Board of management efficacy, principals’ leadership and student’s academic performance in selected public secondary schools in Kenya

Abstract

School boards have a definitive role in school outcomes and effective leadership is essential if schools are to provide the best possible education for their learners. Boards of Management (BOM) exist to oversee the provision of quality education in schools but their efficacy has been questioned due to the persistent country-wide problem of low performance in national examinations. The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of BOM efficacy on student’s academic performance and to establish the moderating effect of the principals’ leadership on the relationship between BOM efficacy and student’s performance in selected secondary schools in Kenya. The specific objectives were: to determine the extent of the BOM’s efficacy in offering strategic direction, to assess the efficacy of the BOM in the monitoring of teaching and learning and to establish the efficacy of the BOM in creating a conducive environment for learning and their effects on student’s performance in selected secondary schools in Kenya, to establish the effect of the principals’ leadership on student’s performance in selected secondary schools in Kenya and to assess the moderating effect of principals’ leadership on the relationship between BOM efficacy and student’s performance in selected secondary schools in Kenya. The Systems Theory and the Path–Goal Theory of Leadership Effectiveness guided the study. The study adopted the pragmatic philosophical paradigm. Convergent parallel mixed methods research design was employed. Data was collected using questionnaires and an interview schedule. The sampling techniques used were multistage, stratified, purposive and simple random to get 358 teachers and 12 principals of selected public secondary schools in Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet and Nandi counties. Hierarchical and Multiple regression Models using PROCESS macro were used to analyze quantitative data and test the hypothesis while thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. The findings were that BOM efficacy in: setting the strategic direction (β= .325 p< .001), monitoring teaching and learning (β = .232 p< .001), creating conducive learning environment (β = .304 p< .001) and principals’ leadership (β = .350 p< .001) are predictors of student’s academic performance and that principals’ leadership moderates the relationship between BOM efficacy and student’s academic performance (b=.07, p=<.01). The qualitative findings indicated that BOMs are generally effective in the way they: identify priorities in development projects, facilitate extra teaching time for syllabus coverage and have created quiet, orderly and suitable learning school environments and that school principals are highly visible in school and support teacher’s efforts. The study concludes that principals’ leadership plays a significant moderating role in strengthening the relationship between BOM efficacy and student’s academic performance. The study recommends strengthening principals’ leadership capabilities and promoting effective collaboration with BOMs in secondary schools to bolster student success and improve overall educational outcomes. These findings have implications for policy and practice, highlighting the need for targeted interventions aimed at developing and strengthening principals’ leadership capacity and promoting effective BOM governance structures in secondary schools.