Department of Education Foundation
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Item Evaluating the Performance of Tree-Based Predictive Models as Programme Recommenders for University Entrants in Kenya.(2024-10) Kabiru, Kibuthi J.; Makiya, Ratemo C.; Anduvare, E. M.Enrolling for the wrong programme by university students has, to an extent, contributed to the high rates of discontinuation on academic grounds, repeat year cases, change of programme after registration, interuniversity transfers, deferments to change programme, drop out cases, suspension over exam irregularities as well as to strikes. This study focused on finding a technological solution for reducing these cases by evaluating three tree-based predictive models and recommending the most predictive model to implement as a programme recommender. Data was collected in five selected public universities in Kenya using Google Forms. The respondents were 308 translating to 308 rows of data with 36 columns. Numpy, Pandas, Matplotlib, Sklearn, Seaborn, Scipy, Plotly python analytics libraries were deployed using Jupyter Notebook for Anaconda. The cleaned and processed dataset features had categorical variables thus one-hot-encoding technique was employed. Data was split for training and testing with the random_state set to 42. Gini index criteria was implemented. The three models were evaluated on their performance from the optimally split data for training and test with a 80:20 ratio. Random Forest (RF) came out the most predictive at 99.3% followed by Gradient Boosting (XG Boost) at 90% then Decision Tree (DT) at 80.93%. The testing accuracy score for RF was 81.72%, XGBoost was at 75.72% and DT was at 76.34%. Confusion matrix criterion was implemented to evaluate the performance of the three models. The results of this study have demonstrated the high accuracy level of RF as the most predictive tree-based model for this real-world University crisis. The model is recommended for development as a system to be integrated into the KUCCPS portal. The integrated system is dubbed Programme Recommender which if launched would highly predict the best programme of study for application by university entrants.Item Can Schools Make Our Society More Cohesive? A Case of Public Secondary Schools in Embu and Nairobi Counties, Kenya(2023) Njoka, Johannes Njagi; Githui, PerminusCohesion’ is a growing concern for policy makers and society and this raises questions for the role of schools. This mini-report asks how, and whether, schools should respond. We draw on academic and policy research, think-pieces and perspectives from the LKMco Big Debate 2016 ‘Can Schools Make Societies More Cohesive?’ and ask: 1. What is social cohesion? 2. What influences levels of social cohesion? 3. What are schools currently doing to improve social cohesion? 4. How can schools make society more cohesive? 5. What stands in the way of schools doing more? 6. What barriers do schools face in doing more?Item The Influence of Institutional Resources on Doctorate Degree Enrolment and Completion Rates in Selected Public Universities Kenya(Micro-think Institute, 2023-10-16) Motanya, Jared Ochwangi; Nyambura, Salome; Gathara, Peter MugoDoctorates are fundamental pivot towards facilitating the social and economic transformation of a nation. Nevertheless, research on doctorate education point out that most candidates in Kenyan public universities spend lengthy period of time to earn their doctorate degrees. Furthermore, data of those enrolling in selected Kenyan public universities demonstrate that less students enroll for doctorate programmes in contrast with those who register for Master and Bachelors’ programmes. Institutional resources have been cited as a critical ingredient toward enhanced students’ enrolment into doctorate programmes. The purpose of this paper was, therefore, to establish the influence of institutional resources on doctorate degree enrolment and completion rates from selected Kenyan public universities. The study sought to analyse institutional resources influence on doctorate degree programmes enrolment and completion rates from selected public universities in Kenya for the last fifteen years. The study employed the mixed methods research design. Data was collected from four purposively sampled universities using questionnaires, analysis of documents (on enrolment, completion and staff enrolments) and interview schedules. Qualitative data was coded and then thematically analysed guided by the study objectives while quantitative data was analysed using percentages and graphs. The study revealed that institutional resources influence enrolment and completion rates at doctorate level. Availability of qualified and sufficient academic staff, funding, mentorship programmes, well equipped libraries, reliable internet connections and ambient social environment to be critical in determining where one enrolls for a doctorate programme and how long it will take to complete. The study furthermore established that between 2003 and 2017, there was low doctorate programmes enrolment and completion rates at the selected public Universities Kenya. This was demonstrated from trends in the numbers of those who enrolled and those who graduated. The trends revealed that more males than females enrolled and completed their studies with the highest being between 2008 and 2013. The findings of this research would be resourceful to university policy makers, administrators and lecturers to improve on institutional policy framework with regard to institutional resources which could be used to enhance doctorate programme enrolment and completion in Kenyan public universitiesItem Headteachers’ Staff Management Strategies and Pupils’ Academic Performance in Private Primary Schools in Nyeri and Murang’a Counties, Kenya(2023-04) Muriuki, Maina Peterson; Kimosop, Maurice; Gachahi, MichaelHeadteachers use different staff management strategies to coordinate day to day running of schools and to develop an environment that helps motivate pupils. These management strategies may be responsible for the disparity in school performance. Studies on head teachers’staff management strategies have concentrated on public schools, leaving out private schools. This study aims to examine the influence of headteachers’ staff management strategies