Principals’ Communication and Decisionmaking Practices’ Influence On Students’ Academic Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Turkana County, Kenya
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Date
2024-09
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
(IAJSSE
Abstract
Exam results have been used to determine a
student's aptitude as well as to choose them
for further education and career
opportunities. Across the course, Turkana
County has been experiencing disparities in
Kenya Certificate of Secondary School
examination results and has remained poor
over the recent five years as shown by the
following mean scores: 2016 (3.8531);
2017 (3.5488); 2018 (3.2222); 2019
(2.9078); and 2020 (3.0121). This provides
proof that the KCSE scores have been
fluctuating in a declining trend. For the past
five years, Turkana County's academic
performance has been appalling, which
begs numerous questions, especially in
regard to principals’ management practices
and how they influence students’ academic
achievement. Principals’ management
practices always have devastating effects
on students’ academic performance when
they are not properly practiced. This study,
therefore, endeavored to establish the
influence of selected principals’
management practices on students’
academic performance in Turkana County.
The research objectives were; to establish
the influence of principals’ communication
and decision-making practices on students’
academic performance in Turkana Central
Sub-County. Fielders' contingency theory
served as the foundation for this research.
Descriptive survey research design was
used in this study. The target population of
the research comprised of 16 principals,
200 teachers, and 784 students. A total of
300 respondents were chosen using random
for sampling. Principals were chosen using
census sampling, teachers through simple
random selection, and students through
stratified random sampling. Questionnaires
with structured and unstructured items were
used to gather data. Ten percent of
participant questionnaires were examined
in order to verify their validity for its
intended purpose. In particular, 22 students,
6 teachers, and 2 principals took part in the
pilot study. The researcher also requested
the supervisor to validate the instruments'
accuracy. The study adopted a method of
rational equivalence by Kuder-Richardson
Reliability. The data was grouped, entered,
coded, cleaned, stored, and analyzed with
the aid of SPSS v. 26 software. Descriptive
statistics in the form of percentages,
frequencies, and means were utilized to
assess the quantitative information from the
structured questions. Narratives and direct
quotes were utilized to examine
thematically the qualitative data from
unstructured questions. Frequency bar
graphs, tables and charts were utilized to
display the analyzed data. The study
findings include: effective communication
by pprincipals, characterized by clear
articulation of academic goals,
expectations, and feedback, positively
correlates with student academic
performance; and principals who employ
evidence-based solutions and involve
stakeholders in decision-making
demonstrate a more proactive approach to
addressing academic challenges. The study
concludes that i) effective communication
between principals, teachers, students, and
parents is foundational to fostering a
supportive and engaged school community,
and ii) principals’' decision-making
practices play a pivotal role in influencing
school effectiveness and student outcomes.
The study makes the following
recommendations: i) principals should
prioritize open and effective
communication with teachers, students, an
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Citation
Ekal, C. S., Mungai, J. G. (2024). Principals’ communication and decision-making practices’ influence on students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Turkana County, Kenya. International Academic Journal of Social Sciences and Education (IAJSSE), 2(3), 482-514.