative and qualitative techniques for testing the pupils, teachers and education officers’ questionnaires respectively. The population of the study consisted of 4142 respondents comprising of 546 standards seven teachers, 3594 standard seven pupils and 2 education officers in Isiolo County. The study used both purposive and simple random sampling methods. The sample size was 242 pupils, 110 teachers and 2 education officers, totalling to 354. The data for this study was collected using questionnaires for teachers and pupils and an informant interview for education officers. Content validity was used to test whether the questionnaires were measuring what they were supposed to measure and were ascertained through the help of the supervisors of this study. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient was used to compute the reliability. This study used both descriptive – mostly in the likert scale, rating by teachers and pupils on how independent variables were influencing dependent variables and inferential statistics (multiple linear regression) to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics included frequencies, means, and percentages to analyze the data. Inferential statistics was used to infer sampled data from the population before drawing conclusions. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 aided in data analysis. To determine the influence of selected socio-economic factors on retention and academic achievement, the study used multiple linear regressions, which was used to test the hypotheses. From the findings, it was found that environmental factors household income, parental education level and parent occupation has positive significant influence on both retention and academic achievement. The recommendation originating from the findings of the study is that the government should increase the allocation for free primary education to ease economic burdens for the parents, education should be enhanced through the adult and continuing education to enhance their levels of education. There is urgent need to support and provide necessary resources to enhance family structure, parent's attitude and expectation, home environment like family types and language used at home. This can be done through seminars and meetings organized by the school community on the same. The beneficiaries will be pupils in day primary schools in Kenya, Teachers in the public day primary schools will know how to re-organize their lessons in order to help the pupils more, Education officers will be able to know which areas they will put more emphasis in their routine visits to schools, the Non-governmental bodies together with donors will know where to come to help the pupils with financial problems.