School-Based Factors and their Influence on the Implementation of Physical Education in Public Secondary Schools in Mwingi West, Kitui County, Kenya
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Date
2025-04
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Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
The Kenyan school curriculum requires students to take Physical Education (PE) as a mandatory subject. The population of individuals with diabetes in Kenya has continued to rise, according to Diabetic Management and Information Centre statistics. This is as result of a large growing population without the basic knowledge of the importance of physical exercises and fitness and declined engagement in recreational sports. The study intended to investigate school-based factors that influence the effective implementation of the PE curriculum in public secondary schools in Mwingi West sub-county, Kitui County, Kenya. Specifically, the study looked into how the following factors influenced the implementation of the PE curriculum: time allocated for PE lessons, physical facilities and equipment, adequacy of PE teachers, and school head supervision. The study was guided by the theory of implementation by Gross. A descriptive survey research design was applied in collecting both qualitative and quantitative data. The study targeted 40 public secondary schools in Mwingi sub-county. The principals, all teachers, and students in the 8 secondary schools were the study's target population. A stratified sampling and simple random sampling technique was applied to select a sample of 384 respondents comprising 8 principals, 8 PE teachers, and 368 students. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview schedules from heads of the institutions, PE teachers, and students. An observation checklist was used to collect data on PE physical facilities and equipment available in the schools involved in the study. Piloting was conducted in one public school, which was excluded from the study. The study's validity was intensified by expert opinion. The reliability of the instruments was assessed by conducting a pre-test of the questionnaires in the field. The collected data was analysed through percentages, measures of central tendencies, and discussions and presented through tables, bars, line graphs, and pie charts. The findings from the study revealed that the time allocated for PE lessons was not adequately utilized, and this derailed the implementation of PE in most of the schools. Moreover, it was established that physical and material resources were not adequately available in most of the schools, thus affecting the implementation of PE. The results further revealed that most of the schools lacked trained teachers in PE; thus, the implementation of physical education was curtailed as there lacked teachers specifically dedicated for PE lessons. Most of the schools lacked adequate support and supervision from the school management as the school principals were not effectively committed towards supporting PE. It was, therefore, concluded that implementation of physical education in most of the secondary schools was ineffective and this was mainly due to the key school-based factors. It is therefore recommended that the school management, as well as the government through the ministry of education, should uphold physical education among learners by ensuring effective utilization of PE lessons, providing trained teachers on PE, as well as financing the schools to acquire physical and material resources of PE lessons.
Description
A Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Award of Degree In Masters of Education (Curriculum Development) in the School of Education and Lifelong Learning of Kenyatta University, April 2025.
Supervisor
Wilfrida Itolondo