Perception of School Heads on Teachers’ Professionalism and Pupils’ Behavior as Determinants of Academic Achievement among Primary Schools in Central Nyanza, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish the perception of school heads on teachers’ professionalism and pupils’ behavior as determinants for academic achievement among primary schools in Central Nyanza Region, Kenya. The study employed the descriptive survey design. The population of the study consisted of heads of 1356 primary schools in the counties of Kisumu and Siaya which are found in Central Nyanza Region of Kenya. Stratified random sampling was used to select a sample of 136 heads of schools from the two counties which was 10% of the population. The instruments used to collect data were a questionnaire and an interview guide. Descriptive statistics in terms of means and standard deviations were used to analyze the quantitative data while the thematic approach was used to analyze qualitative data. The study concluded that teachers’ professionalism and pupils’ behaviors such as absenteeism and negative attitude towards the curriculum content contributed to poor academic achievement among the primary schools. The study recommended that teachers need to maintain high professional standards as they carry out their responsibilities. Likewise parents and teachers should help learners to develop positive attitude towards the curriculum content and attend school regularly.