Influence of school-based factors on students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Migori county Kenya

Abstract

Academic performance is measured through results obtained from examinations. Examination outcome is so important since in many countries it has been used as the major basis for deciding a student’s academic progression and employment. The importance of education to both national and individual development is indisputable. Reports on national examination results indicate that many students do not excel in national examinations in many countries around the world, Kenya included. Over the years, the dismal performance has raised alarm and efforts have been made to identify what factors lead to this, but the problem still persists. On the other hand, it is apparent that school based factors have a bearing on academic performance. Among the school based factors are; principals’ leadership skills, student factors, school environmental factors and parental factors. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to survey the influence of school based factors on students’ academic performance in Migori County. The Objectives of the current study were to: determine the influence of school based factors such as principal’s leadership skills on students’ academic performance, establish the influence of student factors on students’ academic performance, determine the influence of school environmental factors on students’ academic performance and parental factors on students’ academic performance. The study used a mixed method approach. The study adopted descriptive survey research design and correlation research design. The population was 245 principals and 14300 form four students within Migori County. Principals were categorized according to their Sub-Counties. The study was guided by Krejcie and Morgan Table (Appendix F) to get sample size of 152 out of 245 principals and 275 students out of 14300. Questionnaires and interview schedule were used for principals and focus group discussion for students to collect data. Piloting was done to establish reliability. Internal consistency reliability coefficient was used to determine reliability of the questionnaires. Principals’ questionnaires attained reliability coefficient of 0.79. Experts in Educational Administration and Policy studies determined the validity. Means, standard deviation, Regression Analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze quantitative data while qualitative data was coded, transcribed and organized thematically. Ethics was observed during both data collection and reporting of findings. It was established that principals’ leadership skills highly influenced students’ academic performance with mean overall rating of the principals (Mean=4.07, SD=0.55), while student factors were rated at 3.92 on the influence of students’ academic performance implying that it has a high influence. School environmental factors were also rated at 3.87 (SD=0.57) implying the high influence on students’ academic performance. Parental factors were also rated at 3.63 (SD=0.76) implying that it had a high influence on students’ academic performance. In general, student factors had a low influence on students’ academic performance, and had a positive and significant relationship (r=0.316, p<.05). Findings obtained from this study are important to educational administrators, Teachers Service Commission and other stakeholders. It will also contribute to the body of information on school based factors that influence student academic performance in future for those interested in pursuing this line of thinking