1. Introduction

School‘s board of management is the collective name given to the individuals who oversee the operations of an education institution directly serving the public interest (Basic Education Act 2013), Effective management is an integral competent factor for running successful organizations. The School Board of Management (BOM) is the central policy making organ for each education institution in the United States. In Britain however, the school Board of management is found from 8th grade up to the 12th grade whose sole task is to effectively assist the principal in managing the institution (Van, 2001). Van indicates that the school Board of management chairperson and school managers appointed by the government in United States and United Kingdom are highly qualified and experienced to serve in such tasks. If a school is not effectively managed, parents have authority to petition for removal of the boards of management so that it can give way for a new board (Keith, 2001). In Malawi and South Africa, the school board of management is selected from prominent members of the society who have excelled in their areas and considered as role models in their line of specialization (Dawson, 2008). In Zimbabwe, the government has laid down rules and regulations regarding recruitment and duties of school board of management in primary schools. In Zimbabwe, the minimal level of education for qualification is a secondary school certificate (Aduda, 2001). According to Kamba (2010), states that the involvement of BOMs in management is greatly recognized in both developing and developed countries. The better performance at large in various schools is as a result of the parents effectively being involved in the school activities.

In Kenya, the Board of Management (BOM) is the collective name given to individuals who oversee the operations of an education institution (Basic Education Act, 2013). Each country has rules on the appointment of the members though in most cases they are appointed by the government (Van, 2001). The BoM members are selected from prominent members of the society who have excelled in their areas of specialization and are therefore regarded as role models (Aduda, 2001; Dawson, 2008). The administration and management of secondary schools is in the hands of the BoM. The school Principal is secretary and the Chief Executive Officer. The management of secondary schools by the BOM was instituted after independence following recommendations by the Ominde Report on education matters in 1964. The major aim was to decentralize authority for more effectiveness. The Sessional Paper No. 6 of 1988 states that BOM should be appointed from among individuals with qualities of commitment, competence and experience which would enhance the effective management and development of educational institutions (MOEST, 2007).

The major role of the BOM in Kenyan schools is to promote quality education, develop institutional policies, provide adequate infrastructure and monitor curriculum development. The BOM is also involved in decision making, financial matters, monitoring education standards and recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff (MOEST, 2005). According to the Taskforce on student indiscipline and unrest (ROK, 2001), the appointment of BOM members who were unqualified and incompetent impacted negatively on the quality of management of schools. Boards assisted schools with the acquisition of physical resources and promoted discipline; all these led to the achievement of quality education (Kindiki, 2009). In general, the BOM should contribute to educational development in schools. Despite the expectations on the BOM regarding their effectiveness, their performance has been greatly criticized especially in Sub-County day secondary schools where their performance is seen to be below par. The Commission of inquiry into the education system of Kenya (ROK, 1999) found out that the management of educational institutions was ineffective because most BOM members lacked quality management skills.

According to the Mbita sub-county Development Plan of 2012–2016, there are low education standards, which have close relationship with understaffing in schools, lack of enough classrooms, dormitories, toilets (Republic of Kenya, 2009). The plan recommends serious need of water supplies and sanitation facilities. The same challenge is also echoed in Mbita Sub-County Development Plan 2008–2012 that reports that there are overstretched facilities for both teachers and students. The Development Plan also explains that it is important for Board of Management to provide infrastructure like buildings and address poor workmanship and misappropriation of funds. In KCSE results of 2010, the first Sub-County day secondary school in Mbita Sub-County took position 433 nationally with no student in top 100. In 2017, the same trend continued with the best mixed day secondary school in Mbita Sub- County taking position 434 without any student in the top 100 (MOE, 2012). When releasing 2013 KCSE results, it was observed that Sub-County day secondary schools in Nyanza where Mbita Sub-County is situated registered dismal performance. In 2014, the situation seemed to have improved with one boy from a Sub-County day secondary school in Mbita Sub-County securing position 42 in Homa-Bay County. The case of Sub-County day secondary schools where students hardly attained average mean grade of C+ was particularly disturbing the Sub-County especially in areas where such schools are situated. The study investigated the role of the board of management towards academic achievements in Sub-County mixed Sub-County Schools.

