Influence of Principal Class Visitations Practices on Students’ Academic Performance in KCSE in Public Secondary schools in Mashuru Sub-County

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of principals’ class visitations practices on students’ academic performance in KCSE in public secondary schools in Mashuru Sub-County. According to the records from the office of the Kajiado County Director of Education, the performance of students in KCSE in Mashuru Sub-County has not only been poor but also spiralling downwards. The region has only produced 23 students attaining a grade of C+ in a period of four years. The poor performance calls for a scrutiny of what could be the cause to this status quo. There was therefore need to establish whether despite all efforts put in place, the students’ academic performance in KCSE was still declining. The study utilized a descriptive research design. The target population consisted of 45 principals, 540 teachers and 585 student leaders. Purposive sampling was employed to select 13 principals while simple random sampling was used to 54 teachers and 56 student leaders. Data was collected by use of interview schedule for principals and questionnaires for teachers and student leaders. The collected data was analysed using descriptive statistics which consisted of frequencies and percentages with the help of SPSS version 27. The study established that principal management practice on teacher professional records had some influence on student academic performance in KCSE in public secondary schools. The study established that the full impact of the principals’ class visitation practices on students’ academic performance was not achieved as the frequency of conducting this practice was below par. The principals had no definite time of visiting classes due to other administrative duties which played a negative role in influencing students’ academic performance in KCSE in public secondary schools in Mashuru sub-county. Leading to missing of lessons, late reporting of students to school, and chronic absenteeism among students. The study recommends that the Boards of Management of schools in Mashuru Sub-County should conduct awareness programmes among parents so that they can have an understanding of the importance of education. This way they will be motivated to take their children to school on time and to encourage the learners to pursue academic excellence. The Teachers Service Commission should also appoint, promote and deploy principals, deputy principals and senior teachers trained in instructional supervision. This will enlighten the principals on the importance of class visitation as it would aid in boosting class attendance for both teachers and students and thereby improving performance in the long run.