Strategic planning in public schools: a case of secondary schools in the Coast Province of Kenya

Abstract

This study focused on Strategic Planning in public secondary schools in Kenya targeting five of the seven districts in the Coast Province. It identifies strategic planning as one of the modern management approaches being used by organizations and discusses its application in secondary schools. The problem has been that public secondary schools in Kenya have constantly posted very poor performance in national examinations. Equipment and facilities are extremely dilapidated and disused and the desires of the stakeholders remain grossly unfulfilled thus leading to their frustrations with the schools. The study has two main objectives: a) To establish the strategic planning practices in secondary schools. b) To identify the challenges faced by school managers in developing strategies. The literature review identifies the significance of strategic planning in charting the direction to be taken by an organization. Strategic planning is rationalized and different approaches to the formulation of strategy identified, suggesting that strategy is multifaceted. Key practices in the planning processes are identified. The survey design was used in this study. The questionnaire was used as a data-collecting instrument and was sent to various schools and education offices targeting persons in-charge of planning. Analysis was done using SPSS software and data presented using frequency tables, pie charts, graphs and percentages