Evaluating Teaching Effectiveness in Determining Quality Educational Outcomes in Kenya.

Abstract

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.