ACTIVELY ENGAGING STUDENTS AS CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PRACTICE AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: RESULTS FROM A STUDY OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SIAYA COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Poor academic performance is a persistent problem in the education sector in Kenya and many countries around the world. Despite quality education being a global education goal, millions of children and adolescents attending school do not achieve minimum proficiency levels when they complete their school levels. Siaya County, like most counties in Kenya, has persistent below-average academic performance as indicated by the county’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam mean scores of 4.123, 4.575 and 4.915 out of 12 points for the years 2020 to 2022. Siaya County has one of the highest student-teacher ratios in public secondary schools in Kenya. Available data of student-teacher ratios 40:1, 38:1 and 36:1 for the years 2016, 2019 and 2020 indicate, student-teacher ratio in the county’s public secondary schools is the highest in its Nyanza Region and is above the UNESCO recommended ratio of 25:1. Research has demonstrated that class size has significant influence on senior secondary school’s classroom discipline, engagement and communication. The persistent below-average academic performance calls into question the effectiveness of classroom management, given that the classroom is the primary context for implementing educational programs. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of actively engaging students as a classroom management practice on academic performance in public secondary schools in Siaya County. Conceptual framework based on the concept of Simonsen et al. (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. The study population comprised 465 English teachers, 635 mathematics teachers, 580 chemistry teachers and 247 deputy principals in 243 public secondary schools in Siaya County. The sample size of 112 schools was decided using a 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 a total sample of 448 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. A pilot study was conducted in 11 schools outside the sample to determine the 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 specific classroom management practices for actively engaging students, including direct instruction, increasing opportunities to respond, guided notes, peer tutoring, use of response cards and computer-assisted instruction, were implemented in public secondary schools in Siaya County. However, implementation of the practices in public secondary schools was overall moderate (mean rating 1.86 on a scale of 0 - 3) and varied among the schools (mean ratings ranging from 1.0 to 2.5) and the specific practices. Direct instruction and opportunities to respond were frequently or very frequently used in daily classroom teaching in most (over 90 %) of the sampled schools. Guided notes and peer tutoring were frequently or very frequently used in the majority (over 50%) of the schools, while response cards and computer-assisted instruction were never or rarely used in the majority (over 50 %) of the public secondary schools. Actively engaging students as a classroom management practice had a moderate, positive and significant influence on academic performance [r (93) = .314, p = 0.002] and accounted for 8.9% 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 actively engaging students, there was a 1.259 increase in academic performance. The findings are significant to classroom teachers in deciding appropriate applications of classroom management practices in the enhancement of academic performance in Siaya County.

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