Browsing by Author "Njuguna, Felicita W."

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    Determination of the Most Important Aspects of Head Teachers’ Leadership Practices Influencing Student Academic Achievement in Secondary Schools: A Case Study of Machakos County, Kenya
    (Open Access Publishing Group, 2017) Muasya, Mutuku P.; Njuguna, Felicita W.; Ogola, Martin
    The purpose of this study was to assess the most important aspects of head teachers’ leadership practices influencing student academic achievement in secondary schools of Machakos County, Kenya. Performance by many students in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination in most secondary schools in Machakos County has been low in the recent past years (2009-2013), and a study was therefore necessary to establish whether in the execution of head teachers’ instructional leadership practices, the head teachers may have ignored important aspects which if put to consideration could help improve their instructional leadership practice, and subsequently the performance of pupils. The study applied Survey design. The target population was the head teachers, teachers and students of 176 public secondary schools in Machakos County. Stratified sampling technique was used to select 38 head teachers, 190 teachers and 345 students from among high and low performing secondary schools in Machakos County. The study used the Head Teacher Questionnaire (reliability 0.78), Teachers Questionnaire (reliability 0.74) and the students Questionnaire (reliability 0.75). The response was 87.5%. Factor analysis was then done to establish the most important indicators of the head teachers’ instructional leadership practices. The study found that most indicators used in the head teachers’ instructional leadership are reliable, with Cronbach’s alpha values higher than 0.5. The study recommends in-service training for head teachers and preparatory training for deputy head teachers and heads of departments on effective instructional leadership practices so as to enhance balanced instructional leadership in schools.
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    An exploration of factors influencing career progression of tutors in public primary teachers’ training colleges in Kenya
    (2016) Muchanje, Peter N.; Njuguna, Felicita W.; Kalai, Jeremiah M.; Bironga, Sophia M.
    Abstract The study sought to determine the influence of gender, Teachers Service Commission (TSC) adherence to career progression policy guidelines and tutors’ exposure to professional development on career progression of tutors in primary teachers training colleges in Kenya. This study was a descriptive survey with 264 tutors randomly sampled from eight Public Primary Teacher Training Colleges. Out of the 264 sampled, 207 tutors returned the questionnaires for analysis. Data was collected using a questionnaire for tutors, interview schedule for Principals and TSC officers. One way Chi-square and linear regression analysis (at α = 0.05 level of significance) were used to test the relationship between each variable and tutors career progression. The study found that gender was not significantly related to tutors’ career progression. Further analysis revealed that exposure to professional development influenced tutors career progression positively. The study concluded that tutors’ gender did not have any significant relationship with career progression. However, exposure to professional development and adherence to policy guidelines by TSC influenced career progression positively, which is positive result for this study. The study recommended that there is also need to increase the number of appointive positions in Primary Teacher Training Colleges to provide tutors with more chances of career progression. Above all the study recommended that tutors should be regularly exposed to professional development so as to update their skill and competence.
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    Factors that impact on use of education management information systems: a case study of Thika West district Kiambu county Kenya
    (Kenyatta University, 2014) Mugo, Peris Muthoni; Itegi, Florence M.; Njuguna, Felicita W.
    The central problem of this study is that despite the critical role expected to be played by Education Management Information Systems, in providing data that is crucial to planning for education, quality data from the schools to the district EMIS units is rarely achieved. The purpose of the study was to examine the factors that impact on data management using Management Information Systems by education administrators in public secondary schools in Thika West district, Kiambu County. The objectives of the study were to; assess the existing level of skills and competencies in data management of education administrators; their perception on the use of Education Management Information Systems; assess the availability and use of infrastructure that supports Education Management Information Systems; establish the role played by the Ministry of Education in facilitating data management and determine the challenges facing education administrators in using Education Management Information Systems in Thika West district. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The study sampled 10 schools using stratified random sampling based on three mutually exclusive strata; national, provincial, and district. Random samples were drawn from each stratum and the sub samples were joined to form the complete stratified sample. The proportional allocation method was used to ensure each stratum contributed to the sample a number that is proportional to its size in the population. From the sample schools the head teacher and 4 heads of departments were selected, and in the district education office 4 officers in charge of data were selected using purposive sampling. Data was collected through self administered questionnaires and analyzed using quantitative methods. The main findings of the study were that education administrators possessed limited skills and competencies to use Management Information Systems, basic infrastructure to support MIS was inadequate in schools and the Ministry of Education played an insignificant role in providing computers to support EMIS. Based on these findings it is recommended that the Ministry of Education and stakeholders enhance training of education administrators to attain the necessary computer proficiency for efficient management of data and step up the provision of infrastructure to support the production of quality data for evidence based policy formulation.
