The effects of poor perfomance in primary schools (a case study of Mandera county, Kenya.)

Abstract

The importance of a National Examination cannot be underestimated in academic development, but in Mandera Central District the pupils’ performance had been less than satisfactory. Why is it that the primary schools in Mandera Central District had been performing poorly in KCPE?. The purpose of this study was to investigate the underlying factors for the poor state of KCPE performance. The objectives were to: determine the effectiveness of curriculum supervision and implementation, identify the adequacy and management of physical and material resources, find out the attitude of pupils towards learning, find out the attitude of teachers towards teaching, find out the effectiveness of the supervision and quality control of schools, assess the interaction between the schools and the community and seek views from the respondents on ways of improving KCPE in schools. This study adapted the descriptive survey design. The population included the AEO, head teachers, teachers and pupils. The study used both purposive and simple random sampling designs. The sample size was composed of one AEO, 15head teachers, 10 teachers and 100 pupils. Three types of research instruments were used namely Questionnaire, Interview schedule and observation schedules. The content validity was tested. Test-retest method was used to test the reliability of the instruments. Pilot study was done in two selected primary schools. The researcher visited the sample schools and administered the questionnaires to the teachers and pupils. The researcher conducted the interview at the Area Education Officer’s offices. The data was analyzed by descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages).And it was presented inform of tables, graphs and pie charts where necessary.