Instructional supervision and its impact on Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE)-Bureti District

Abstract

Supervision is one of the key elements in the management of the secondary school curriculum. The Ministry of Education Science and Technology acknowledges the importance of instructional supervision and has made it one of the compulsory role of Headteachers in the whole school system. Perpetual low performance in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination (KCSE) in Bureti District aroused the interest of the researcher to speculate on some management issues responsible for the dismal performance. Specifically the researcher zeroed on the impact of instructional supervision on KCSE performance in the district. The study was descriptive. Data ware collected using questionnaires which were administered to the teachers, students and headteachers from sampled schools. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics by use of tables, figures and graphs. The study was based on the theory that performance effectiveness is dependent upon the interaction of leadership style and the amount of control the supervisor has over the situation. The major findings of the study were that the headteachers were responsible for both instructional supervision and evaluation of teachers, however most of them were more concerned about monitoring students' progress, instructional supervision, evaluation and performance at the expense of other roles that are equally important for good academic achievement. It also emerged from the study that instructional supervision has an impact on performance. The recommendations given will assist teachers and headteachers improve their capabilities and become more efficient at what they are doing for good academic performance.