Management Practices Of Head Teachers And Their Implications On Co-Curricular Activities In Lugari Sub-County,Kakamega County- Kenya

ABSTRACT

Co-curricular activities (CCA) have an important role to play in students' life. Students participate in the activities to enhance their learning skills while boosting their self-esteem. Through participation in CCA students can identify their potential talents and utilize them in ways that improve their lifestyle. Headteachers rarely possess any formal school managerial and leadership training since their appointments is usually based on their teaching record instead of their leadership potential. Despite the enormous role played by CCA, students' participation has been low, and their performance in these activities has been minimal in Lugari District, Kakamega County. Most Headteachers have placed much emphasis on curricular activities which are tested in national examinations. This study will, therefore, seek to assess the management practices of head teachers and their implications on schools performance in co-curricular activities. This study will adopt a descriptive research design. The study was based in Lugari District, Kakamega County. The target population of the research included all the 25 Headteachers and 25 games heads in Lugari District, Kakamega County. Headteachers were targeted because they are the school managers hence able to provide information on managerial practices in secondary schools while the Games Masters/Mistress were targeted because they are involved in the overall coordination of co-curricular activities in the schools. Since the number of secondary schools in the county is few, Census method was used during the selection process while Purposive sampling technique was used in selecting the actual respondents with respect to the objectives of the research. This gave a sample size of 50 respondents. The study will use questionnaires as the principal instrument of data collection. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics such as Frequencies and percentages were computed. Data was presented using pie charts, bar graphs, frequency distribution tables and percentage. The study established that most Headteachers of the public school lacked adequate knowledge in managing co-curricular activities as well as resource acquisition and allocation. This meant that inadequate resources were devolved to CCA hence affecting effective implementation of CCA in schools. The research recommends that the government through the teachers' service commission to organize regular training programs for all the Headteachers to impart them with the required managerial skills necessary to effectively run the schools. This will ensure that they are well equipped with the necessary skills needed to effectively allocate resources to all school activities proportionately as well as strike a balance between main curricular and co-curricular activities in schools.