Thesis:

Strategies adopted by the boards of management In improving infrastructure in secondary Schools in Mbeere south sub county, Embu county, Kenya

Improving infrastructure in schools is one of the most complex tasks of school management. However, school management need to understand performance management processes and also possess the necessary skills to enable them to improve infrastructure effectively. The researcher was prompted to investigate the strategies adopted by the schools Board of Management in improving infrastructure in public secondary schools in Mbeere South Sub-county, Embu County, Kenya. The review was based on the concept of management of school infrastructure, planning strategy, funding strategy, monitoring and controlling of school projects and evaluation strategy in relation to improvement of school infrastructure and research gaps identified. The study adopted qualitative and quantitative methods. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design with mixed methodology. Questionnaires were used to collect data from teachers and BOM members whereas interviews were used to collect data from principals. Pilot survey was conducted twice amongst 2 principals, 2 teachers and 13 BOM members to establish validity and reliability as determined using test retest method. The reliability coefficient r=0.952 was determined using Pearson’s Correlation Method. The total target population is 1012 which included 46 principals, 368 teachers and 598 Board of Management members. Using the Central Limit Theorem, a sample of 10 secondary schools were selected, that is, 20% of the targeted 46 schools. Based on the same theorem, the researcher sampled 200 respondents, that is, 20% of 1012 at predetermined confidence level of 5%. The researcher applied stratified random sampling to create 5 different strata or sample units based on the number of zones each consisting of 9 secondary schools in Mbeere South Sub-county. From each stratum, 2 secondary schools and 2 principals were selected using purposive sampling considering schools with infrastructure which were seriously dilapidated. The researcher then applied simple random sampling to identify 7 teachers and 12 members of school BOM. Simple random sampling was appropriate since it helped avoid the feeling of bias amongst the respondents. This sampling procedure enabled the researcher to realize a sample of 10 secondary school principals, 73 teachers and 117 school BOM members as per the percentage proportion in target population. Data collected from the respondents was analyzed inferentially in which the researcher related the quantitative results to the descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Frequency counts of the responses were obtained to generate information about the respondents and to illustrate the general trend of findings on the various variables that were under investigation. Quantitative data was analyzed using ANOVA in Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 21). The findings of the study were presented using percentages, tables and charts. The study has established that school BOM members play a key strategic role in planning, funding, monitoring/controlling and evaluation of the improvement of school infrastructure and thus recommends that policies should be designed to examine the qualifications of individuals to be included in secondary school BOM. The study also recommends that a study should be undertaken to examine the efficacy of BOM members’ training in relation to their responsibilities. The government should formulate a policy to help determine the kind of professionals who should be included as members of school BOMs. This will go a long way in minimizing the costs of hiring an expert to cost the school infrastructure.