School self-evaluation: a case of a public secondary school in Kiambu County, Kenya.

Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Master of Education (MEd)

First Supervisor/Advisor

Dr. Geoff Tennant

Second Supervisor/Advisor

Dr. Shelley Jones

Department

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Abstract

Moves to expand both quality of education and the number of children in school have been highlighted across the world for many years. This has heightened the need for monitoring mechanisms, which, alongside decentralisation of control, have increasingly turned from external inspection to self-evaluation. The use of self-evaluation as a means of school improvement is well documented in the developed world. Evidence of its use in the developing world can be found with, so far, little research literature alongside. This research, therefore, sought to explore how a secondary school in Kenya has implemented school self-evaluation. It aimed to explore the views of teachers and school managers on the purpose of school self-evaluation, strategies in place that guided implementation and factors that facilitate and hinder successful implementation of selfevaluation. The study employed a mixed methods approach involving sixty one participants. Data was collected through a questionnaire given to all teachers in the school, interviews with school leaders and document analysis. Findings revealed that teachers at all levels of seniority considered that selfevaluation, in principle, was effective in supporting students’ learning through monitoring and sharing feedback of students’ progress, effective communication, supportive relationships and shared leadership. However, participants reported that, in practice, large teaching workloads, centralized and hierarchical leadership styles, insufficient training and professional support are factors that hindered the school from fully utilising the potential of self-evaluation. The study therefore calls for professional development for school leaders and quality assurance officers to equip them with necessary skills on how to implement successful school self-evaluation. The study recommends that schools looking to improve their quality education provision should engage all its stakeholders, recognising the time implications, in systematic reflection and endeavour to institutionalize school selfevaluation as a normal practice for sustainable school improvement.

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