Effect Of School And Non-School Factors On Performance In Kcpe In Public Primary Schools: A Case Of Matungulu Zone, Machakos County, Kenya

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to assess the effect of school and non-school factors on performance in KCPE in public primary schools in Matungulu Zone, Machakos County. The specific objectives of the study were to: analyze teachers' professional and academic preparedness; establish the availability and utilization of teaching Ilearning resources; find out the teacher-pupil ratio; find out the effect of non-school factors on performance in KCPE and find out measures that can be taken to address the school and non-school factors that affect performance of KCPE in Matungulu Zone, Machakos County. The study used a case study design and it employed a questionnaire to collect data from 11 head teachers, 60 teachers and 376 pupils. The researcher organized raw data from the questionnaires into significant patterns so as to easily interpret and understand the essence of the data. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze data and the findings were presented through descriptive statistics by use of frequencies, tables, and pie charts. It was realized from the study that most teachers possessed the necessary professional qualifications and experience, most of the schools invested in class eight textbooks at the expense of other classes and that no school in the zone had a library. A substantial number of schools faced difficulties such as high 'pupil: teacher ratios. As a result of high pupil: teacher ratios, many teachers gave pupils follow-up assignments but they were not in a position to mark and correct in class due to high work loads. There was also high textbook-pupil ratio especially in religious studies. The study also found out that parental socio-economic background and lack of parental involvement in a child's educational life had an influence on a pupil's achievement. The study concluded that a substantial number of teachers faced difficulties when implementing the curriculum. Due to these difficulties, most of the teachers concentrated more on teaching class eight at the expense of the other classes and therefore, there bas been no effective implementation of the curriculum in Matungulu Zone as was/is intended by the curriculum developers. Equally, the study recommends that government should employ more teachers, increase fund allocation to Free Primary Education, and sensitize parents on the importance of parental involvement in their children's academic affairs.