The effects of organizational culture on Students’ performance in national exams: “A case study of Hill school primary, Uasin-Gishu, Kenya”

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of organizational culture on students‘ academic performance in Kenya Certificate of primary Education (KCPE). This was carried out in Hill school primary, Uasin-Gishu district. This was a case study which examined various artifacts, values and cultural basic assumptions which constitute the school culture which. They were invented, discovered or developed by the school administration and how they continued to affect academic performance of the school in national examinations. The objective of this study was to examine Hill School culture and how it affects students‘ academic performance in K.C.P.E examinations. The study also examined various ways that the head teacher used to communicate school culture to its members, it also tries to find out artifacts, values and basic assumptions that exist in hill school and lastly assess the implications of this culture to the school, policy makers and to the researchers. The hill school basic cultural assumption deciphered was: students ought to be consistently coached in order to perform well in KCPE, ought to continuously motivate students and teachers, ought to work hard and ought to be guided by order and discipline in order to perform well in KCPE. Dependent variable of the study was students‘ performance while organizational culture was independent variable. The conceptual framework of this study was adopted from Ouchi (1981) style of management ―Theory Z‖ which emphasis on people and environment in which they work. The data was obtained from several organizational people, who were identified through interested insiders. The respondents interviewed include the Hill school head teacher, deputy head teachers, Hill school secondary principal, seventeen students, one school management committee (SMC), three support staff, and three parents. These respondents were selected based upon Scheins (1985) join interactive as stated in appendix A. The collection and Analysis of data was based upon Schein‘s (1985) join exploration through iterative interview schedule, observation and content analysis of archival materials to decipher Hill School culture. Descriptive form and discussions with the key insider informants that‘s; the head teacher, school academic officer and the school secretary were employed in the analysis and interpretation of the data collected. Tables, graphs and percentages were used to represent the data on students‘ academic performance. The findings of this study revealed that hill school had developed a hard working culture which has made the students to obtained high scores in KCPE. Students‘ performance was also determined by well prepared and used of schemes of work and lesson plans, syllabus coverage and evaluations of students‘ academic achievements. Other determinants include management, motivation, coaching and supervision of teachers and students. The recommendations made were; the managers should developed cultures that promote academic performance positively, communicate desired school culture positively and should aim at achieving high academic performance in their institutions. The significance of the study was that the researcher recommends to Education administration policy makers on areas that further research need to be done on how school culture can be developed by different schools in order to produce students who are morally upright, useful in the society and also possible improvements of students‘ achievement in national examinations. The researcher has further explained importance of cooperation between different stakeholders in educational sector in improving students‘ academic performance in K.C.P.E Examinations. The study therefore will be of significance to the head teachers of schools, in development of school cultures in their institutions for better academic performance.