Literature Review

This study was based on the theory of all-round educational quality by Zhang in 2010. The implementation of all-round quality management began in western developed countries since the early 90s, and now it is developing quickly. The all-round quality education is the application of all-round quality management in the area of education. Various authorities have viewed leadership from varied but closely interrelated ways. Head teachers of Secondary Schools are in leadership positions. Massie (2000) defines leadership as a process in which a leader influences the activities of the subordinates towards a certain direction. Maranga (2001) supports the need to identify and train teachers on secondary school administration because some head teachers do not take their responsibilities seriously. Siringi (2003) reports that many Board of Management members in Kenyan secondary schools question the suitability of many head teachers to the posts they hold because they seem to be managing schools by crisis. The study report stressed that the unrests reported in many secondary schools of Eastern Province in 2003 exposed poor management skills on the part of the school head teachers. Macharia (2004) argued that head teachers still exhibit leadership styles that are top down and autocratic expecting students and teachers to accept decisions made without them being consulted. The impact of the head teachers’ leadership depends on the support from teachers with whom he works (Mayhard, 2002).

In research on collaborative school management by Lagat (2001), the researcher notes that a successful head teacher practices collaborative management by involving Board of Management. The study reported that autocratic leadership styles were traditional in nature and were not applicable in current school system. According to Lagat, leadership practices of a democratic head teacher are seen through participation of teachers in decision making, designing of resources, goal setting, policy making, budgeting, implementing and evaluating school programmes. In such a case, teachers are treated as colleagues in leadership whose support the head teacher requires in order to succeed. Though not admitting that head teachers were autocratic in their leadership style, Apiyo (2003) found that head teachers were perceived to be competent in carrying out administrative tasks by involving teachers with the aim of improving students’ academic achievement. Apiyo (2003) cites Taylor’s theory of management which emphasized that a leader would focus on attainment of goals and objectives of the organization without necessarily taking into consideration the welfare of the staff. However, Apiyo (2003) reported that motivating teachers would make them perform their tasks and help students attain better academic standards. Musungu (2007) carried out a study on the contribution of the head teachers to academic achievement in 84 secondary schools with a teaching population of 1280. Musungu’s study used random sampling techniques to select a sample for high and average performing schools while current study used saturated sampling techniques.

Onyango (2001) conducted a study in Nairobi and Kakamega to determine the competencies needed by head teachers for effective and efficient management and leadership of secondary schools. The study found out that in order for all these tasks to be performed effectively, head teachers needed prior training in secondary school administration. Onyango (2001) ignored the contribution of the Board of Management in the effective and efficient quality leadership in secondary schools. Therefore, this study was to establish the contribution of Board of Management to quality leadership and academic achievements. Apiyo (2003) study on administrative competencies in Nandi district equally ignored the contribution of Board of Management, which can assist the head teachers to be competent and enhance good academic performance for students in secondary schools. The present research will find out the contribution of Board of Management to quality education, which is lacking in Onyango and Apiyo’s study.

2. Research Methodology

2.1. Research Design & Participants

The researcher employed the Concurrent Triangulation Design. In this design, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected at the same time, analyzed at the same time then merged by triangulation of the data (Creswell, 2013). The population of this study comprised 32 head teachers, 32 HoDs, 32 BOM chairpersons and 1 SCQASO. The head teachers, heads of departments and Board of Management chairpersons were obtained using saturated sampling technique, while the Sub County Quality Assurance and Standards Officer was selected using the purposive sampling technique.

2.2. Research Tools

The data collection instruments included questionnaires, interview schedules and document analysis guide. To ensure face validity of the research instruments, members of the school of Education at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology who are experts in this area of study scrutinized the research instruments. Their suggestions were incorporated in the questionnaires before preparing the final copy for data collection. Reliability was ensured by Cronbach Alpha. The overall reliability coefficient for the items in the questionnaire was α = 0.727. Considering the threshold of 0.7 for social sciences (Mugenda & Mugenda, 2009), the questionnaire was thus found to be reliable as α = 0.727 > 0.7.

2.3. Data Collection Procedures

The researcher obtained introductory letter from the Director of Board of Post Graduate Studies of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science & Technology before seeking for permission from the National Commission for Science Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI). The researcher also sought an introductory letter from the Sub-County Director of Education office. The researcher then visited the sampled schools for familiarization with the respondents and to explain to them the purpose of the study and the relevance of their participation. The respondents were visited on the agreed dates, and were required to fill the questionnaires within the shortest time possible. The researcher then collected the filled questionnaires in readiness for analysis. Data collection process was done for a period of 3 months. Questionnaires had a section where respondents gave their consents to participate in the study and they were assured of strict confidentiality.

