Strategic Planning Initiatives Influence on Academic Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Kisii County, Kenya

Abstract

Schools may prepare and react proactively to improve students' academic achievement by using strategic planning to identify emerging trends and foresee future obstacles. Kisii County's mean standard score in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education fell for three years in a row (2016–2018), reaching an average mean a standard score of 3.765 (D+), significantly lower than the national mean standard score of 3.962. This demonstrated substandard outcomes, which alarmed all parties involved in schooling. This study aimed to establish the influence of strategic planning initiatives on students' academic performance in public secondary schools in Kisii County, Kenya. The study objectives were to determine the extent to which strategic curriculum delivery initiatives influence academic performance, to determine the influence of strategic financial initiatives on academic performance, to assess the extent to which strategic administrative initiatives influence academic performance, and to establish the influence of strategic infrastructural development initiatives on academic performance. The Education Production Function theory was applied. The research employed a descriptive survey design. The target population consisted of 4354 instructors and 353 principals from 353 public secondary schools. Slovin's method was used to sample 341 teachers and 28 principals as respondents, with a 0.05 margin of error. The director of education Kisii county was purposively selected to give information about county mean standard score for six years. School classifications were acquired through the use of stratified random sampling. The study instruments included principals’ interview schedule and teachers’ questionnaire. Supervisors' inputs from the School of Education Kisii University determined the validity of the research instruments. The questionnaires were deemed reliable since Cronbach's Coefficient Alpha of 0.998, which was determined using the test-retest technique, was more than the minimum required Cronbach alpha of 0.7 on a scale of -1 to +1. Data was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Qualitative data was arranged according to research goals and study themes. Pie charts and bar graphs were used for data presentation. The data analysis tools were frequency distribution tables, means, and percentages. The ethical considerations that the researcher took included seeking consent from respondents, and the respondents were reminded not to disclose their identity on the questionnaires. According to the results of this study, academic performance at national and extra-county schools was 100% impacted by strategic curriculum delivery efforts, 80% at county schools, and 40% at secondary sub-county schools. At sub-county schools, the impact of the financial strategic measures on academic achievement was 40%; at county schools, it was 80%; and at extra-county and national schools, it was 100%. Academic performance at national and extra-county schools was 100% impacted by the administration's strategic efforts, 80% at county schools, and 40% at sub-county schools. Lastly, the impact of the strategic measures for infrastructure development on academic performance was 50% at the sub-county schools, 80% at the county schools, and 100% at the national and extra-county schools. In summary, because the p-value was below the significance level of 0.05 (p = 0.000), the impact of strategic planning efforts on academic performance was statistically significant. This study is important because it shows that for secondary schools in the county and sub-county to perform better academically, they must utilize strategic planning efforts more effectively in academic activities and programs. The Ministry of Education and educational researchers will profit from the findings by utilizing strategic planning initiatives to execute education policies in schools. Students will also benefit by acquiring good academic results. Parents will benefit because they will get economic returns from education through their children as they will be self-reliant after obtaining good results. Schools will also improve their strategic planning initiatives, enabling teachers and principals to offer quality service to students. In conclusion, compared to county and sub-county secondary schools, national and extra-county secondary schools have a 100% influence on strategic planning initiatives on academic performance; as a result, the impact of the strategic initiatives differs based on the school's category. The study recommends that school principals revive curriculum delivery initiatives used at the sub-county schools, incorporate buying goods in bulk in the school Strategic Plan, train principals on administrative initiatives, and develop infrastructural development initiatives in schools to get a remedy for inadequate facilities.