An evaluation of the impact of strategic plan implementation On school effectiveness in public secondary schools In Nakuru sub-county, Nakuru county, Kenya.

Abstract

In 2005, the Government of Kenya through, the Ministry of Education (MOE), introduced strategic management in all its learning institutions. This was an effort to achieve the goals envisioned in the social pillar of Vision 2030, of building a just and cohesive society that enjoys equitable social development in a clean environment. In 2008, the Ministry of Education rolled out a five years strategic plan 2008-2012 with the aim of providing Kenyans with globally competitive quality education and training for sustainable development. Every district was then mandated to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate its internal strategic plan. The purpose of this study therefore was to evaluate the impact of implementation of strategic plan on school effectiveness in secondary schools in Nakuru Sub- County, Kenya. The focus was on four indicators of school effectiveness as advocated by Coleman (2011) and the Kenya Ministry of Education strategic plan (2008-2012) namely, sustained focus on instruction and learning, effective Principal's leadership, staff on- site professional development, safe and positive school climate and culture. It also focused on the key components of strategic plan namely; mission, vision,values, goals, targets and key improvement strategies. The study assumed that the implementation of strategic plan can lead to school effectiveness as its main focus is the customer's satisfaction. The study was informed by Total Quality Management theory which Mohanty and Lokhe (2002) describe as a quest for excellence, creating the right attitudes and controls to make prevention of defects possible and optimize customer satisfaction by increased efficiency and effectiveness. The study adopted descriptive survey design since the study investigated possible cause and effect relationship between strategic plan and school effectiveness. The location of the study was public secondary schools in Nakuru Sub- County, Nakuru County, Kenya. The target population was all the 25 public secondary schools, 25 head teachers and 606 teachers. By use of simple random sampling techniques, a sample of 15 schools was sampled, 15 head teacher and 171 teachers. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used to collect data. The researcher personally visited the sampled schools to collect data. The validity and reliability of the research was determined through the help of the supervisors and vetting by five experts. The questionnaires were collected and coded according to the identified four indicators of school effectiveness. The validity and reliability of the instruments was measured through piloting in the selected schools, peer evaluation and consultation Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data. The results were presented in percentages, graphs and bar charts, frequency tables and pie Charts. The study indicated that strategic planning have positive and significant impacts on instruction and learning, on strong and effective principal's leadership, Staff on-site professional development as well as creating a positive school culture and environment. The research outlined conclusions and recommendations to head teachers and all the stakeholders to embark on evaluation of the impact of strategic plan on their school effectiveness. The implementations of the recommendations may facilitate the schools in producing students with globally competitive skills that will provide Kenya with the required man power to drive the country to a middle income status as per vision 2030.