2.4. Methods of Data Analysis

Quantitative data collected through questionnaires was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics and presented in form of percentages and frequencies. In addition, the inferential statistics such as Pearson correlation was used to analyze data. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The goal of a thematic analysis is to identify themes, i.e. patterns in the data that are important or interesting, and use these themes to address the research or say something about an issue. This is much more than simply summarizing the data; a good thematic analysis interprets and makes sense of it. A common pitfall is to use the main interview questions as the themes (Clarke & Braun, 2013). Qualitative data collected from open-ended sections of the questionnaire and interview schedules were analyzed, coded and presented in verbatim.

3. Findings

3.1. Respondents’ Demographic Information

The secondary school principals were targeted in this study since they are the mediators and administrators in charge of the running of the school. The respondents’ Demographic Information is presented in table 1:

Table 1. Demographic Characteristics of School Principals

As shown in Table 1, out of the 27 school principals that took part in the study, 70.4% were male while only 29.6% were females. This implies that the gender balance in leadership in government sub county secondary schools in Mbita sub-county had not yet been addressed. On education, the study found that majority of the respondents at two thirds (63.0%) had either masters degree or PhD holders. Only 37.0% had Bachelor degree certificate. Academic qualification was crucial for the study because it shows the level of training on administration and management, which was important for principals for management of schools for good academic achievement. The study also established that most of the school principals at 55.5% had taken more than 6 years in management and leadership position, implying that they had rich knowledge on the role of BOM on academic achievements of the school. The findings concur with the sentiments of Ikhan (2015) who argued that a good supervisor should have a high education achievement above those he or she is appraising. He further states that it would be deceptive to have an employee being appraised by one whose level of education is low. Most principals in public secondary schools in Mbita sub-County were found to be well educated and hence were qualified.

3.2. Demographic Information of the HOD/Teachers

The HOD teachers were also involved in the study because they had good knowledge on academic achievements of the school, hence were informative on the role of BOM on academic performance of the school. The demographic characteristic of the HOD teachers were as shown in Table 2

Table 2. Demographic Characteristics of HOD/teachers

The study found that out of the interviewed 29 HOD teachers that took part in the study, the number of female HOD teachers were almost equal to the number of their male counterparts, with the data showing 44.8% and 55.2% respectively. The study also established that most of the HOD teachers at 44.8% had taken more than 6 years as HOD teachers, implying that they had vast knowledge on the role of BOM on academic achievement of the school. On academic qualifications, over half of the respondents at 58.6% had attained masters/PhD education, while 41.4% had bachelor degree education. This is in agreement with the assertions of Ikhan (2015) that teachers in administration should be knowledgeable and skillful.

3.3. The Role of BOM in the Enhancement of Students’ Academic Achievement

The role of BOM in the enhancement of students’ Academic Achievement was measured using a 6- item 5-point Likert scale as 1 = strongly disagree (SD), 2 = disagree (D), 3 = neutral (N), 4 = agree (A) and 5 = strongly agree (SA). The data obtained was analysed to show frequency of each response as well as percentage per item. Both head teachers and HOD teachers were probed on this and the results shown in Table 3 and Table 4.

Table 3. Head Teacher Response on role of BOM in the enhancement of students’ Academic Achievement (N=27)

Table 4. HOD teacher response on role of BOM in the enhancement of students’ Academic Achievement (N=29)

The study found that majority of the respondents at 9(33.3%) strongly agreed with the statement that board of management played a role on the appointment of head teachers in their schools, 4(14.8%) just agreed with the statement, while 7(25.9%) indicated otherwise, as another 7(25.9%) were neutral on the statement. The study also established that most of the head teachers at 23(85.2%) supported the statement that in choosing the suitable head teacher, the stakeholders consider qualification. Only 2(7.4%) disputed the statement as another 2(7.4%) remained neutral. This shows that school board of management being one of the education stakeholders plays a significant role in appointment of school head teachers, where their qualifications in level of education and years of experience is greatly considered. However, on whether ones denomination played a role in the head teachers’ appointment, majority of the respondents at 20(74.0%) cumulatively disagreed with the statement, while 4(14.7%) remained undecided on the statement. Only 3(11.1%) agreed with the statement, implying that religious denomination was not a significant factor to consider in appointment of head teachers for leadership roles. Majority of the respondents at 17(62.9%) supported the statement that the sponsor and BOM consider past performance record of a teacher before promotion, 6(22.2%) were neutral on the statement while 4(14.8%) refuted the statement. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically. Qualitative results indicated that the BOM contributes immensely in the academic achievement in schools. The themes which emerged in the first objective were spiritual support, employment of BOM teachers and provision of students guidance services.

