Influence of Classroom Management Practices on Academic Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Siaya County, Kenya

Abstract

Poor academic performance is a serious concern for education sector in Kenya and in many countries around the world. According to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2017), 617 million children and adolescents are not achieving minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics globally. Siaya County, like most counties in Kenya, has persistent below average academic performance as indicated by county KCSE mean scores 4.123, 4.575 and 4.915 out of 12 points for the years 2020 to 2022. This situation brings to question effectiveness of classroom management given that classroom is the primary context for implementing educational programs. Research has identified evidence-based specific practices that define basic components of classroom management. However, few studies have examined influence of each of the basic components of classroom management as a package of evidence-based practices on academic performance. The purpose of this study was to examine influence of classroom management practices on academic performance in public secondary schools in Siaya County. Specific objectives were to examine: influence of maximizing structure on academic performance, influence of establishing expectations for behavior on academic performance, influence of actively engaging students on academic performance, and influence of using a continuum of strategies for responding to behavior on academic performance in public secondary schools in Siaya County.

Conceptual framework based on the concept of Simonsen and his colleagues (2008) that classroom management founded on evidence-based practices is a critical input for successful teaching and learning was adopted. Descriptive survey and correlational designs were used. Study population comprised 465 English teachers, 635 mathematics teachers, 580 chemistry teachers and 247 deputy principals in 243 public secondary schools in Siaya County. Sample size of 112 schools was decided using published table of sample size by Glenn Israel (1962). By stratified random sampling based on school categories, a sample of 112 schools consisting of 1 national school, 5 extra-county schools, 11 county schools and 95 sub-county schools was obtained. By purposive and simple random sampling techniques one teacher each of the three subjects; English, mathematics and chemistry was selected in each school, giving 112 teachers for each subject and a total of 336 classroom teachers. 112 deputy principals in the selected schools were included in the sample by purposive sampling, giving total sample of 448 as respondents. Data was collected using questionnaires and document analysis. Content validity of questionnaires was tested by the researcher’s expert supervisors using Lawshe’s content validity ratio. CVR of +1 ascertained validity. Pilot study was conducted in 11 schools outside the sample to determine reliability of the instrument. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.74 was obtained. Data was analyzed using frequency distribution tables, percentages, means, Pearson’s “r” coefficient of correlation and regression analysis. The study found that evidence-based specific classroom management practices under maximizing structure, establishing expectations for behavior, actively engaging students; and using a continuum of strategies for acknowledging appropriate behavior and responding to inappropriate behavior were implemented in public secondary schools in Siaya County. Implementation was moderate and varied among the public secondary schools and across the five basic components of classroom management. The study revealed weak, negative and insignificant influence of maximizing structure on academic performance [r (93) = - 0.004, p = 0.969]; weak, negative and insignificant influence of responding to students’ inappropriate behaviour on academic performance [r (93) = - .025, p = 0. 816]; weak, positive and insignificant influence of establishing expectations for behavior on academic performance [r (93) = 0.146, p = 0.163]; and weak, positive and insignificant influence of acknowledging students’ appropriate behaviours on academic performance [r (93) = 0.178, p = 0. 087]. Actively engaging students had moderate, positive and significant influence on academic performance [r (93) = .314, p = 0.002) and accounted for 8.9% of variation in academic performance (Adjusted R square =. 089). It was a significant predictor of academic performance F (1, 91) = 9.949, p < .05). For every one unit increase in implementation of practices for actively engaging students there was a 1.259 increase in academic performance. The findings are significant to policy makers and school administrators in planning physical learning environment and to classroom teachers in deciding appropriate application of classroom management practices in enhancement of academic performance in Siaya County.