October 4-6, 2010

Nairobi, Kenya

Second READ Global Conference

Strengthening the Enabling Environment for Assessment Systems

ASSESSMENT FOR THE 21st CENTURY

Impact of School Management Factors on Academic

Achievement of Primary School Pupils in Kenya

by

Paul M. Wasanga, MBS

Council Secretary/Chief Executive

Kenya National Examinations Council

P O Box 73598-00200, Nairobi, Kenya

KNEC Email: ceo@knec.ac.ke

KENYA

1.0 BACKGROUND

1.1 All nations are committed to ensuring equity,

access, relevance, quality and efficiency of

education for their citizens.

1.2 Developing countries have strived to expand their

primary education to cater for all school-age

children.

1.3 In Kenya, since the introduction of Free Primary

Education in the year 2003 there has been steady

growth in primary school enrolment.

Background – Cont’d

1.4 Quality instruction is the main source of

motivation for pupils to persist in school.

1.5 Actual learning acquisition and outcomes

must be the central role of education rather

than enrolment.

1.6 Education quality should be definable and

measurable to affirm the right of all children to

basic education.

Background – Cont’d

1.7 Applied skills and competencies can best be

taught in the context of the academic curriculum

and are highly dependent on deep content

knowledge.

1.8 Satisfactory achievement of the basic

competencies/skills throughout the formative

years of learning of a pupil correlates posturely

with academic achievement.

2.0 THE GROWING INTEREST IN

ASSESSMENT

2.1 In an education system, instruction is

incomplete without assessment.

2.2 The primary purpose of any form of assessment

is to measure learning attainment levels against

pre-determined competences.

THE GROWING INTEREST IN ASSESSMENT - Cont’d

2.3 Assessment has a direct impact on the

teaching/learning process.

2.4 Demand for accountability in quality of the

teaching and learning processes increased.

2.5 KNEC undertook a first national assessment to

investigate school and governance factors that

are likely to impact on achievement.

3.0 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY

School characteristics type,

location, enrolment, resources,

principal’s qualification,

parental involvement etc.

Learner

Achievement

Teachers Characteristics

{Age, Gender, Qualification,

Subjects, Classroom resources,

Behaviour, In-services training}

Learners Characteristics

{Age, Gender, Attendance,

Repetition, social Economic Status

(SES), Nutrition, Siblings, Home

help}

4.0 RESEARCH DESIGN

4.1 Survey research design was used because it

allows for data collection from a wide

geographical coverage, and a large sample.

4.2 Study situations in their natural settings without

manipulation of variables.

5.0 TARGET POPULATION

The target population of this study included the

following:

5.1 All pupils who had completed class 3 in

Kenyan primary schools

5.2 All class 3 Literacy and Numeracy teachers

5.3 All head teachers of sampled schools

5.4 All class 3 parents

6.0 RESEARCH QUESTIONS6.1 What are the personal and professional characteristics

of head teachers of primary schools in Kenya?

6.2 What is the condition of teaching and learning facilities

in Kenyan schools?

6.3 What is the state of infrastructure of primary schools in

Kenya?

6.4 How can teaching and learning in primary schools in

Kenya be improved?

7.0 SAMPLING 7.1 328 schools were sampled using the Sample Design

Manager- SAMDEM in 156 districts in Kenya’s 8

provinces (Sylla, K. et al 2003).

7.2 Schools were selected with equal probability by

employing the Probability Proportional to Size (PPS)

Sampling.

7.3 A stratified random sample of 25 pupils in each of the

sampled schools was selected to ensure proportional

representation of boys and girls.

8.0 SAMPLE SIZE

8.1 Head teachers 328

8.2 Class teachers 513

8.3 Pupils 7,931

a) Boys 4124 (52%)

b) Girls 3807(48%)

9.0 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS

9.1 Pupil Questionnaire

9.2 Teacher Questionnaire

9.3 Head Teacher Questionnaire

9.4 School Observation Schedule

9.5 Literacy Test

9.6 Numeracy Test

10.0 DATA CAPTURE AND ANALYSIS

10.1 The Census and Survey Processing

System (CS-PRO Version 3.3) was used

for data capture and management of this

study.

10.2 It enables double entry, conversion from

and to different programmes, and also

performs tabulations.

11.0 RESULTS

Although the research handled many variables, for

the purpose of this presentation, the variable

associated with school management will be

addressed.

11.1 HEAD TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS

a) Gender Composition of Head Teachers

b) Age distribution of the head teachers

c) Head teachers’ Professional Qualifications

The highest proportion of head teachers were P1 (38.7%) followed by diploma (26.2%)

while degree holders comprised 7%.

d) Years of experience in school management

i) A third of head teachers were in headship

positions for over ten years.

ii) Approximately two thirds majority of head

teachers had stayed in the sample schools in

leadership positions for up to 10 years.

