Publication: Effects of poor academic performance in secondary schools in Wendanyi District in Taita-Taveta county Kenya
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2015-07
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Mount Kenya University
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of poor academic performance in
secondary schools of Wendanyi District in Taita-Taveta County. The objectives of the study
were to: establish the strategies being employed by public secondary schools to improve
students’poor academic performance; determine the relationship between the academic
performance improvement strategies employed and the performance of students in KCSE; and
identify academic performance improvement lessons that can be learnt from schools that
consistently perform well at the KCSE level. The study was guided by well performing Schools
Model by Lezotte (2010), i.e. instructional leadership, focus on school mission, safety and
orderliness of schools, expectations for success, home-school relations, frequent monitoring of
students progress, and opportunity to learn for students. The research employed a survey design
targeting all principals, heads of departments, teachers, Parents and education officers in charge
of all the secondary schools in Wendanyi District in Taita-Taveta County. Data was collected in
all secondary schools in the county. Stratified sampling technique was used to select some
schools for the study. The sampled schools were stratified according to performance, that is,
those that have been consistently performing well for the last five years (2006-2010), and those
that have been consistently performing poorly for the same period. All the principals of the
sampled schools took part in the study. Simple random sampling was applied to obtain the actual
sample of cases in order to get in-depth information (Mugenda and Mugenda 1999). The total
sample size number of respondents was 54 schools. Questionnaires and an interview guide were
used for data collection. Prior to the actual data collection, a plot study was conducted to
ascertain the reliability and validity of the instruments. The study gathered both qualitative and
quantitative data. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics including
frequencies and percentages. Qualitative data was put under themes consistent with the research
objectives. The study recommends that secondary schools should put emphasis on the correlates
of effective schools that were identified to positively influence poor academic performance.
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Keywords
performance evaluation, academic performance