Regarding quality of education, Leu and Price-Rom contend that the issue of quality has become critical in many countries that are expanding enrolments and in nations with constrained resources. Success in increasing access to basic education has often led to declining quality. However, in searching for the factors that promote quality, national programs and literature have increasingly emphasized principals, schools, and communities as the engines of quality, with special attention to teacher quality identified as a primary focus.   

At the World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal in which quality education was a priority, evidence over the past decade showed that efforts to expand enrolment must be accompanied by attempts to enhance educational quality if learners are to be attracted to education, stay there and achieve meaningful learning outcomes. The recent assessments of learning achievements in some countries have shown that a sizeable percentage of children are acquiring only a fraction of the knowledge and skills they are expected to master. As a signatory to the treaties that call for free and compulsory education, Kenya being is duty bound to promote compulsory and quality education. 

UNESCO asserts that the growing emphasis on the need for quality to accompany the expansion of education, however, remains stubbornly secondary to the persistent drive for quality education. Country policies to increase gross enrollment rates are rapidly and possibly being prompted by many factors, including the 2010 United Nations Millennium Declaration for Universal Primary Education (UPE) in all countries, including Kenya, with no mention of quality concerns.        

More recent initiatives, such as the World Bank’s Fast Track Initiative and USAID’s Millennium Challenge Account, make quality a priority while keeping a strong emphasis on the continued rapid growth of enrollments. The UNESCO document above notes that tension between quantity and quality has characterized education in most developing countries over the last two decades where quality has become an issue so severe that it is described not as a choice but as an imperative [1]. 

Similarly, Sub-Saharan African countries are currently confronted with a formidable challenge on how to expand the size of their teaching force while improving its quality education. In other words, quality education as a transformative potential of social or personal change is the vision that drives education. Quality education, in short, is a catalyst for positive changes in individuals and society. Kubow and Fossum assert that, education promotes social change as it is an indispensable catalyst of development of any nation. 

However, despite the prominence of “quality”, approaches to define quality of education vary significantly. Nevertheless, the broader vision of quality education in most country policies identifies two key elements as the basis of quality: students’ cognitive intellectual and normative and psychomotor dimensions development as well as social, creative and emotional development. Cognitive, normative and psychomotor dimensions development are major explicit objectives of virtually all education systems, that is, the degree in which the system achieves its education aims and this can be a major indicator that a system has strived for quality education. Likewise, the learners’ social, creative and emotional development is almost never evaluated or measured in a significant way. In addition, Nicholson has defined quality education as a transformation. The assumption here is that education must concern itself with transforming the life experiences of students by enhancing or empowering them. 

Furthermore, Dembe’le and Oviawe cite Sifuna’s and Samoff’s contributions to the definition of quality education. Sifuna’s analysis of Universal Primary Education interventions in Kenya and Tanzania since the 1970s is informed by the inputs-outputs process conception of quality education where inputs include teaching and learning materials as well as principals and students. Samoff views quality education in a broader context that goes beyond the concentration on inputs to address the process of learning. What is regarded as high quality education is therefore continually re-defined and re-specified. In this perspective, it is worth saying that what is „„best’’, „„good’’ or „„poor’’ changes periodically. Thus, universally quality education is defined according to the particular needs of a country. Therefore, strategies to improve quality education must be appropriate and in tandem with the needs of a country.   On the other hand, Coombs also adds that quality pertains to the relevance of what is taught and learned and how well it fits the present and future needs of the particular learners in question, given their particular circumstances and prospects. He emphasizes that quality also refers to significant changes in the educational system itself, in the nature of its inputs (students, principals, facilities, equipment, and supplies); its objectives, curriculum and educational technologies; and its socioeconomic, cultural and political environment. 

