Influence of School Boards in Management and Administration of Public Secondary Schools in Arusha District

Abstract

The study purposed to assess the influence of school boards on the management and administration of public secondary schools in  Arusha district. Specifically, the study aimed to: assessed the effectiveness of school boards and investigated strategies for improving  school board participation. Democratic governance theory guided the study. A mixedmethods approach with a convergent design was  used. A total of 937 individuals including 778 teachers, 39 heads of schools and 120 school board members were targeted. A sample of 90  respondents was selected. Data were collected using questionnaires for teachers and school board members and interview guides for  heads of schools. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data respectively.  Three experts in education management and administration validated the instruments. Results of reliability testing by Split half method  indicated that the reliability coefficient for teachers’ questionnaire was 0.89 while the one for the school board members was 0.92. The  study found out that involving school boards members in decision-making processes, positively impact on student achievement and effectively address disciplinary issues. Moreover, strategies such as regular training sessions and better communication were identified  to enhance school board participation. The study concluded that school boards play a critical role in the management and administration  of public secondary schools in Arusha district. It was recommended that policymakers prioritize initiatives to enhance school board  participation through adequate funding and supportive policies and that the government to develop training programmes to improve  the effectiveness of school board members.