11.2 TEACHER AND CLASSROOM CHARACTERISTICS

a) GENDER

About 64.4% of the sampled primary school teachers were male as compared

to 35.6% for female teachers.

b) Teachers’ Age Distribution

Majority of the teachers were between 30 and 50 years of age

d) Qualification of teachers

The majority (63.7%) of teachers have P1 professional qualifications, followed

by S1/Diploma (12.6%) and the least are those with bachelor’s degree (6.2%).

e) Teachers’ years of experience

12.0 ACHIEVEMENT TEST RESULTS

12.1 Literacy

12.2 Numeracy

12.3 Pupils Attainment: Description and Levels of Competencies

in Literacy

Level Competency Description % of Pupils

Level 1 Pre-reading: Matches words and pictures involving concrete

concepts and everyday objects.

6.2

Level 2 Emergent reading: Spells correctly simple everyday words and

recognizes missing letters in such words. Uses familiar words to

complete simple everyday sentences.

46.1

Level 3 Basic reading: Uses correct punctuations in simple sentences.

Infers meaning from short passages, and interprets meaning by

matching words and phases. Identifies the main theme of a picture.

36.7

Level 4 Reading for meaning: Links and interprets information located in

various part of a short passage. Understands and interprets

meaning of a picture and writes short sentences to describe the

theme.

11.0

12.4 Description and Levels of Competencies in Numeracy

Level Description of Competency % of pupils

Level 1 Applies single step addition or subtraction operations (e.g. add numbers

without carrying over, subtract without borrowing). Counts in whole

numbers.

4.6

Level 2 Applies a two-step addition or subtraction operation involving carrying

over and borrowing. Applies simple multiplication operations involving

multiples of 10. Recognizes simple fractions.

43.7

Level 3 Translates information presented in a sentence into one arithmetic

operation. Interprets place value of whole numbers up to thousands.

Interprets simple common everyday units of measurement such as days,

weeks, litres, metres and shillings.

48.1

Level 4 Translates information presented in sentences into simple arithmetic

operations. Uses multiple arithmetic operations (in the correct order) on

whole numbers.

3.6

13.0. FACTORS INFLUENCING LITERACY AND

ACHIEVEMENT

PupilAchievement

Pupil-level

(Level-1)

School-level

(Level-2)

Home

Environment

Pupil

Individual

Characteristics

Classroom

Environment

Teacher

CharacteristicsRegional

Environment

School Head

Characteristics

School

Environment

Level-1 effect

Level-2 effect

Interaction effect

Level-1 variable

Level-2 variable

Pupil Achievement = ZPMA300

or

ZPLT300

NOTES

13.1 Exploratory analyzes using Multiple Linear

Regression Models

Preliminary tasks were undertaken before commencement of multilevel analyses so as to

(i) Examine the correlations between variables to avoid problems associated with

multicollinearity and suppressor variable relationships in the model (Keeves, 1997). This

task was carried out successfully.

(ii) Examine the variables using simple Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) models so as to

identify which of the 52 variables warranted further scrutiny using multilevel procedures.

In other words, the MLR analyses were employed to select variables to be examined in

the multilevel analyses. In this regard, a variable was deemed worth further scrutiny

using a multilevel approach if the variable was significant in the MLR models at p0.05

level.

The variables that showed significant effects in the MLR models for Literacy and Numeracy

have been given in the slides below together with their regression coefficients.