Statement of the Problem

According to Dembe’le and Oviawe, following the Dakar World Education Forum, much has been accomplished in terms of access but quality, as measured through various indicators, leaves much to be desired. Quality indicators include lack of qualified and trained principals, low student achievement, high dropout rates and system inefficiency. As a region, SubSaharan Africa (SSA) offers the gloomiest picture, owing to the fact that most students normally drop out as early as in the basic levels of education. The schools do not seem capable of helping them cope with the educational pressure [2]. 

Prompted by poor quality education in the region and particularly in Kenya, the researcher opted to investigate the factors that are affecting the provision of quality education in secondary schools in Kenyenya, Kisii county Kenya. 

Literature Review

Okumbe defines communication as ‘the exchange of information and the transmission of meaning’. Ayot and Patel define communication as an attempt to establish commonness with somebody. They further say that in communication, there must be a source, channel and a receiver. Mwankwo defines communication as an interaction between a minimum of two symbolic systems (persons or groups). Robbins (2008) views communication as the transference and understanding of meaning. Interaction between individuals and groups can only occur through effective communication between them.  Communication is therefore a process whereby one party transmits messages to the other who interprets or internalizes it and as suggests, the process facilitates influence of one party over the other.  Okumbe further outlines the roles of communication in organization [3]. 

Firstly, communication directs the behaviour of the people in the organization. Secondly, it also helps in providing the drive among workers to productivity and greater satisfaction. Thirdly, communication is also seen as facilitating release of emotions. It provides a release for the emotional expression of feelings and fulfillment of social needs. Lastly communication is seen as facilitating decision-making. It provides the decision makers access to information, which helps them reach conclusions. 

Communication is an everyday process in all fields and between all people. It is an important tool of relating to different people. Hicks and Gullet have broadly stated that communication necessitates co-existence of people in the world. They further say that through communication, people share knowledge and combine efforts and this enables them to develop and expand their store of knowledge, technology and culture. Communication serves as a linking process by which parts of a system are tied together [4]. 

The importance of communication to human life cannot be overemphasized, for without communication, no society can exist, no social structure can form or endure, since communication is the fundamental social process permeating all aspects of social life. Michael in his study on Development and Communication explains that without communication no organised action is possible. Social systems can only form and endure if the participating persons are linked to each other by communication. 

The form and way of communication used in a given school will affect the way people interact, and it will have an impact on the general atmosphere of the school, which in turn will affect the general quality of instruction that students receive. Communication directs the behaviour of people in an organization. The principal therefore through appropriate communication pattern, should be able to realign and modify the attitude of teachers, students and the whole school community towards achievement of set targets in a school. The management process that a principal is involved in, basically revolve around communication. Effective communication as one of the aspects of management plays a paramount role towards the success of any organization, school or institution. Any communication barrier therefore may interfere with the accomplishment of the set objectives of a school. 

According to Downs, communication serves four major roles. First is the informative role. The role of communication here is to provide information to the members in the organization. This information enables them to do their work for example principals need information for effective decision-making and implementation of programs. Communication enables the management to make itself understood clearly throughout the organization or institution. The students can understand the management or administration and the policies of the organization clearly. Without communication no instructions or information can be given or received hence there could be no contact between administrators, students and subordinates. 

These informative roles can be achieved through regular meetings where different sections and departments report their progress and share their problems. These can also be achieved through organizational reports which are used to pass a long information that is necessary for accomplishment of tasks. Secondly, is the command and regulative role. These comprise a whole network of manuals, policies, orders, instruction and directions. All these comprise the guideline by which the entire organization is run. By its nature, the organization usually tells people what to do and rules out all other alternatives. Through effective communication, every member in the administration and the subordinates receive precise and accurate information to ensure that every person in the organization knows exactly what he or she is expected to do, when, where, for what and for who to whom they are responsible. It is the means by which management exercises control of the system. This function lingers on management ability to coordinate all the activities of the organization and this ability depends on how well management executes control. The content of command and regulative role is essentially work oriented. This role is important because it means that there must be elaborate communication system because employees at every level of communication needs to know what is expected of them and what restriction is placed on their freedom [5]. 

