Influence of Principals’ Instructional Quality Assurance Role on Students’ Academic Performance in Kitui West District, Kenya.

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the principals’ instructional quality assurance role on students’ academic performance in Kitui West District, Kenya. The key parameters of the study included principals’ pedagogical role, curriculum implementation role, teaching and learning supervisory role and teacher development role. The study also examined the challenges facing the principals in their role of instructional quality assurance and provided measures that can be taken to improve the principals’ instructional quality assurance role. This study employed a mixed research design, which included survey and naturalistic designs. The sample included nine (9) schools, one hundred and seventy six (n=176) students, fifty four (n=54) class teachers, nine (n=9) principals and three (n=3) District Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (DQASO). In total, they were two hundred and forty two (N=242) respondents out of whom two hundred and three (N=203) participated in the study. Data collection instruments included questionnaires for students and teachers and interview guides for the principals and DQASOs. The collected data was analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative data analysis approaches. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS, Version 17) aided the process of data analysis. The quantitative data was computed to produce frequencies and percentages. On the other hand, qualitative data analysis was conducted on the data which was collected using interview method and reported in narrative form along quantitative data. From the analysis, the study observed the following: the major pedagogical skills applied by principals to enhance teaching and learning and overall academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Kitui West District included constant monitoring of teachers and performing formative teacher pedagogical evaluation. The principals’ curriculum implementation role that influenced students’ academic performance included ensuring that the schools followed the prescribed syllabus, teachers prepared schemes of work and lesson plans, assessed textbooks and involved the members of school community in curriculum shaping. The study further found that there were no well equipped libraries, computer resource labs for e-learning and well equipped laboratory in schools. The role that principals played in relation to educational resources included evaluating the adequacy of instructional materials, advising teachers on the most current instructional resources and encouraging teachers to develop innovative teaching aids. The role of principals in meeting teacher training and development needs included giving induction program and orientation of new teachers, arranging regular workshops for teachers and refresher courses, encouraging and supporting teachers to undertake in-service training. The challenges that the principals faced in the execution of their role included lack of finances, inadequacy instructional resources, inadequate teaching staff, overloaded curriculum, vandalizing of resources lack of adequate government support and cooperation from school community. The study recommended an all inclusive collaboration with all stakeholders in education for creation of quality schools through sound instructional quality assurance leadership.