13.2 Teacher Characteristics

Numeracy MLR Model Literacy MLR Model

Variable name Code B SE t p-value B SE t p-value

(Constant) 320.48 10.00 32.05 0.0000 386.46 9.14 42.27 0.0000

Female teacher ZTSEX 8.15 2.16 3.77 0.0002

Teacher education

levelZTEDUC 5.27 2.63 2.00 0.0451

Teacher professional

trainingZTPROF 18.62 2.60 7.17 0.0000

Teacher experience

years of experienceZTEXP 3.39 1.20 2.81 0.0049

Teacher Number of

periods per weekZTPERIOD -0.58 0.12 -4.89 0.0000 -0.81 0.11 -7.60 0.0000

Teacher number of

in-service courses

since 2003

ZTINSERV 2.19 0.74 2.95 0.0032 2.03 0.67 3.04 0.0024

Teacher visits to

Educ. Res. Centre

since 2007

ZTVISITS 1.02 0.41 2.48 0.0130

Teacher job

satisfactionZTSATIFY -7.06 2.10 -3.37 0.0008 -7.82 1.76 -4.44 0.0000

13.3 School Head Characteristics

Numeracy MLR Model Literacy MLR Model

Variable name Code B SE t p-value B SE t p-value

(Constant) 320.48 10.00 32.05 0.0000 386.46 9.14 42.27 0.0000

School head

education levelZSEDUC 6.79 2.03 3.34 0.0008

School head

experience years of

experience

ZSHEXP 2.50 1.07 2.33 0.0198

13.4 School Environment

Numeracy MLR Model Literacy MLR Model

Variable name Code B SE t p-value B SE t p-value

(Constant) 320.48 10.00 32.05 0.0000 386.46 9.14 42.27 0.0000

Private school ZSPRIV 58.63 7.14 8.21 0.0000 76.05 6.53 11.64 0.0000

Rural school ZSLOC -20.05 3.75 -5.34 0.0000

Single sex school ZSSSCH 34.95 6.07 5.76 0.0000 24.14 5.48 4.40 0.0000

Pupil-teacher ratioZPTRATI

O-0.27 0.08 -3.22 0.0013 -0.29 0.07 -4.09 0.0000

Pupils’ behavioural

problems in school

ZPBEHA

VE-12.77 1.07 -11.94 0.0000 -11.63 0.94 -12.37 0.0000

School homework policy ZSHMPO 5.93 2.49 2.38 0.0173 5.57 2.18 2.56 0.0105

Parents sign homework ZPPSIGN 5.60 2.25 2.49 0.0128 4.97 2.02 2.46 0.0138

Mean home possession ZPSES_1 12.11 2.06 5.87 0.0000 17.81 2.79 6.37 0.0000

13.5 Teacher Individual CharacteristicsVariable General Direction of Effect

Female teacher Pupils who were taught Literacy by female teachers were likely to perform better

than their counterparts who were taught Literacy by male teachers. This effect

was not significant in the Numeracy MLR model.

Teacher education level Pupils who were taught Numeracy by teachers with high academic qualifications

such as A-level and university degrees were estimated to perform better than

pupils who were taught Numeracy by teachers with O-level or lower educational

qualifications.

Teacher professional training Pupils who were taught Numeracy by teachers with higher professional

qualifications such as diplomas and university degrees were likely to achieve better

than pupils who were taught Numeracy by teachers with lower professional

qualifications such as P1 or less.

Teacher years of experience Pupils who were taught by teachers with many years of experience were estimated

to perform better in Literacy than pupils who were taught by newly employed

teachers. This effect was not significant in the Numeracy MLR model.

13.6 Teacher individual Characteristics Cont.

Variable General Direction of Effect

Number of lessons Pupils who were taught by teachers with fewer lessons per week (lighter workloads) were

likely to achieve better in both subjects than pupils who were taught teachers who had

heavier workloads.

Number of in-service courses

since 2003

Pupils who were taught by teachers who had attended many in-service courses in the last

six years were estimated to achieved better in both subjects than pupils who were taught

by teachers who had attended only a few in-service or no in-service courses in that period.

Teacher visits to Educational

Resources Centre since 2007

Pupils who were taught by teachers who had visited Education Resources Centers many

times in the last two years were likely to achieve better in Numeracy than pupils who were

taught by teachers who hardly visited such centers. This effect was not significant in the

Literacy MLR model.

Teacher job satisfaction Surprisingly, pupils who were taught by teachers who said they were ‘satisfied’ or ‘highly

satisfied’ with their job, achieved much worse in both subjects than pupils who were

taught by teachers who said they were ‘not satisfied’ with their work. Clearly, this is an

odd finding and needs further investigation in independent studies.

14.0 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE STUDY

14.1 Upgrading of teachers professional training.

14.2 Enhancement of structures and institutional

arrangements that support teachers as life long

learners.

14.3 Staff balancing and recruitment to be

undertaken to alleviate shortages.

Recommendations – Cont’d

14.4 Enhancement of provision of refresher or in-

service courses for older teachers.

14.5 Equitable recruitment and distribution of

teachers by gender.

14.6 Gender training for head teachers and

teachers to reduce stereotyping in schools.

Recommendations – Cont’d

14.7 Head teachers should allow pupils whose

sponsors are unable to afford school

uniform to attend classes.

14.8 Teachers should design remedial teaching

programs to assist slow-learners instead of

recommending class repetition for such

pupils.

14.9 Enhancement of facilities to support pupils

with disabilities.

Recommendations – Cont’d

14.10 Head teachers to enforce the school-entry

age of 6 years for primary school children.

14.11 Intervention measures should be put in place

to minimize pupil absenteeism.

15.0 CONCLUSION

15.1 For a learner to have a competitive edge in

the 21st Century, the teaching and learning

processes must reflect the required attributes

of the future workforce: independent thinkers,

problem-solvers, innovative and proactive

decision makers.

Conclusion – Cont’d

15.2 Assessment forms one of the critical

components of the triad that defines any

educational enterprise: curriculum,

instruction and assessment.

15.3 The assessment of learning outcomes

plays an important role in enhancing

effectiveness and sustainability of an

education system.

Thank You and

God Bless You