Spiritual support

Spiritual support involves school chaplains, who work with school community and teachers to help provide spiritual support for students and teaching staffs in secondary schools. The goal of spiritual support is to provide spiritual care to students to assist them cope with various life challenges. The participants reported that this has been experienced by schools that are church sponsored and the BOM have made progress in enhancing academic achievement by providing the spiritual support and programmes, which have made their schools to be relatively peaceful. Hence, the teachers are in a position to concentrate in teaching and preparing students for examinations. Some respondents reported that:

“This has been very common in religious sponsored schools. The BOM have been very instrumental in ensuring peaceful school environment by providing spiritual guidance to their schools. This has seen some schools have lots of peace hence the schools are able to perform very well in examinations” (SCQUASO)

“We have seen tremendous peaceful environment in the school because the sponsor, the Catholic Church has been very keen on the spiritual nourishment of the students and teachers. They support the school in many ways by giving spiritual programmes to students and we have never had any strikes or issues in our school. Our teachers thus concentrate in teaching and preparing students for examinations” (BOM Chairperson, 1)

This means that the BOM have been very instrumental in enhancing academic performance. The study also found that the sponsor and education stakeholders would organize induction programs for novice head teachers as shown by 20(74.0%) of the respondents, who supported the statement. In fact, 11(40.7%) of the head teachers strongly agreed with the statement. Only 2(7.4%) of the respondents indicated otherwise, as 5(18.5%) remained neutral on the statement. However, when it comes to relevancy of the BOM members to interview head teachers, majority of the respondents at 18(66.6%) invalidated the statement that BOM members have relevant qualification to interview the head teachers in their schools. Only 6(22.2%) agreed with the statement, while 3(11.1%) were undecided. This shows that much as the school BOM were at the centre of head teacher’s appointment, most of them had no adequate qualification to mount proper interview. Apiyo (2003) also agreed that head teachers were perceived to be competent in carrying out administrative tasks by involving teachers with the aim of improving students’ academic achievement.

Another theme which emerged was Provision of students’ guidance services.

Provision of students guidance services

Guidance services refer to a group of services to individuals to assist them in securing knowledge and skills needed in making plans and devices, and in interpreting life. The BOM members in many occasions always talk with the school candidates. They come and address students on some topical issues affecting them and this has helped us improve a lot in the academic work and performance. Some respondents reported that:

“The BOM members have been actively involved in the provision of guidance and counselling services to the students in schools. They always arrange to talk to students on topical issues that affect them. The BOM also talk to the teachers in many occasions when in school to help them be more focused on their work and improvement of academic standards in school (Principal, 4)

“This happens a lot in school as the BOM members always come to give talks to teachers to help them remain focused and dedicated towa4erfds their work. The BOM is very keen on students’ performance and they strive to talk to teachers on a number of occasions to boost their morale in school” (BOM Chairperson, 3)

From the interview results, the BOM are very key in school development and academic performance.

The study found that majority of the HODs and teachers at 13(44.8%) also agreed with the statement that BOM influences the appointment of head teachers in their sponsored schools. Only 8(27.5%) of the respondents invalidated this statement. Over half of the respondents at 55.2% strongly supported the statement that in choosing the suitable head teacher, the BOM and sponsor consider qualification. Another 9(31.0%) agreed with the statement, while only 2(6.8%) indicated otherwise. Majority of the respondents at 22(75.9%) disagreed with the statement that the appointment of the head teacher was made according to the denomination he/she belongs. Only 3(10.3%) of the HODs and teachers agreed with the statement, as 4(13.8%) remained neutral.

Another theme from qualitative results which emerged was Employment of BOM teachers.

