Effect of a Comprehensive Learning Environment on Pupils’ Learning Outcomes in Public Primary Schools in Kakamega County, Kenya

Abstract

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) in Kenya launched the Performance Contract (PC) policy to improve teacher performance in the year 2012. The goal of PC was to enhance the quality of education offered to learners through strengthening supervision and continuously monitoring teacher performance at the institutional level. Teacher PC is monitored through regular teacher appraisals of their effectiveness, guided by predetermined PC set targets from the Teacher Professional and Development (TPAD) tool. Despite PC having been in place over last twelve years, its effect on pupil learning outcomes in Kakamega County Public primary schools is still not clear. The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of teacher achievement in the comprehensive learning environment PC target on pupils’ learning outcomes in public primary schools in Kakamega County in Kenya. The three learning outcomes examined were academic achievement, pupil retention and pupil completion rates. The comprehensive learning environment aims to create Child or Learner Friendly Environments. A Correlation research design with a mixed methods approach was used in the study. Eighty-two (82) schools were selected from 13 Sub Counties of Kakamega County using a multistage random sampling. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data on target achievement and learning outcomes from Head teachers and teachers in the selected schools for the period 2018 to 2023. Five Key informants involved in PC appraisals (2 Curriculum Support Officers, 2 Sub County TSC Directors and the County TSC Director) were purposefully selected and interviewed. The quantitative data collected was analyzed using Pearsons’s correlation and Multiple linear regression. The qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The associations between comprehensive learning target achievement and pupil learning outcomes were KCPE performance (r=.0.295; P= 0. 0.540); retention rates (r= 0. 630; p=0.180) and completion rates (r=0.326; p=0. 528). These associations were weak and statistically insignificant across all the learning outcomes examined. The results for the linear regression were also statistically insignificant (P>0.05). The Key informants revealed that the process of PC appraisal was not taken seriously and had been seen as a routine procedure by teachers. The main hurdle in achieving the Comprehensive Learning Environment in schools was limited resources. The study concluded that Teachers’ achievement in the Comprehensive Learning Environment target had no effect on learning outcomes of pupils in public primary schools in Kakamega County. The study recommends that the government should provide adequate resources for effective implementation of the Comprehensive Learning Environment in Public primary schools. There is need for further research to explore the effect of teacher achievement in Comprehensive Learning Environment on other learning outcomes such as communication skills, creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking skills.