The study was be guided by systems theory of organizations which postulate that schools are like open systems and emphasizes the consideration of the relationships between the school and its environment as well as what goes on in school. Mixed research methodologies were used to conduct the study in which both qualitative and quantitative data was collected. The study adopted a concurrent triangulation research design that involved the concurrent, but separate, collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. The target population for the study was 1267 respondents made up of 102 principals, 1162 teachers and 3 Educational officers. The study sample comprised 34 principals, 260 teachers and 3 educational officers. The researcher collected data using interview schedule for principals and educational officers and questionnaire for teachers. A pilot study was carried out to in 10% of the sample size in Kenya North Sub-County that provided a check on the validity, reliability, dependability and credibility. Validity was ascertained through expert judgment. Reliability was determined using test retest technique and reliability index, r = 0.6, was obtained using Cronbach’s Alpha Method indicating high internal reliability. Credibility was ascertained by involving multiple analysts whereas dependability was established by detailed reporting. Descriptive and inferential data analysis was done on quantitative data by help of computer software, the Statistics Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 22, and presented in frequency tables and co-efficient correlation respectively while thematic analysis was done on qualitative data and presented in narrative forms [6].

Descriptive Statistics

The study sought to determine how the principals’ communication strategies influenced provision of quality education. The principals were asked to rate their communication. Figure 1 shows their responses.

Majority (7) of principals indicated that their communication were not adequate while an insignificant number of principals said that it was adequate. Asked whether the school had adequate teachers for all the classes, majority of principals indicated that teachers were not adequate for all the classes.

Figure 1: Principals Rate on The Adequacy of Teachers in Their School

Source: Field Data (2020)

Table 1: Teachers Responses on the Reasons Why Teachers Taught Subjects that They Were Not Trained In 

Source: Field Data (2020)

Table 2: Principals’ responses on how they coped with the shortage of teachers 

Source: Field Data (2020)

The data shows that majority of the schools did not have adequate teachers. When schools do not have adequate teachers, teaching and learning may not be effective which may affect provision of quality education. Onyango emphasizes that human resource is the most important resource in a school organization. He adds that teachers comprise the most important staff in the school. However, the contribution made by other staff members such as secretaries, bursars, accounts clerk, matron, nurses, messengers and watchmen is also important in making the organisation achieve its objectives.

Teachers were asked whether they taught subjects that they were not trained in. Data shows that majority of teachers were assigned to handle subjects that they were not trained in. It is a government policy that teachers should teach subjects they have been trained in. The data shows that students were not taught by trained teachers which may have an impact on their performance. Odhiambo (2015) observes that the most important purpose of a school is to provide children with equal and enhanced opportunities for learning, and the most important resource a school has for achieving that purpose is the knowledge, skills and dedication of its teachers. 

The teachers were also asked to indicate reasons why teachers taught subjects that they were not trained in. Table 1 presents the findings.

Data shows that majority of 63 teachers indicated that they taught subjects which they had not been trained in due to inadequacy of teachers while 17of teachers said it was due to high enrolment rate of students in the schools. The finding further shows that inadequate teachers made students to be taught by teachers who were not trained in the subjects hence could lead to poor performance. The study sought to establish how the schools coped with the shortage of teachers. Table 3 shows principals’ response.

Findings show that 37.5% of principals said that they combined classes, the same number of principals used volunteered teachers while 25.0% of principals said that their students were left untaught due to shortage of teachers. This agreed with teachers responses as 45.0% of teachers indicated that they used volunteered teachers to cope with teachers’ shortage. The data shows principals faced challenges of inadequate teachers hence contributing to poor performance. 

Inferential Statistics

The continuous variables consisted in each sub scale of the independent variable teacher appraisal were transformed into the new independent variable. This was in turn transformed into categorical Variable service delivery. Afterwards a correlation analysis was conducted between the recoded independent variable service delivery with the sub-items consisting of the dependent variable provision of quality education. The results are capture in Table 3.

