MEM Theses and Dissertations

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Browsing MEM Theses and Dissertations by Subject "Education"

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    An analysis of principals' instructional leadership role: a case of Gatundu District
    (Strathmore University, 2014) Owenga, Sophia Nekesa
    Leadership today deals with complex phenomena because of the complexity of industrial, social or political organization, globalization and technological advancement especially in information technology. Research on effective schools points to the crucial role leaders play in establishing and monitoring quality schools for all students. This study examined the various leadership roles of a school principal as an instructional leader. The objectives of the study were: to investigate the current instructional leadership skills practiced by the principals, to identify the influence of the principals' instructional leadership skills on the school performance, to identify the challenges that principals face in executing their leadership roles and to recommend strategies for improvement on the challenges. This study was a survey carried out in sixteen government and four private owned secondary schools in Gatundu District which now falls under Kiambu County. Some schools were sampled to represent the entire district and a descriptive survey research design was used. The data collection instruments included questionnaires, records and observation. The target population was a total of twenty secondary schools that were sampled through purposive sampling. The two research questions addressed by the study were answered using descriptive statistics. The results showed that principals in Gatundu District showed high level of instructional leadership responsibility but they missed out on some important skills like teamwork i.e. cultivating amicable relationships with stakeholders, sensitizing board of management and communities on the importance of supporting principals. The researcher recommended that principals should get a firm grip of their school curriculum in order to be able to offer useful advice/ assistance to the teachers, since one can only give what he/she has. In order to have teachers who can impart the right knowledge and also meet the challenges of being teachers at every point in time, they must be engaged in several staff development programmes to constantly update their knowledge hence funding should be given to principals to run the programmes. If the recommendations are well effected, ,it will be apparent that schools will have improved instructional leadership practices, improved academic performance, improved teacher performance, and reduce student truancy.
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    The effectiveness of school management strategies in the provision of quality and holistic education in church sponsored schools : a case of Kahuro area of Murang'a County
    (Strathmore University, 2013) Kuria, Fr. Willian Kamau
    The main purpose of this research was to find out the effectiveness of strategies employed by managers of the church sponsored schools in the provision of quality and holistic education in rural areas, specifically in Kahuro area of Murang'a County. Simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used for data collection. The simple random sampling procedures were used to arrive at the sample of the schools and teachers, while purposive sampling was used to select the head teachers. Questionnaires were used to collect data from teachers; the interview schedule was used with the head teachers. Quantitative data was coded and analyzed using SPSS, version 17.5 for Windows and presented in frequencies and percentages in tables and graphs. The qualitative data was analyzed and categorized in themes in accordance with research objectives and was reported in a narrative form. The study found out that: The leadership of the church sponsored schools in Kahuro area of Murang'a County perceives holistic and quality education as that which builds the learner, intellectually, socially as well as spiritually by imparting the learners with widespread knowledge, Christian values, and skills and capabilities to excel in life; head teachers in church sponsored schools in Kahuro enhance quality and holistic education by provision of sufficient learning materials, timely payment of staff salaries, and offering of moral support to both learners and staff; strategies employed by head teachers in Kahuro to ensure effective implementation of holistic education are effective in that they have improved academic performance, discipline, and enrollment. This was found to be facilitated by increased pupils' retention, rich learning environment, and improved communication. The study recommended that: Teachers in church sponsored schools in Kahuro area should offer unlimited support to each and every strategy initiated by the school management in church sponsored schools; Head teachers in Kahuro area should adopt a positive perception of church's management initiatives in the schools; the government on the other hand should get to recognize the various ways in which the church has contributed to improvement of primary education standards and support these strategies; and now that the government is offering quite a number of incentives in terms of making education affordable and accessible through free primary education(FPE) program, the church should look for other ways of complimenting these efforts for it to remain relevant and be seen to be doing something especially in the provision of holistic education; not to be sponsors by name.
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    Factors affecting peer observation of teaching in School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Strathmore University
    (Strathmore University, 2013-05) Mikui, Josephine
    This study focused on Peer Observation of Teaching (POT) as a collaborative activity among lecturers that enhances self reflection. Peer observation involves colleagues observing each other's classroom teaching with the aim of sharing and developing good practice. In Strathmore University the Academic Development Unit (ADU), now known as Learning and Teaching Services (LTS), has been encouraging the teaching staff to work more collaboratively within departments with a view to improve their teaching. It is in this regard that POT was proposed as a means to achieve this objective. In the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS), the Teaching and Learning committee has incorporated POT in its teaching strategy for the last four years. This was intended to foster a culture of lecturers evaluating their own teaching in order to improve it. It has however been noted that the practice of POT is yet to get fully embedded within the school but no studies had been done to evaluate the impact of POT in the school. The study therefore conducted an in-depth analysis of SHSS using a qualitative and quantitative approach. Data collection tools included questionnaires, interviews and observations of feedback meetings. Participants involved were both full time lecturers and part time lecturers. The study sought to explain the process of POT as it has been implemented in SHSS. Bearing in mind that POT can be used for summative or formative purposes, this study tried to find out how lecturers were using POT to improve their teaching. The study also investigated the challenges encountered in its implementation with a view to proposing suggestions to improve the process. Findings revealed that the implementation process needed to be improved as there were no clear guidelines in regard to frequency, selection of observers, the three stages ofPOT and model to be followed. However the study found out that most lecturers valued POT and were using it as a tool to reflect critically on their teaching. It was also clear that the lecturers preferred to be given freedom in some aspects of the process. They also preferred that it be used for self development (or formative) purposes and not for appraisal (or summative) purposes. The study found out that the major challenges encountered in POT implementation were constraint of time, lack of training and poor induction. In order to improve the process of POT and strengthen its effectiveness the study recommends that the school involves the lecturers in establishing a clear procedure on the implementation process. The collaborative model should be used and POT should not be made mandatory. Trainings and seminars should be organized for all the participants of POT.
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    The principal's role in influencing student performance in mathematics: a study of Usigu division secondary schools
    (Strathmore University, 2013) Indira, Othieno Ogonjo
    Every country is interested in ensuring that its citizens make a good contribution to its development. This could be achieved through ensuring good academic performance in mathematics in learning institutions. Disparities in academic performance continue to be noticed as one of the many challenges facing education and have raised a lot of concern. The KCSE results in mathematics have been poor in the recent years and as a result many students who go through public secondary schools in Usigu division cannot compete favorably for national opportunities. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the school principal in Usigu division in teaching of mathematics in order to improve student academic performance. To achieve this purpose, the study was guided by the following objectives: To investigate the principals organisational skills, to identify the supervisory techniques that the principal uses and to investigate the extent to which teachers' instructional methods influence students' performance in mathematics in public secondary schools in Usigu division. This study was based on Instructional leadership which provides guidance aimed at the improvement of student learning. Instructional quality is the top priority of the leader. The principal encourages improvement in his team by defining his objectives, setting goals, providing resources, evaluating progress and creating learning opportunities. This type of leadership tends to be collaborative; teachers must cooperate with the leader and each other to accomplish the leader's goals. The study used descriptive research design that involved administration of questionnaires and conducting in-depth interviews to a sample of 43 respondents drawn from a target population of 51. This included 37 mathematics teachers and 8 principals. Since only 8 public secondary schools were considered for the study, all principals were interviewed while the assistant teachers were randomly sampled for the study. The data collected was edited, coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between the variables in the study. The analyzed data was presented in form of simple tables, bar graphs and pie charts where applicable. Study findings were discussed, conclusions drawn and finally recommendations made to deal with the challenges revealed by the study. The researcher found useful findings to the concerned stakeholders.