on pupils’ academic performance in private primary schools in Nyeri and Murang’a Counties in Kenya. The study was guided by Bertalanffy and Weihrich's Systems theory which claims that an organized enterprise does not exist in isolation but depends on the environment in which it’s established. The study used a descriptive survey research design. The target population for the study is 2,630 head teachers and teachers from 259 private primary schools in the Murang’a and the Nyeri Counties. The schools considered had done KCPE for at least five years before the study period. The study employed Slovin’s formula to determine the number of head teachers and teachers where 58 headteachers and 342 teachers were estimated to be representative samples for respective groups. The research also selected 15 SCQASOs using purposive sampling, while simple random sampling was adopted to select 158 schools from the two Counties. At the school level, the researcher recruited a headteacher using a purposive approach and two or three teachers using simple random sampling. A questionnaire was adopted to collect data from headteachers and teachers and interview schedules from SCQASOs. The researcher used Cronbach’s alpha to compute the reliability of the study tools and determined at 0.7; all variables had an alpha coefficient above 0.7, which implies an internal consistency. The researcher also tested the content and the construct validity of the questionnaire by submitting the questionnaire. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and presented using charts and tables. Qualitative data were analysed using Atlas.it, coded while quantitative data were analyzed in SPSS using descriptive and inferential statistics. The researcher used descriptive methods such as frequency distribution and correlation coefficient. The study found head teachers’ staff management strategies accounted for 83.9% of variations in private schools' performance in Nyeri and Murang’a Counties. The study also found staff management had statistical significance influence on the performance of private primary schools in Nyeri and Murang’a Counties at α=0.05.Item Determinants Influencing Provision of Financial Resources for Infrastructure in Early Years Education in Nyeri County, Kenya(2023-09) Kioni, Esther Wangari; Njoka, Johannes; Gachahi, Michael W.The Constitution of Kenya (2010) mandates the county governments to deliver quality pre-primary education through enhancing its management, infrastructure, human and financial resources. However, concerns abound on whether there is effective provision of financial resources to support early years education in Kenya and especially in Nyeri County. This study sought to assess the determinants influencing provision of financial resources for infrastructure in pre-primary education in Nyeri County in Kenya. The study was guided by the mixed methods research design. The target population for the study was 400 head teachers and 800 teachers in pre-primary schools in Nyeri county. Using the Borg and Gall formula of 10-30% criteria of selection of a sample, the lower limit was used which yielded a sample of 40 head teachers and 80 teachers. Data was collected using questionnaires from both the head teachers and pre-primary education teachers. The Cronbach‟s alpha was computed to ascertain for the reliability of instruments which yielded a coefficient correlation of 0.0818 which was higher than the 0.7 threshold of acceptance recommended by Kerlinger6. Data was analyzed using the descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0. The findings of the study revealed that provision of financial resources greatly impacted on the quality of early years education offered in pre-schools in Nyeri county. From the findings of the study, it was recommended that there was need for mainstreaming the early years education in the Free Primary Education to benefit in the funding. The county government should increase budgetary allocation, establish clear financing frameworks, enhance resource mobilization strategies to source funds from other stakeholders.Item Evaluating Teaching Effectiveness in Determining Quality Educational Outcomes in Kenya.(2023) Gathondu, M.; Kagema, J.The yearnings for quality education is the driver to national socio-economic developments. This is well articulated by various local, national and international frameworks including Kenya’s Vision 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals. Teachers are considered pivotal in quality education. However, research studies document that teachers’ pedagogical practices reveal gaps in achievement of quality education outcomes. This study analyzed the role of teaching effectiveness on quality educational outcomes in Kenya. The study was guided by the Social Constructivism Theory and through a comprehensive review of literature, the study identified gaps in teachers’ pedagogical practices that guided the present study. 400 teachers were selected for the study and through purposive sampling method, 24 principals were sampled. Also, systematic random sampling method was employed to yield a research sample of 80 teachers and 144 students. The principal research instruments were questionnaires for the teachers and students while interview guides were used to collect data from principals. Validity was enhanced by the piloting of instruments prior to collecting the final data. To enhance credibility, an adjustment of the tools was done according to the opinions obtained from respondents and peer reviews. Reliability of the instruments was calculated using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and found to be ρ =.77, hence considered reliable. To test the internal consistency for reliability within questionnaire items, Cronbach alpha based on the standardized items was used which yielded α =.759. