dc.description.abstract | In Kisii Central Sub County, few secondary schools have been perennially associated with good
performance whereas majorities are attributed to low students’ academic performances irrespective of the cream
admission and top boarding status. These disparities in public boarding secondary schools are attributed to unique
school’s cultures adopted by each school that affects and guides behaviours of the entire school population
positively or negatively. A culture helps members to understand the environment and determine how to respond to
the values, beliefs and norms of the organization manifested by artifacts, collegiality, norms, ceremonies and
rituals. The purpose of this study was to establish implication of school culture artifacts on students’ academic
performance in public boarding secondary schools in Kisii Central Sub County. The study objectives were to:
Establish implication of school artifacts and Analyse implication of collegiality on students’ academic
performance. The study employed a structural-functionalist approach to Organizational Culture rooted by
Malinowski, Radcliffe-Brown, Parsons, and Schein. Related literature was reviewed in line with the research
objectives and guided by research questions. Concurrent Nested design employing Mixed Method Approach was
adopted and utilized for this study. This study was conducted in Kisii Central Sub County in public boarding
secondary schools. The target population was made up of 7 principals, 49 HODs, 80 class teachers, 164 student
leaders, 7 BOM chairpersons and 7 PA chair persons. Saturated sampling was used to obtain a sample population
constituting; 6 Principals, 42 HODs, 72 class teachers, 144 student leaders, 6 BOM chairpersons and 6 PA chair
persons. Data collection instruments were Questionnaires, Interviews schedules, FGDs, Document analysis and
Observation protocol. Reliability was addressed through piloting in 1 school which was randomly sampled from
the target schools and test- retest was employed together with McMillan and Schumacher strategies to establish
reliability and validity. Validity of instruments was further enhanced through expert vetting by two supervisors.
Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages was used to describe and summarize quantitative data in
form of tables to show trends. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data and focused on the discussion
of the themes and sub-themes as they emerged. The findings of the study are hoped to benefit researchers,
principals, MOEST as it would be a source of knowledge on the implication of school culture on students’
academic performance. The study identified that school artifacts alone do not fully in isolation influence students’
academic performance but in collaboration with other factors. It was established that collegiality influence the
conduct and commitment of teachers through dialogue, consultation, sharing responsibilities, privileges and
teachers’ welfare and extension students’ academic performance. The study recommended that school principals
should engage the input of other stakeholders in all school activities geared towards shaping school culture for
them to succeed. The study concluded that positive personal attributes of the principal combined with effective
instructional, managerial, and collegial leadership and well-choreographed artifacts have implications on
academic performance. The study recommended that there is need for replication studies in other contexts and
settings to establish if the findings of this study are robust and to identify any differences based on contexts for
generalization and adoption. | en_US |