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    Relationship between Head Teachers’ instructional Leadership Practices and the Academic Performance of Students in Machakos County
    (Open Access Publishing Group, 2017) Mutuku, Muasya P.; Njuguna, Felicita W.; Ogola, Martin
    The performance of students in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination in Machakos County, Kenya has been low for the recent years. It is suspected that the head teachers may have ignored their instructional leadership practices which if put to consideration could help improve students’ performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between head teachers’ instructional leadership practices and students’ performance in KCSE examination. The study applied descriptive survey design. Stratified sampling technique was used to select 38 head teachers, 190 teachers and 345 students from 38 (42%) of target schools which were grouped as high performing and low performing categories. Pearson’s product moment correlation was used and the study found strong positive correlations between instructional leadership practices and the performance of students, where poorly performing schools are also rated low in the instructional leadership practice, and vice versa for schools performing well. The study therefore recommends in-service training on instructional leadership for head teachers to enhance balanced instructional leadership, for better academic performance
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    Sexual Harassment and Effect on Students’ Self-Esteem in Selected Public and Private Secondary Schools in Kenya
    (International Knowledge Sharing Platform, 2019) Ondicho, Naom; Kombo, Kisilu; Njuguna, Felicita W.
    Sexual Harassment (SH) is a global phenomenon and a pervasive problem that affects thousands of students in learning institutions daily yet there are few studies exploring its effect on students’ self-esteem especially from the Kenyan context. Sexual harassment is also considered a risk factor for lifelong problems including psychological ill-health and poor self-esteem. The purpose of this study was to describe and explore sexual harassment in and its effect on students’ self-esteem. The study was done in selected public and private secondary schools in 2 purposively sampled Counties in Kenya. The study was guided by a theoretical framework based on Finkelhor and Browne’s Traumagenic Dynamics Model. The design of the study was descriptive survey targeting 23,659 students, 88 Deputy Principals and 88 Heads of G/C. Samples were obtained through purposive and proportionate simple random sampling. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using a School Sexual Harassment Questionnaire (SSHQ), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), interview and Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) guides. Content validity was determined by seeking expert judgments. Cronbach alpha technique was used to measure the reliability of the research instruments. Quantitative data were analyzed both descriptively and inferentially using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) while qualitative data were analyzed based on emerging themes and presented in narrative and verbatim forms. Findings indicated that verbal sexual harassment had a significant effect on students’ self-esteem whereas effects of physical and visual sexual harassment were not statistically significant.
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    Teachers’ Perceptions Towards Instructional Supervisory Competences of Educational Quality Assurance and Standards Officers
    (International Knowledge Sharing Platform, 2018) Mwaniki, Solomon Gitonga; Itegi, Florence M.; Njuguna, Felicita W.
    The main purpose of this study was to assess the existing perceptions of school principals and Heads of Departments (HoDs) towards the instructional supervisory competences of Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (QASOs) in secondary schools in Nairobi and Machakos counties, Kenya. The study aimed to investigate the school principals’ and HoDs’ perceptions towards QASOs’ human, technical and conceptual skills. The study used three types of research instruments, namely; School Principals’ and Heads of Departments’ Questionnaire, Quality Assurance and Standards Officers’ Questionnaire and County Quality Assurance and Standards Officers’ Interview Guide. Data was analyzed used mixed methods, involving qualitative and quantitative techniques. The study revealed that, teachers hold the opinion that QASOs exhibited favorable human relations competences, however, QASOs were found to be partially effective in respect to technical and conceptual competences. The study recommends that the QASOs already in the field to be taken through intensive capacity building trainings in their specific subjects so as to equip them with requisite technical and conceptual competences for conducting instructional supervision.