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS Version 25 for both descriptive and inferential statistics. Measures among variables was described using standard deviations, SD, while chi-squared test, χ 2=12.496a was arrived at to determine the statistical significance of the study hypotheses at 0.05 level (2-tailed). The reporting of the quantitative data was in percentages, tables and charts. The study findings indicated that teachers are pivotal in determining educational outcomes through their pedagogical practices as corroborated by respective research objective findings. The study recommends that teachers should undergo continual professional development to improve in curriculum delivery. Also, the Government should enhance quality assurance and monitoring strategies in the schools to ensure that the school curriculum is highly implemented to achieve the educational goals in Kenya and beyond.Item Status of Integration of ICT in Internal Communication in Public Secondary Schools in Kenya: A Comparative Study of Boarding and Day Secondary Schools in the South Rift Region, Kenya(2020-06-15) Njoka, Johannes Njagi; Githui, Perminus; Ndegwa, Lucy WanjiraThe increasing complexity of the world in the contemporary times requires schools to embrace use of technology in performing their functions. In response to the globalization and internationalization of education, schools are earnestly striving to integrate information communication technology (ICT) and digitalization in executing their myriad functions especially communication. ICT is one of the most fundamental 21st century skill. However, despite the heavy investment and fundamental value of ICT in infusing efficiency and effectiveness in managing institutional enterprises, its integration in communication has been limited in a vast majority of public secondary schools in the South Rift Region in Kenya. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the integration of ICT in internal communication in public secondary schools in the South Rift Region in Kenya. The study was guided by the following objectives, which were to; assess the application of ICT in internal communication in public secondary schools and compare the ICT application in internal communication in public secondary schools in the South Rift Region in Kenya. The target population for the study comprised of all the 141 teachers in public secondary schools in the South Rift Region of Kenya enrolled in the Strengthening of Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education (SMASSE) program. The study employed the census technique since the target population was small hence manageable. Data was collected using the questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. It was hypothesized that there was no statistically significant difference in ICT application in communication in boarding, day and boarding and the purely day public secondary schools. To test this hypothesis, one way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was computed, which yielded p-value = .000 which was less than the alpha value α > 0.05 indicating that the differences in ICT application in communication in the three categories of school was statistically significant. Thus the null hypothesis was rejected. It was concluded that the ICT application in boarding, day and boarding, and the purely day secondary schools was significantly different. The study further established that public secondary schools in the South Rift Region only marginally applied ICT in their official communication. The study revealed that boarding secondary schools had higher ICT applications in communication, followed by day and boarding secondary schools while the purely day secondary schools had the lowest. It is concluded that schools in the south rift region in Kenya have a low level of ICT application. From the study, we recommend the need to promote ICT application in all school categories especially the day secondary schools. This implies the need to conduct sensitization to all stakeholders in education with the objective of strengthening the provision of ICT infrastructure and training of personnel for schools.Item Analysis of Challenges Facing ICT integration in Managing Public Secondary Schools: A Comparative Study of Day and Boarding Secondary Schools in the South Rift Region, Kenya(Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal, 2020-02) Njoka, Johannes Njagi; Githui, Perminus; Ndegwa, Lucy WanjiraThe uptake of information communication technology (ICT) by secondary schools is beset by a complex of challenges that are not clearly understood and documented. In order to facilitate effective and efficient implementation of digitalization in schools in Kenya, there is need to map out the diversity of challenges that bedevil its adoption. The purpose of this study was to analyze the challenges facing integration of information communication technology (ICT) in the operations of public day and boarding secondary schools from the south rift region of Kenya. The objectives of the study were to; assess the challenges facing ICT integration and compare the levels of ICT integration in boys, girls and coeducational secondary schools from the south rift region of Kenya. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The target population for the study comprised of all the 141 teachers from the public secondary schools in the south rift region of Kenya enrolled in the Strengthening of Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education (SMASSE) program. The study employed census sampling technique since the target population was small, easily accessible and manageable. Data was collected by means of a questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using the descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. The study tested the hypothesis that there was no statistically significant difference in challenges facing integration of ICT in boys, girls and coeducational secondary schools from the south rift region of Kenya. To test this hypothesis the One way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistics was computed which yielded p-value = .000 which was less than the alpha value α > 0.05 indicating that the differences in challenges facing ICT integration in boys, girls and co-educational schools were statistically significant. Therefore the null hypothesis was rejected. This led to the conclusion that challenges facing ICT integration from the three categories of schools were significantly different. From the findings of the study, it is recommended that there is need strengthen in service training of teachers in ICT and perform widespread upgrade of ICT software since these were the most serious challenges that faced integration of ICT in schools.