Selected strategies that influence students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Chepalungu Sub-County, Bomet County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to identify selected strategies which influence students‟ academic performance in public secondary school in Chepalungu Sub-County, Bomet County. The study objectives were to; identify the mode of rewarding used to influence student‟s academic performance, identify benchmarking strategies that schools use to improve academic performance, establish how parents/guardians involvement in students‟ academic progress influence students‟ academic performance and investigate effect of teaching staff development on student academic performance. The study adopted meta cognition personalised learning theory and used mixed methodology. The target population comprised 43 schools, 43 principals, 2,485 students and 301 teachers. 30% of the population was selected using simple random and stratified sampling. Principals were purposively selected while teachers were randomly selected. Questionnaires and interview schedule were used to collect data for this study. The data collected was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Pearson Correlation analysis was used to test the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Analyzed data were presented using tables and Figures. The study findings showed that the mean score in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) for all schools was 4.14 in 2010, 4.56 in 2011, 5.13 in 2012 and 5.52 in 2013. Similarly, the study findings showed that majority (88.8%) of the students believed that rewarding students who performed well in Continuous Assessment Tests (CATs) can enhance their academic performance in KCSE. In addition majority (72.5%) of the students were of the view that students‟ rewards through trophies could influence positively their academic performance in national examinations. Further, majority (64.5%) of the teachers believed that benchmarking is used in the school to improve performance. In addition, majority (69.8%) of teachers believed that students‟ academic progress is monitored by both parents/guardians and the school administration and this has improved academic achievement. The study recommended that there is need for schools to reward students, benchmark with high performing schools and involve all stakeholders in order to enhance their academic performance. The strategies identified by the research will help to improve students‟ performance which will in turn uplift the level of education in Bomet County and the neighbouring counties with similar characteristics.