Relationship between headteacher's commitment and learners’ academic performance in primary schools in Kericho county, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationship between headteacher’s commitment and learners’ academic performance in primary schools in Kericho County, Kenya. The study was based on the transformational leadership theory. The research design employed was the convergent parallel mixed-methods design. The target population consisted of 801 headteachers (524 public schools and 277 private schools) and 5933 teachers in the primary schools, 31 CSOs, 6 TSC Sub County directors, and 6 MOE Sub County directors in Kericho County. Simple random and stratified sampling was used to sample 86 headteachers, Purposive sampling was used in selecting 172 teachers, 10 CSOs, 6 TSC Sub County directors and 6 MOE Sub County directors in Kericho County from Kericho County. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview schedules. Data on academic performance was collected using a secondary data approach. Piloting was done in 9 primary schools in the neighboring Bomet County. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as pearsons correlation moments and regression. Qualitative data was analyzed using textual analysis. The study established that headteachers’ commitment did not have a statistically significant relationship with learners’ academic performance in primary schools in Kericho County. The regression analysis was as follows. Headteachers' Commitment and learners’ academic performance (Beta = -0.012; p = 0.914