MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT TO QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING INSTITUTIONS IN KIAMBU COUNTY

Bernard Mwangi - Department of Educational Management, Policy and Curriculum Studies, School of Education, Kenyatta University, Kenya

Peter Nyaga Muchanje - Department of Educational Management, Policy and Curriculum Studies, Kenyatta University, Kenya

ABSTRACT

The overall performance of students in Technical and Vocational Education and Training institution in Kenya and in particular Kiambu County has raised concerns due to continued decline in performance of students in Kenya national Examinations Council modular examinations and completion rate. It was noted that in 2015, Technical Training Institutions' mean grade was 68.7%, 57.9% in 2016, 50.2% in 2017, 43.7% in 2018, and 41.8% in 2019. Besides, completion rate in TVET has also been low, averaging 72.62% Per Anum compared to the global average of 82.13%. The situation is replicated in Kiambu County which has an average completion rate of 65% which is below the national average of 70%. This phenomenon has raised concerns about the commitment on the management of these institutions to implement quality management practices. Since the quality management practices in these institutions are implemented by the management, it implies that their commitment to implementation directly influences their adoption and institutions’ performance. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between management’s commitment to quality management practices and students' performance in TVET institutions in Kiambu county, Kenya. The study was anchored on the Kaizens’ theory. The study used a correlational research design with a population of 5285 respondents including 45 principals of TVET institutions, 45 examination officers, 145 head of departments, 250 trainers and 4800 students sampled across the 45 TVET institutions. The Institutions were categorised as the Vocational Training Centres (VTCs), the Technical and Vocational Colleges (TVCs), and National Polytechnics (NPs). Nine institutions were selected through a stratified random sampling while simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 578 respondents among heads of departments and examination officers. Primary data was collected using questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics. Pearson correlation was used to determine the strength and direction of the relationship between the variables. From the findings, the study revealed a strong positive correlation between management commitment to quality management practices and students' performance 0.696 (p < 0.05). It was thus concluded that a highly committed management team would have a strong positive and significant influence on students’ performance in TVET institutions in Kiambu County. This study therefore recommended that the government should enhance management commitment to quality management practices. This may include investing in leadership development programs, fostering a culture of participation and collaboration among staff, and implementing initiatives to improve stakeholder engagement and service delivery.

Full Length Research (PDF Format)