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Principals’ Capacity Building Strategies and Students’ Academic Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Bungoma Central Sub-County, Kenya
Subject area: Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities · Area of research: Educational Planning and Management
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV10I1-1719750
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate principals’ capacity building strategies on students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Bungoma Central Sub-County, Kenya. Persistent poor performance in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in the sub-county, despite the emphasis placed on quality education under the National Education Sector Strategic Plan (2023-2024), prompted an inquiry into how principals’ professional development initiatives for teachers influenced learner outcomes. The study adopted a descriptive survey design anchored on the Human Relations Theory and targeted a population of 11,238 respondents comprising 47 principals, 699 teachers and 10,492 students in 47 public secondary schools. Using Cochran and Yamane’s (1967) formula at a 95% confidence level, a sample of 386 respondents was drawn, and data were collected using questionnaires and interview schedules, achieving a 94% response rate (321 respondents). Descriptive findings established that 83.2% of respondents confirmed that principals organized professional development programmes for teachers, with in-service training workshops (87.6%) and peer learning sessions (79.4%) being the most common activities, while 86.6% of respondents reported that capacity building had improved academic performance. Simple linear regression results revealed that capacity building had a statistically significant positive effect on students’ academic performance (β=0.468, t=9.649, p=0.000), explaining 21.9% of the variance in performance (R²=0.219, F=93.103, p=0.000). The null hypothesis that capacity building has no significant effect on students’ academic performance was consequently rejected. The study concluded that principals’ investment in structured, regular, and practice-oriented professional development for teachers is a critical lever for improving students’ academic achievement, and recommended that principals institutionalize termly capacity building programmes supported by adequate resources and follow-up mentorship.
Keywords
Academic Performance, Capacity Building, Professional Development, Staff Management Approaches, Teacher Training.
How to cite this paper
@article{1719750,
author = {Masika Mectilidah, Dr. Simon Kipkenei, Dr. Peter Wamalwa},
title = {Principals’ Capacity Building Strategies and Students’ Academic Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Bungoma Central Sub-County, Kenya},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {10},
number = {1},
pages = {1422-1430},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1719750.pdf},
abstract = {The purpose of this study was to evaluate principals’ capacity building strategies on students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Bungoma Central Sub-County, Kenya. Persistent poor performance in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in the sub-county, despite the emphasis placed on quality education under the National Education Sector Strategic Plan (2023-2024), prompted an inquiry into how principals’ professional development initiatives for teachers influenced learner outcomes. The study adopted a descriptive survey design anchored on the Human Relations Theory and targeted a population of 11,238 respondents comprising 47 principals, 699 teachers and 10,492 students in 47 public secondary schools. Using Cochran and Yamane’s (1967) formula at a 95% confidence level, a sample of 386 respondents was drawn, and data were collected using questionnaires and interview schedules, achieving a 94% response rate (321 respondents). Descriptive findings established that 83.2% of respondents confirmed that principals organized professional development programmes for teachers, with in-service training workshops (87.6%) and peer learning sessions (79.4%) being the most common activities, while 86.6% of respondents reported that capacity building had improved academic performance. Simple linear regression results revealed that capacity building had a statistically significant positive effect on students’ academic performance (β=0.468, t=9.649, p=0.000), explaining 21.9% of the variance in performance (R²=0.219, F=93.103, p=0.000). The null hypothesis that capacity building has no significant effect on students’ academic performance was consequently rejected. The study concluded that principals’ investment in structured, regular, and practice-oriented professional development for teachers is a critical lever for improving students’ academic achievement, and recommended that principals institutionalize termly capacity building programmes supported by adequate resources and follow-up mentorship.},
keywords = {Academic Performance, Capacity Building, Professional Development, Staff Management Approaches, Teacher Training.},
month = {July},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV10I1-1719750}
}