Teachers’ appraisal of classroom physical environment on students’ academic performance in Kenya certificate of secondary education in Laikipia county

Abstract

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has declared that education is fundamental human rights to the well-being of any society. Therefore, the study was motivated by the need to improve students’ academic performance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination, a case in Laikipia County, Kenya. The study was guided by one objective. To determine the extent to which appraisal of teachers on classroom physical environment influences students’ performance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education in Laikipia County. The study targeted 94 public secondary schools which comprises of 94 principals and 1100 teachers in Laikipia County. Purposive sampling was used to select 45 principals while simple random sampling was used to select 300 teachers. Questionnaires were used to collect data from principals and teachers. The findings of the null hypothesis there is no significant relationship between teacher appraisal on classroom physical environment and students’ performance using Chi square test was (df=16, Pearson X2=233.083, p=0.005 at 0.05 significance level). The null hypothesis was rejected hence there is a significant relationship between teacher appraisal on classroom physical environment and students’ performance to both principals and teachers to enhance establishment of effective appraisal process and Teachers Service Commission to have a well-placed sound policy and include all stakeholders, well-defined criterion on how to appraise, promote and appoint competent and experienced principals because a number of them lack competency in appraisal process.

The Relationship Between Classroom Environment, Teacher Professional Development, and Student Academic Performance in Secondary Education

“…the classroom environment encompasses various elements such as physical layout, teacher-student interactions, instructional materials, and overall atmosphere, all of which significantly impact students' academic engagement and achievement (Emmasiegbu, 2022;Macharia et al, 2023). additionally, teacher professional development plays a critical role in enhancing instructional practices, pedagogical strategies, and classroom management skills (Watene, 2020) .…”