Influence Of Instructional Supervision Practices Of Headteachers On Students’ Academic Outcomes In Public Day Secondary Schools In Kirinyaga County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Instructional supervision is a practice that is entrenched in educational systems globally. Instruction has to be supervised in order to achieve the desired purpose. Unsupervised instruction has the potential to mar the standard of education as well as the student outcome in performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of instructional supervision practices of head teachers on students’ academic outcomes in public day secondary schools in Kirinyaga Central Sub-County, Kirinyaga County. The objectives of the study were to: find out the instructional supervision practices applied by the head teachers; assess the effectiveness of instructional supervision practices employed by head teachers; establish the influence of head teachers’ instructional supervision practices on students’ outcome and to determine the challenges faced by head teachers in conducting instructional supervision practices in public day secondary schools in Kirinyaga Central Sub-County, Kirinyaga County. The study may be significant to education policy holders as it provides vital information that may be utilized with the intention of ensuring improvement of instructional supervision in public secondary schools. Collegial model formed the theoretical framework of this study. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The total target population of the study was 72 consisting of 24 head teachers, 24 deputy head teachers and 24 senior teachers in the 24 public day secondary schools in Kirinyaga Central Sub-County Secondary Schools. A census approach was used to select all the 72 (24 head teachers, 24 deputy head teachers and 24 senior teachers) respondents for the study. The study adopted the use of questionnaire as the data collection instrument. Test-retest technique was carried out to obtain the Cronbach’s coefficient alpha for reliability test which was found to be a coefficient alpha of 0.78. Instrument validity was achieved through review of the instrument by the researcher’s supervisor whose suggestions and comments were included in the final instrument. Pilot study was done in 3 different schools that were not part of the study. Qualitative and quantitative techniques were used in the data analysis. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with the aid of SPSS and the findings presented using frequency tables, bar graphs and pie charts while qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis and findings presented in a narrative form. The study found that checking and ensuring the preparation of the schemes of work and checking the preparation and use of lesson plans were the most common instructional supervision practices whereas classroom visitation during lesson progress was rarely practised. The study also found that holding model teaching sessions and organizing programmes which cater for individual teacher differences were the most effective practices of instructional supervision. It was also revealed that the practice of observing teachers in class as they teach had the least influence on performance. The study recommends that the MoE and TSC should jointly come up with a programme to educate and train the teachers on the need and importance of instructional supervision. Secondly the study recommends that The Teachers Service Commission should organize for an in-service course on leadership approaches meant for instructional supervisors so that they know the best leadership approach to apply under which circumstances.