Human Resource Management Practices, and Academic Performance of Secondary Schools in Machakos County, Kenya

Abstract

Background of the StudyHuman resource management practices are key components of performance in almost all organizations. In any organization, the employees must be treated as a valuable asset. The organization mission will be achieved in a better way if the skills of the workers are developed. In the present competitive environment, the success of any organization depends on the caliber of their human resources and their programmes (Rehman, 2011).Academic performance is a threshold assessment used to measure a student's ability to meet performance criteria. Grades are used to measure learning or knowledge and attainment of learning objectives and acquisition of skills and competencies (York2015). Academic performance of a student is regarded as the observable and measurable behavior in a particular situation .Education outcomes are measured through examinations which have been accepted as an important aspect of the educational system. In Kenya, the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination administered by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) measures student performance. It is used as the main basis for judging a student's ability and also as a means of selection for educational advancement and employment (Kieti, 2017). The education system in Kenya places a minimum grade C+ which students must obtain before they are admitted to public and private universities (Kigotho, 2012). Those who fail in the KCSE examination are most likely to join the high number of unemployed youngsters who look for informal jobs in a country that has few of them (Matiangi, 2017).Belinda, Crosnoe and Muller (2010) argue that in the US educational system, student advancement is predicated on graded performance in a series of classes. Failing to achieve passing grades has numerous additional implications during secondary school and beyond the school level. Students' academic failure is a major determinant of status attainment and adult well-being. Low-performing students are less likely to graduate from high school and less likely to go to college. This increases high school dropouts, and substantially lower adulthood wages.Academic performance as measured by the examination results is the aggregate form in a course or GPA is one of the major goals of a school globally (Oredein, 2016). The social and economic development of a county is directly linked with student academic performance (Mushtaq& Khan 2012). Students with quality results become great leaders and manpower for the country thus responsible for country's economic and social development. York (2015) notes that academic failure is not only frustrating to the pupils and the parents; its effects are equally grave on the society in terms of death of manpower in all spheres of the economy and politics.

A review of human resource management practices and their impact on school performance (2012–2022)

“…Best practices of HR 1.8.1. Planning Human resource planning (Rafiei and Davari, 2015;Mutuku, 2022;Mella and Mnjokava, 2022;Ionescu et al, 2022;Ojebiyi and Amos, 2013;Mutuku et al, 2021;Manoppo et al, 2019;Popescu and Gogeanu, 2018) aligns workers with employment opportunities and prevents labor shortages. HR planning enables firms to maintain their productivity and performance.…”

“…This study employed Herzberg's theory of motivation with two factors. Mutuku (2022) investigates the relationship between school performance and HRM practices in Kenya's Machakos County secondary schools. This quantitative analysis discovered that the examined training and development staff recruitment and selection strategies had a favorable and statistically significant impact on academic achievement.…”

Developing Instructional Leadership in Tanzania: Impact of a British Council Initiative

“…For example, Onyine and Nwaanne (2018) claim that Nigerian principals define school mission, and manage instructional programmes, to a high level. Third, there is evidence of the efficacy of instructional leadership in enhancing student learning, for example in Kenya (Mutuku, 2018). Fourth, several studies point to the challenges inhibiting principals from acting as instructional leaders.…”

Impact of Job Rotation System on the Employees Performance - Based on Chinese State-owned Enterprises

“…Due to this, businesses have been obliged to set up substantial internal and external training programs that both meet employee demand and improve business performance (Njoroge and Kwasira, 2015). In a prior study investigating the influence of human resource management practice in health sector conducted by Mutua (2017), he found that training can be carried out using a variety of techniques, including off-the-job and on job training. When it comes to job training methods, this include providing workers with practical tools in a working setting.…”