The results show that Service delivery has weak positive correlation with provision of quality education. The study therefore concluded that Service delivery have influence on provision of quality education in public secondary schools in Bungoma North Sub County. 

Thematic Analysis 

This was supported by an interviewee who had the following to say, While assessment of learning has always been and will continue to be an important aspect of teaching (it’s important for teachers to know whether students   have learned   what was  intended), assessment for learning has increasingly come to play an important role in classroom practice.

Table 3: Correlations Between Communication Strategies and Provision of Quality Education 

Note: **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed), Source: Field Data (2020)

In order to assess student learning outcome for purposes of instruction, teachers must have a “finger on the pulse” of a lesson, monitoring student understanding and, where appropriate, offering feedback to students. When teachers are monitoring student learning, they look carefully at what students are writing, or listen carefully to the questions students ask, in order to gauge whether they require additional activity or explanation in order to grasp the service…Male Participant, 51 years, Education Field Officer.

This implies that when teacher appraisal on their knowledge is done, the provision of quality education improves. 

Mixing and Interpretation

From the descriptive statistical analysis, the principals’ ensuring that their communication strategies influence provision of quality education in public secondary schools. The inferential statistics (correlations) service delivery has weak positive correlation with management of students’ discipline). The significance level below 0.05 thus indicating statistically significant difference in principals’ ensuring adequate staffing levels and provision of quality education in public secondary schools. The differences between means are therefore likely due to chance and likely due to the fact that the services rendered by teachers influence on students’ provision of quality education in public secondary schools.

Based on the findings, the researcher concluded that principals’ strategy on ensuring adequate staffing levels affected provision of quality education. For example, teacher in the schools were not adequate. Principals faced challenges of inadequate teachers hence contributing to poor performance.  The study also concluded that strategy on provision of teaching learning resources influenced provision of quality education. The findings show that schools did not have adequate resources which affected performance in the schools. 

It was also revealed that principals’ strategy on facilitation of teachers’ development influenced provision of quality education. This was revealed by the principals allowing their teachers to attend seminars. Teachers were interested in attending seminars and workshops once invited. Principals encouraged them to attend courses for their professional development.  The study also revealed that   Principals’ strategy on creation of enabling environment influenced provision of quality education. This was revealed by principals who indicated that they enabled conducive environment for students very often. 

Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study, the following were the recommendations: 

• That should ensure there is adequate staffing levels so that teaching and learning can be effective and hence improved quality education

• That secondary school principal should ensure that there is adequate provision of teaching learning resources to enhance students’ quality education

• That principals should seek ways of facilitating teacher’s development which will equip them with skills that will enhance students’ quality education

• Those principals should ensure that they create enabling environment to facilitate teaching and learning which will eventually lead to improved quality education

1. Adams, D. et al. "Water, sanitation and hygiene standards for schools in low-cost settings." Geneva: Switzerland, 2009.

2. Adepoju, T.L. "Managing educational change in Nigeria: Guba’s two-dimensional change strategy." Mimeograph Department of Educational Foundation and Management, Ondo: Adeyemi College of Education, 1998.

3. Agyeman, D.K. "Sociology of education for African students." Accra: Black Mask Ltd, 1993.

4. Akinwumiju, J.A. "Performance evaluation and accountability for quality primary education: Personnel performance and capacity building." Ibadan: Department of Educational Management, University of Ibadan, 1996.

5. Altbach, P.G. "Key issues of textbook provision in the third world." Prospect: Quarterly Review of Education, vol. 13, no. 3, 1983, pp. 315–325.

6. Avalos, B. "A review of teacher effectiveness research in Africa, India, Latin America, Middle East, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand: Synthesis of results." International Development Research Centre, Ottawa: Canada, 1981.