Effects of Institutioal Factors on Academic Performance of secondary schools, in Eldoret East and Nandi Central Districts. Kenya.

Abstract

Institution organizations today face unprecedented challenges. Across virtually every industry, managers are confronted with new conditions of rapid technological change, intense global competition, and growing demands for social responsibility conditions that. demand capacities of leadership, adaptability, and coordination on a scale never before imagined. As traditional sources of competitive advantage are being eroded, institution organization design is becoming a crucial strategic differentiator. Statistics from the Kenya National Examination Council (K EC) indicate that performance in KCSE has been on a downward trend. For instance, last year only 24 per cent of candidates obtained mean grades of C+ and above compared to 30 per cent the previous year and 26 per cent in 2006. The number of candidates who scored mean grade E rose to 7,067 last year from 2,952 in 2007 and 3,711 in 2006. Similarly, the number of candidates who obtained grade D- cascaded to 42,084 last year from 24,467 in 2007 and 27,583 in 2006 while those who scored mean grade of A went down to 817 last year from 1,157in the previous year and 1,165 in 2006. The main purpose of this study was to answer the following objectives: to establish the role of governance in maintaining high academic performance and its impact on schools performance; to establish the effect of measurement on academic performance and its impact on high performance; to assess the effect of management systems on institution performance and its effect on performance. The study employed a comparative survey research design. The sampling procedure involved the use of purposive sampling technique. The study was carried out in selected schools in Eldoret East and andi Central Districts. Twenty schools formed the sample population for the study. Five schools in each category were selected. That is five high performing and five average performing schools from each district. Head teachers, heads of department and student representatives were selected from each school. Data from study was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively, chi-square and reliability analysis was used to test the significance of the study findings. The study findings revealed that; most of the teachers and pupils from the best and the low performing schools prefer a democratic form of leadership, the head teachers are the ones monitoring the education programs of the schools, the students require to be given feedback regularly by the management of the schools, parents should be made aware of the factors influencing their children's home work to enable them create a suitable environment for their children to do their homework and also, the management of schools faces various problems while trying to run the schools. The findings of the study are useful to the Ministry of Education policy makers, Teacher's Service Commission, the board of governors in secondary schools and parent in making positive decisions that contribute towards high academic performance in schools.