Employment of BOM teachers

This means the BOM allocates funds in schools where the teachers can be contracted on their terms to assist ease the load of teaching among staffs. This helps in academic improvement since teachers are able to have ample time to mark the scrips and assignments on time in school. Some respondents reported that:

“The BOM in our school employs more teachers on their terms to help teach and ease the work load which is a lot. We have seen lots of academic improvement since this was done each year. Our teachers mark with ease and they have time to prepare the candidates for examinations” (Principal, 2)

“We have a lot of support from our fellow BOM Members who approve the budgets for addition of more teachers on contract terms in the school. We have several teachers who are employed by the BOM and this has boosted our academic performance to a great extent” (BOM Chairperson, 2)

It was also found that BOM and the sponsor consider the teachers past performance record before recommending for promotion as supported by 19(65.5%). Most of the respondents at 22(75.9%) also supported the statement that the newly appointed head teachers were normally inducted into their new responsibility by the sponsor, while only 2(6.8%) disagreed with the statement as 5(17.2%) remained neutral. Over two thirds of the HODs and teachers at 20(68.9%) refuted the statement that the BOM members have enough qualifications to interview the head teachers in their schools. Only 6(20.7%) agreed with the statement, while 3(10.3%) neither supported nor disagreed with the statement.

3.4. Correlation between BOM Support and Students’ Academic Achievement

In order to determine the relationship between BOM support and students’ academic achievement, a correlation analysis was conducted between the two variables. Since data for BOM support through roles played by the BOM members and students’ academic achievement were measured on ordinal Likert level for each item, it was important to obtain continuous data to facilitate performance of correlation analysis. Thus, summated scores for each respondent was obtained for each of the two scales. The corresponding scores for each respondent were used as data points for the 56 participants (29 HOD/teachers and 27 head teachers). The correlation output is presented in Table 5.

Table 5. Correlations between BOM support and students’ academic achievement

From the analysis results presented in Table 5, the study established a positive (r = .523) correlation between the BOM support and students’ academic achievement, which was statistically significant (P < 0.05). This implies that increase in BOM support as shown in their various roles significantly increases the students’ academic achievement.

4. Discussion

The study findings indicated that school board of management being one of the education stakeholders plays a significant role in appointment of school head teachers, where their qualifications in level of education and years of experience is greatly considered. However, on whether ones denomination played a role in the head teachers’ appointment. The study established an average positive (r = 0.523) correlation between the BOM support and students’ academic achievement. This implies that increase in BOM support as shown in their various roles significantly increases the students’ academic achievement. Qualitative results indicated that the BOM contributes immensely in the academic achievement in schools. The themes, which emerged in the study, were spiritual support, employment of BOM teachers and provision of students’ guidance services. This shows that appointment or promotion of teachers to be head teachers was also based on past record of the individual. Similarly, Macharia (2004) argued that head teachers still exhibit leadership styles that are top down and autocratic expecting students and teachers to accept decisions made without them being consulted. This finding agrees with Lagat (2001), who noted that a successful head teacher practices collaborative management by involving Board of Management. Lagat (2001) reiterates that autocratic leadership styles were traditional in nature and are not applicable in current school system. In agreement, Apiyo (2003) also agreed that motivating teachers will make them perform their tasks and help students attain better academic standards. Onyango (2001) found out that in order for all these tasks to be performed effectively, head teachers needed prior training in secondary school administration. Apiyo (2003) agreed that motivating teachers would make them perform their tasks and help students attain better academic standards. Apiyo (2003) reiterates that emphasized that a leader would focus on attainment of goals and objectives of the organization without necessarily taking into consideration the welfare of the staff.

5. Conclusions & Recommendations

It can be concluded that the sponsor and education stakeholders would organize induction programs for novice head teachers. This shows that much as the schools BOM were at the Centre of head teacher’s appointment, most of them had no adequate qualification to mount proper interview. It was also found that BOM and the sponsor consider the teachers past performance record before recommending for promotion. Most of the respondents also supported the statement that the newly appointed head teachers were normally inducted into their new responsibility by the sponsor. The study established a positive correlation between the BOM support and students’ academic achievement. This implies that increase in BOM support as shown in their various roles significantly increases the students’ academic achievement. The Ministry of Education to continue with structured training of the BOM members in all schools for effective leadership and management of schools. This would help to make them more strategic in school management. This is because the findings indicated that a positive correlation between the Board of Management’ contribution on infrastructural development and students’ academic achievement.